On the Hill is NAMB's bi-weekly read on what's happening in Washington and why it matters to mortgage brokers.

Each issue cuts through the noise to bring you the federal policy, legislation, and regulatory moves shaping your business, along with the context and action items you need to stay ahead. 

Brought to you by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, the voice of the broker community since 1973.

The biggest housing bill in decades became law the quiet way, and Congress is weighing a bill that would raise VA home loan costs on veterans to pay for benefits to other veterans. That one needs your voice this week. Here's what brokers need to know.

Lead Story: ROAD to Housing Act is now law

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is law. President Trump declined to sign it on July 10 and never vetoed it, so under the Constitution's 10-day rule the package took effect automatically. It is the first comprehensive housing legislation to clear Congress in decades, and it arrived after a months-long standoff in which the President called the bill a “big yawn” and tied his signature to the unrelated SAVE America voter-ID bill, which never passed the Senate.

NAMB was at the table throughout. Our team spent countless hours with lawmakers, congressional staff, and housing policy experts in Washington to help build support for the bill, and NAMB issued a statement on July 13 applauding its enactment.

The broker-facing provisions now move to implementation:

• an FHA small-dollar mortgage pilot for loans under $100,000,
• a CFPB study of LO compensation and small-dollar lending with authority to adjust points-and-fees thresholds,
• appraisal reforms and mandatory value-reconsideration procedures for federally backed loans,
• elimination of the manufactured-home chassis requirement,
• financing parity for modular homes, and a cap barring institutional investors that already own 350 or more single-family homes from buying more.

Most of the law's requirements now fall to HUD and other agencies to carry out through regulations, studies, and reports, so expect the practical effects to phase in over months rather than all at once. NAMB will stay engaged through every rulemaking.

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Take Action: Comments Due August 10

NAMB Call to Action: protect veterans' home loan benefits

NAMB needs your voice right now. H.R. 9237, the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, would deliver important benefits to combat injured veterans. NAMB supports that goal. But Section 104 pays for those benefits by raising costs on a different group of veterans, the ones using VA home loans.

What Section 104 would do:

• Nearly triple the IRRRL funding fee, from 0.5% to 1.42%

• Double the VA assumption fee, from 0.5% to 1%

• Remove the ten year sunset, making these increases permanent

The result: an estimated $4 billion in added costs to veteran borrowers, an average of $3,780 more per veteran on one of their most basic earned benefits. It also collides with the VA's own 36 month recoupment rule, pushing many veterans out of eligibility for the IRRRL program altogether at the exact moment refinancing relief is needed most.

NAMB believes there is a better path. The Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102 / S. 1032), a standalone bipartisan bill with more than 300 House cosponsors from both parties, delivers the same veteran benefits without shifting the cost onto other veteran borrowers.

Take action now:

1.  Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators

2.  Urge them to oppose Section 104 of H.R. 9237

3.  Ask them to support the standalone Major Richard Star Act instead

NAMB has already drafted the message. It takes about two minutes.

Every call and email counts. Congress needs to hear from mortgage professionals who see firsthand what these fee increases would mean for the veterans you serve. Forward this to a colleague, member or not. Lawmakers count constituents, not associations, so the more originators who send, the more weight it carries.

Worth noting for context: this is the second bill this year to reach for VA home loan fees as a pay-for. H.R. 6047, which passed the House in May, also raised fees on VA refinances and assumptions. The pattern is what NAMB is pushing back on, not any single bill.

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Also open now: CFPB comment period, deadline August 10

The CFPB is asking whether TRID timing rules raise costs for mortgage brokers. Tell them.

The CFPB has published a Request for Information (Docket No. CFPB-2026-0018) seeking comment on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, the right of rescission under TILA, and reverse mortgage disclosures under Regulations X and Z. It was issued under Executive Order 14393, Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit.

The RFI poses 22 specific questions, and two of them speak directly to our channel: whether TRID timing requirements materially affect a consumer's ability to obtain mortgage credit, and whether those requirements increase costs for mortgage brokers, creditors, and consumers. The Bureau signals a real willingness to revisit TRID's timing and tolerance requirements. That is the closing-delay problem brokers have raised for a decade.

