H.R. 8318

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8318 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8318

To authorize a pilot program under section 258 of the National Housing 
Act to establish an automated process for providing additional credit 
rating information for mortgagors and prospective mortgagors under 
certain mortgages.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 16, 2026

Mr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize a pilot program under section 258 of the National Housing 
Act to establish an automated process for providing additional credit 
rating information for mortgagors and prospective mortgagors under 
certain mortgages.

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 ``Original Additional Credit FHA Pilot 
Program Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR BORROWERS WITHOUT SUFFICIENT CREDIT HISTORY.

Section 258 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-24) is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``carry out'' and inserting 
``establish and carry out'';
(B) by striking ``establish, and'';
(C) by inserting ``who elect to participate in the 
pilot program'' before the second comma;
(D) by striking ``mortgagors and'';
(E) by inserting after ``their creditworthiness'' 
the following: ``and have opted into the use of 
additional credit information''; and
(F) by striking ``alternative'' each place such 
term appears and inserting ``additional'';
(2) in subsection (b), by adding after the period at the 
end the following: ``The pilot program may not be carried out 
with respect to any mortgagor or prospective mortgagor under a 
mortgage the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay off an 
existing loan secured by the same property.'';
(3) by striking subsection (c);
(4) by redesignating subsections (b) (as amended by 
paragraph (2) of this subsection) and (d) as subsections (c) 
and (k), respectively;
(5) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
subsection:
``(b) Goal.--The goal of the pilot program under this section shall 
be to examine and evaluate the benefits of using such a credit scoring 
model that uses additional data.'';
(6) by inserting after subsection (c) (as so redesignated 
by paragraph (4) of this subsection) the following:
``(d) Additional Credit Information.--The Secretary shall, after 
consultation with the Government National Mortgage Association and not 
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
select one or more commercially available credit scoring models that 
will be available under the pilot and that utilize additional data, as 
the Secretary considers appropriate based on the goals of the pilot 
program. In selecting the model or models to use, the Secretary shall 
consider the criteria under part 1254 of the regulations of the 
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (12 C.F.R. Part 1254) to 
the extent appropriate.
``(e) Notification.--
``(1) Notice of options.--The Secretary shall develop a 
notice for prospective mortgagors, and require mortgagees to 
provide such notice to prospective mortgagors, that informs 
prospective mortgagors of--
``(A) the ability to opt into the use of the credit 
scoring model selected for use under the pilot program;
``(B) information on how the pilot program credit 
scoring model differs from the FHA's current credit 
scoring models, including the types of additional data 
that are included in the pilot program model; and
``(C) housing counseling agencies in the area that 
are approved by the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development.
``(2) Comparison of lending options.--The Secretary shall 
require mortgagees participating in the pilot program to 
provide information to prospective mortgagors sufficient to 
allow comparison of the mortgagor's lending options using the 
credit scoring model under the pilot program and using the 
credit scoring model then in effect for mortgagors not opting 
into the use of the credit scoring model under the pilot 
program.
``(f) Underwriting Options.--This section may not be construed to 
preclude a prospective mortgagor who opts to use an approved credit 
scoring model under the pilot program under this subsection in 
connection with underwriting for a mortgage insured under this title 
from thereafter obtaining a determination of creditworthiness involved 
in underwriting for such mortgage using information other than that 
provided under such approved credit scoring model.
``(g) Protection of Proprietary Information.--This section may not 
be construed to require the disclosure or sharing of any proprietary 
information.
``(h) Reporting.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit reports to 
the Congress in accordance with paragraph (2) that provide a 
detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilot, 
including data that shows--
``(A) the number of mortgagors who had the option 
to opt into using additional credit information and the 
number of mortgagors who opted into using additional 
credit information;
``(B) the total number and percent of mortgagors 
who opted into the pilot and were subsequently approved 
for a mortgage;
``(C) demographic information about mortgagors who 
opt into using additional credit information, compared 
to demographic information about mortgagors generally, 
which shall include race, ethnicity, marital status, 
sex or gender, geographic location regarding mortgaged 
properties, and any other information the Secretary 
deems appropriate;
``(D) whether or not mortgagors with no or thin 
credit files benefitted from having this option and 
how;
``(E) whether or not other borrowers who did not 
have thin or no credit files benefitted from this 
option and how;
``(F) the effectiveness of the additional credit 
information in predicting mortgage loan default;
``(G) the rate of participation of mortgagees in 
the pilot program;
``(H) whether or not the pilot program had an 
impact on the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, in 
general, and specifically whether it had an impact on 
the economic net worth ratio of the Fund;
``(I) whether or not there was sufficient income 
from the pilot program to offset the risk posed to such 
Fund by the pilot program;
``(J) whether the pilot program had an impact on 
the ability of other borrowers not participating in the 
program to obtain the products and services of the FHA; 
and
``(K) any other information the Secretary 
determines relevant.
``(2) Submission.--The Secretary shall submit a report 
described in paragraph (1)--
``(A) not later than 6 months after the conclusion 
of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the 
Secretary begins accepting the additional credit scores 
through the pilot program established by the Secretary 
pursuant to this section; and
``(B) not later than 1 year after the conclusion of 
the 5-year period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Original Additional Credit FHA Pilot 
Program Authorization Act.
``(3) Report on selection of additional credit model.--Not 
later than the conclusion of the 6-month period that begins 
upon the conclusion of the 1-year period under subsection (d), 
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report explaining 
why the additional credit scoring model or models selected 
pursuant to subsection (d) were selected in lieu of other 
commercially available credit scoring models.
``(4) Public availability of information.--The Secretary 
shall make publicly available in an easily accessible location 
on the website of the Department--
``(A) each report submitted to the Congress 
pursuant to this subsection; and
``(B) information about the pilot program, which 
shall include an up-to-date listing of mortgagees 
participating in the pilot program.
``(i) Authority To Limit Participation.--The Secretary may 
establish a limitation to cap participation in the pilot program under 
this section.
``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated--
``(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 for establishing and 
carrying out the pilot program under this section; and
``(2) $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027 
for carrying out the pilot program under this section.''; and
(7) in subsection (k), as so redesignated by paragraph (4), 
by striking ``5-year period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Building American Homeownership Act of 2008'' 
and inserting ``5-year period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Original Additional Credit FHA Pilot Program 
Authorization Act''.
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