The first piece of federal legislation related to defective Chinese drywall has been passed by Congress.

The provision authored by Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, was successfully offered as an amendment Thursday afternoon to the “Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.”

The drywall-related amendment calls for an immediate investigation to be conducted on the effect of defective Chinese drywall on foreclosures.

The legislation calls for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Treasury Department, to study the problem and report their findings and recommendations within 120 days.

Specifically, the investigation is to focus on how many home foreclosures involve houses built or remodeled using Chinese drywall imported from 2004 to 2007. The legislation also calls for federal agencies to determine whether property insurance was available to homes discovered to have such defective drywall present.

The act, which aims to tighten regulations on mortgage lenders and originators, passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by 300 to 114.