House Passes Two FHA Reform Measures in Voice Votes

The House of Representatives passed two housing measures this week designed to assist certain borrowers of Federal Housing Administration loans, earning kudos from some of the nation's largest trade groups in the mortgage and housing industries. The 21st Century FHA Housing Act, approved late Tuesday night, would beef up the FHA on a number of administrative fronts, while the FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act passed Wednesday is designed to make FHA loans more accessible to borrowers in urban multi-family housing projects. "Passage of these two bills is further indication that the House is playing a proactive role in helping people who are being impacted by the current turbulence in the housing market," David G. Kittle, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association , said Wednesday in a press statement. The National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors also expressed support for the bills.

The Housing Act, a Democratic initiative sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Member Jon Adler (D.-New Jersey), gives current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan broader power to appoint officers and set their pay rates; review and act on market-wide delinquency data; and fund technology updates on the FHA's aging information systems. The bill passed on a voice vote. "Providing more resources for staffing and technology at FHA will allow that agency to continue to play its critical role in helping borrowers," Kittle said of the bill's provisions. "FHA needs to be able to hire and retain top quality staff and utilize 21st century technology if it is going to meet the growing demand for its products." Also passed by a voice vote, the Loan Limit Adjustment Act was introduced by three Democratic representatives from urban districts: Anthony Weiner of New York, Peter Miller of California and Barney Frank â€" the House Financial Services Committee's chairman â€" of Massachusetts. It Increases the maximum mortgage amount limitations under the FHA mortgage-insurance programs for housing projects with elevators and for extremely high-cost areas. The House's GOP minority had dragged its feet on the measures. "Some Members may be concerned that H.R. 3527 would authorize the Secretary of HUD to increase FHA's insurance coverage amounts which would increase the exposure to taxpayers," the House Republicans "wrote of the bill on their Web site.":http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr3527 Kittle disagreed, however, calling the bill "an important step to growing this country's supply of affordable rental housing in urban areas." "The increased limits will make it possible for developers to obtain financing to build and rehabilitate high-rise housing," he said.