Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are intent on raising the minimum down payment for FHA mortgage interest rates. They have drafted a bill to raise the minimum down payment for Federal Housing Administration-backed loans to 5 percent from the current down payment amount of only 3.5% with mortgage rates today monitorbankrates.com/mortgages on 15 year loans at 3.50% you can’t go wrong buying a home.

They also want to lower the dollar amount of FHA loans that are backed by the Federal Housing Administration. First time home buyers will be the biggest losers of this program.

The proposed bill is also to cut FHA loan limits in many markets. Higher loan limits are set for FHA-backed loans in expensive markets like in largest cities and along the coasts of the country. Places where republicans don’t really win many elections.

Hopefully they bill won’t pass and become law. The housing market is still in a bad state and raising the barrier for first time home buyers will just make things worse. Just as mortgage rates current are still near record lows a change in this law will make things worse for the economy.