109 HR 6424 IH: Save Affordable Housing and Health U.S. House of Representatives 2006-12-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6424 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 8, 2006 Mr. Gary G. Miller of California (for himself and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To increase the Federal Housing Administration mortgage commitment level for fiscal year 2007 to carry out the purposes of sections 238 and 519 of the National Housing Act, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Save Affordable Housing and Health Care Facilities Act of 2006.

2.

Congressional findings

The Congress finds that— (1)the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs in the General Insurance/Special Risk Insurance (GI/SRI) Fund provide financing for a wide range of activities, including home equity conversion mortgages for the elderly, condominiums, apartments, health care facilities, and hospitals; (2)the volume of activity in these programs is traditionally heavy in the last few months of a calendar year and has been particularly high this year due to continued low interest rates and a large demand by seniors for mortgages that will allow them to access the equity in their homes; (3)the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has indicated that the commitment authority for the programs in this Fund may be exhausted if the continuing appropriations resolution for fiscal year 2007 makes available only a prorated portion of the amounts that were made available for the programs for 2006; (4)if the commitment authority is exhausted, HUD will be forced to shut down the programs in the GI/SRI Fund until additional commitment authority is approved by the Congress; (5)the FHA home equity conversion mortgage insurance program is virtually the only program available that allows seniors to draw funds from the equity in their homes to pay other bills and to remain in their homes with adequate protections; (6)the FHA multifamily housing mortgage insurance programs provide for the construction and rehabilitation of critically needed affordable housing while also producing construction jobs, and shutting down these programs will result in delays of construction that may make some of these projects infeasible due to rising construction costs; (7)the FHA hospital mortgage insurance program is a major source of financing for community hospitals as well as larger city hospitals that need to refinance or rehabilitate their properties; (8)the FHA mortgage insurance programs for nursing homes and assisted living facilities are virtually the only vehicles for the rehabilitation of these properties, which is vital to the elderly individuals living there; (9)increasing the commitment ceilings for the GI/SRI Fund would not cost the Government additional funds but would actually generate additional revenue for the Treasury; and (10)the programs that would otherwise be shut down pay for their own costs through the collection by the FHA of mortgage insurance premiums.

3.

Increase in General Insurance and Special Risk Insurance commitment authority

Notwithstanding section 101 of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (Division B of Public Law 109–289; 120 Stat. 1311), the maximum dollar amount limitation on commitments to guarantee loans to carry out the purposes of sections 238 and 519 of the National Housing 10 Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–3 and 1735c) shall be continued for fiscal year 2007 at a rate for operations not exceeding $45,000,000,000.

4.

Increase in home equity conversion mortgage insurance authority

Section 255(g) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–20(g)), as amended by section 131 of Division B of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (120 Stat. 1316), is amended by striking 275,000 and inserting 300,000.