House okays mortgage cramdowns. The House of Representatives approved a mortgage 'cramdown' bankruptcy bill by a vote of 234-191. The legislation will allow at least 1M Americans to reduce their mortgage payments through bankruptcy, and enables federal bankruptcy judges to lengthen loan terms, cut interest rates and reduce mortgage balances. The bill, which will now go to the Senate, would also permanently increase the FDIC's coverage of bank deposits to $250,000.