What to do: Submit a comment by August 10, 2026. Specifics win. If a TRID timing rule has delayed one of your closings, cost your borrower money, or forced a re-disclosure that changed nothing for the consumer, write it up with the details. Regulators weigh concrete examples from working originators far more heavily than general objections. Contact the NAMB Government Affairs team if you would like help framing your comment or want NAMB to include your example in our filing.

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Second opportunity: FHA Drafting Table

FHA has posted a draft Mortgagee Letter on Partial Claim Reinstatement Advance Payment to its Single Family Housing Drafting Table for stakeholder review and feedback (FHA INFO 2026-16). The draft is not policy and cannot be used on any FHA-insured mortgage until finalized, but the Drafting Table is where servicing and loss mitigation language gets shaped before it binds. If you work FHA files, this is worth a read and a comment.

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At the CFPB

Mortgage rulemakings dominate the regulatory agenda

The CFPB released its latest regulatory agenda, and mortgage items lead it, driven largely by Executive Order 14393's directive to cut compliance costs in origination and servicing. The headline for servicing shops: the Bureau anticipates a final Regulation X loss mitigation rule in August 2026. The open question is whether it tracks the 2024 proposal or gets substantially reworked in response to industry comments. The agenda also anticipates finalizing the rescission of COVID-era Regulation X mortgage protections by November. Worth noting for calibration: the published agenda reflects developments only through mid-January 2026, so treat it as direction rather than gospel.

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Vought heads to the Hill as the August 1 clock runs out

Acting Director Russell Vought testified before House Financial Services, where Republican members asked him how to write legislation that permanently narrows the Bureau's authority rather than relying on rollbacks a future administration could undo. Vought urged Congress to tighten statutory definitions such as “larger participant” and “abusiveness,” and to raise the asset threshold that triggers CFPB supervision from $10 billion to $21 billion. He told members the agency is now about half the size it was when he arrived.

His authority under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act runs out around August 1. If nominee Brian Johnson is not confirmed by then, Chief Legal Officer and acting Deputy Director Mark Paoletta is positioned to step in as acting director. Some observers expect a Senate vote on Johnson before month's end. For brokers, leadership matters mainly for pace: LO comp and RESPA servicing reform have been NAMB priorities for years, and a confirmed director shapes how fast either moves.

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By the Numbers

• 30-year fixed: 6.55% (Freddie Mac PMMS, week ending July 16), the highest since August 2025, up from 6.49% the prior week and down from 6.75% a year ago.
• 15-year fixed: 5.93% (Freddie Mac, July 16), up from 5.82% the week before.
• Freddie Mac's chief economist noted that purchase application demand has weakened recently, but that better affordability and rising inventory leave the backdrop for prospective buyers modestly improving.
• Daily pricing stayed choppy through the week of July 20 as the 10-year Treasury hovered near 4.55% to 4.59%, with softer CPI and PPI readings offset by resilient economic data and geopolitical pressure on fuel prices.

NAMB in Action

What your association has been doing these past two weeks:

• July 13 - NAMB applauds the ROAD to Housing Act becoming law. “This legislation reflects years of collaboration, advocacy, and dedication from policymakers, housing leaders, and industry professionals within NAMB,” said NAMB President Kimber White. NAMB played an active role throughout the legislative process through meetings, policy recommendations, and ongoing engagement with elected officials, and remains committed to working with federal policymakers and regulators on implementation.

• Ongoing - Advocacy on the issues that pay your bills. LO comp reform, LLPA reduction, credit report and credit scoring cost relief, flood insurance improvements, employment classification clarity, and expanded affordable housing access remain NAMB's 2026 priorities in Washington.

What to Watch

• Now: H.R. 9237 and whether Section 104's VA home loan fee increases survive. Contact your delegation today.
• August 1: the CFPB leadership handoff, and whether the Senate confirms Brian Johnson before Vought's authority expires.
• August 10: comments close on the CFPB's TRID, rescission, and reverse mortgage RFI. Get yours in.
• August: the CFPB's anticipated final Regulation X loss mitigation rule.
• Rolling: HUD and agency rulemakings implementing the ROAD to Housing Act, including the FHA small-dollar mortgage pilot and the CFPB's LO compensation study.