This was a vote on an amendment by Rep. Steven Lynch (D-MA) that would have allowed the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to facilitate voluntary home loan refinancing agreements between lenders and homeowners. This amendment was offered to legislation eliminating and FHA program enabling homeowners to refinance their home mortgages if, as a result of plummeting housing prices, their mortgage debt exceeded the value of their home.

Lynch urged support for his amendment: “The [underlying] bill provides that anything substantially similar to…[the FHA refinancing program the bill eliminated] would also be prohibited. That creates a problem. That stops the FHA from doing a lot of the other work that both sides agree needs to be done. We are talking about voluntary agreements where the bank and the servicer and the homeowner agree. Basically, that would be stopped by this legislation…. I'm just trying to let the FHA do its job in general.”

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) opposed the amendment, arguing it would allow the federal government to create a new program that was essentially identical to the one Republicans sought to eliminate: “I think our concern is that the amendment leaves the door open for the Treasury [Department] and for HUD [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] to at a later date create another substantially similar program to the FHA Refinance Program, again, without the express consent of Congress.”

The House rejected this amendment by a vote of 184-243. Voting “yea” were 183 Democrats and 1 Republican. 237 Republicans and 6 Democrats voted “nay.” As a result, the House rejected an amendment that would have allowed the Federal Housing Administration to facilitate voluntary home loan refinancing agreements between lenders and homeowners.