On Monday, Reps. Brad Miller (D-NC), Mel Watt (D-NC) and Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced a mortgage reform act into the US House of Representatives, according to a joint press statement issued by the House Financial Services Commitee. "The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007", is said to be the most comprehensive legislation to combat abuses in the mortgage lending market, and to provide basic protections to mortgage consumers and investors.

A recent National League of Cities survey of municipal housing directors found that 52 percent identified predatory lending as a problem in their communities. A little more than half also found that foreclosures posed significant housing challenges for their communities.

The bill offers several key provisions to better protect consumers in the home buying process:

1. Requires all mortgage lenders and brokers to determine at the outset if a homebuyer has a reasonable ability to repay the entire loan, or a refinance loan has a net tangible benefit to a homeowner.

2. Helps regulators weed out predatory lenders by requiring all mortgage lenders and brokers to be licensed and registered at the state or federal level.

3. Prohibits mortgage originators from steering consumers into mortgages with higher interest-rates than they could otherwise qualify.

4. Requires mortgage creditors who discover that their loans violate minimum standards, such as the ability to repay the loan, to "cure" the loan within 90 days of discovery.