H.R. 7755

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7755 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7755

To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit a 
report to the Congress with respect to exempting any downpayment 
requirement for mortgage insurance offered by the Federal Housing 
Administration for first-time homebuyers who are first responders or 
school teachers, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 3, 2026

Mr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit a 
report to the Congress with respect to exempting any downpayment 
requirement for mortgage insurance offered by the Federal Housing 
Administration for first-time homebuyers who are first responders or 
school teachers, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Housing for Our Hometown Heroes 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORT ON ZERO-DOWNPAYMENT FOR FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, acting through the Assistance Secretary for Housing and 
Federal Housing Commissioner, shall submit to the Congress a report 
that describes the feasability of a program that exempts first-time 
homebuyers who are first responders or school teachers from any cash 
investment required as described in section 203(b)(9) of the National 
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(9)) for mortgage insurance under such 
Act, including--
(1) the benefits and detriments of such a program;
(2) the cost of such a program and impact on the mutual 
mortgage insurance fund;
(3) how such a program can remain solvent using--
(A) upfront fees; or
(B) a combination of upfront and annual fees;
(4) an analysis on how such a program would affect the 
ability of first responders or school teachers to buy a house;
(5) an analysis of the expected premiums that would be 
needed for the program to have a negative credit subsidy rate; 
and
(6) in the case that the Secretary determines that such a 
program is not feasible, recommendations that describe similar 
solutions or alternative program designs to support first-time 
homebuyers that are first responders or school teachers.
(b) VA Consultation.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development shall consult with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with 
respect to the report required under subsection (a), including whether 
elements of the VA Home Loan Program could be incorporated into the 
program described in subsection (a).
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) First responder.--The term ``first responder'' means an 
individual who is--
(A)(i) employed full-time by a law enforcement 
agency of the Federal Government, a State, a Tribal 
government, or a unit of general local government; and
(ii) in carrying out such full-time employment, 
sworn to uphold, and make arrests for violations of, 
Federal, State, county, township, municipal, or Tribal 
laws, or authorized by law to supervise sentenced 
criminal offenders or individuals with pending criminal 
charges; or
(B) employed full-time as a firefighter, paramedic, 
or emergency medical technician by a fire department or 
emergency medical services responder unit of the 
Federal Government, a State, a Tribal government, or a 
unit of general local government.
(2) School teacher.--The term ``school teacher'' means an 
individual who is employed as a full-time teacher by a State-
accredited school that provides direct services to students in 
grades pre-kindergarten through 12.
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