The House will take up this week (maybe today) the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 (HR 3648), a bill designed to mitigate the bite of the housing/credit crisis for cash-strapped borrowers. The legislation would make mortgage debt forgiveness or restructuring not count as taxable personal income. The House originally passed the bill in October, but Senate adopted an amended version. This latest version limits the tax cut to years 2007 through 2009. It must now return to the House before the president can sign it. The Joint Committee on Taxation has scored the five-year (2008-12) cost of the bill at $168 million, with the primary tax cut in effect from 2008-10.