[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6249-H6251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GENERAL AND SPECIAL RISK INSURANCE FUNDS AVAILABILITY ACT OF 2010
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 5872) to provide adequate commitment authority
for fiscal year 2010 for guaranteed loans that are obligations of the
General and Special Risk Insurance Funds of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5872
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``General and Special Risk
Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. ADEQUATE COMMITMENT AUTHORITY.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for fiscal year
2010 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may enter
into commitments to guarantee loans, as authorized by
sections 238 and 519 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C.
1715z-3 and 1735c), in an amount not exceeding
$20,000,000,000 in total loan principal, any part of which is
to be guaranteed.
SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go- Act of 2010,
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement
titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by
the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on
passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs.
Capito) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
{time} 1940
General Leave
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and to insert extraneous materials on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
The FHA has become a very successful program. It has taken up a lot
of the slack that was created by problems elsewhere in the housing
area. It is being run very well. Secretary Donovan and Administrator
Stevens deserve a great deal of credit.
In a bipartisan way, the Committee on Financial Services has
cooperated with them. We recently passed a bill, again a bipartisan
bill, and the ranking member of the Housing Subcommittee, the
gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) is here, to enhance their
authority to allow them to do a better job statutorily of guarding
against abuse and fraud.
The program's been sufficiently successful so that they have now run
out of commitment authority. This bill would give them $5 billion more
in commitment authority. But it is not an expenditure. Indeed, it is
the opposite. This will save $94 million because we have structured the
FHA today, and it's being run in a way that it makes a small profit for
the Federal Government.
[[Page H6250]]
If we do not pass this bill before the end of next week, us first and
then the Senate, the FHA program will stop until October. That will
deny people housing, and this is housing, homeownership and other forms
of housing, that is responsibly done. It will be a further shot to the
housing sector of the economy which is so important.
I add letters from the American Bankers Association and a joint
letter from virtually every organization that deals with housing from
the standpoint of consumers, or from the standpoint of financing, also
from the standpoint of people in the business of providing housing. So
providers of housing, financers of housing, sellers of housing,
consumers of housing all agree that we need this bill.
It should not be controversial because it extends a very successful
program, stops it from being interrupted between now and October, and
it will present savings of $94 million.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, just briefly, I would like to join with the
chairman of the full committee, Mr. Frank, in full support of this
bill. I would also like to thank the Appropriations Committee for
letting us bump up two bills so we could get ahead a little bit on our
evening.
I would like to reiterate just very quickly that this FHA program is
a critical source of financing for affordable rental housing, and I am
in full agreement that we should pass this bill, as it will help to
mitigate any disruptions in the housing market.
I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes to say that
some of the homeownership parts will continue, but there are very
important pieces here involving health care facilities, involving
multi-family housing, and there is some homeownership which would be
lost if we were not able to do this. So I am glad to be joined by my
colleague from West Virginia, and I hope that the House will promptly
pass this bill and that the Senate will even promptly pass this bill,
although that's always a greater hope.
July 28, 2010.
Hon. Barney Frank,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Frank: Our organizations would like to
express strong support for H.R. 5872, The General and Special
Risk Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010. Recently, the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) notified Congress that
it had exceeded 75 percent of its commitment authority to
insure mortgages under the General Insurance and Special Risk
Insurance (GI/SRI) Fund. FHA Commissioner David Stevens
further warned that without an additional $5 billion in
commitment authority, the agency's current limitation would
be fully exhausted by late August or September.
FHA is now facing the real possibility that it will have to
shut down the multifamily and health care insurance programs.
Without swift passage of H.R. 5872, needed affordable rental
housing and health care facilities could be at risk of losing
time-sensitive financing and subsidy commitments as a result.
Properties with maturing loans that must refinance could be
at risk of losing the only source of refinancing available in
the market at this time. The consequence is the delay or loss
of bringing affordable housing to those people who need it so
much.
As you know, during this period of significant turmoil in
the credit markets, FHA's multifamily and health care
programs have been a critical source of stable and affordable
financing. We cannot afford a suspension of these important
programs now.
We strongly urge Congress to act expeditiously to provide
FHA with the additional commitment authority it is seeking.
Failure to do so before Congress recesses this summer will
cause significant disruptions to financing for apartment,
hospital, and health care facilities that serve millions of
Americans.
We thank you in advance for your support for H.R. 5872.
Sincerely,
American Health Care Association; American Association of
Homes and Services for the Aging; American Seniors
Housing Association; Assisted Living Federation of
America; Coalition for Seniors Health Care Reform;
Council for Affordable Rural Housing; Committee on
Health Care Financing; Housing Partnership Network;
Institute of Real Estate Management; Institute for
Responsible Housing Preservation; Mortgage Bankers
Association; National Apartment Association; National
Affordable Housing Management Association; National
Association of Affordable Housing Lenders; National
Association of Home Builders; National Association of
Realtors; National Council of State Housing Agencies;
National Leased Housing Association; National Multi
Housing Council; New York Housing Coalition; Settlement
Housing Fund; Stewards of Affordable Housing for the
Future; Volunteers of America.
____
National Association of Home
Builders,
Washington, DC, July 28, 2010.
Hon. Barney Frank,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Frank: On behalf of the 175,000 members
of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), I am
writing to express our strong support for H.R. 5872, the
General and Special Risk Insurance Funds Availability Act of
2010. H.R. 5872 would increase the commitment authority for
fiscal year 2010 for the General and Special Risk Program
Account of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Without the proposed $5 billion increase, the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) could be forced to shut
down the multifamily and health care facilities mortgage
insurance programs. FHA recently notified Congress that
without this increase, the agency's current limitation would
be fully exhausted by late August or September, in advance of
the end of the fiscal year.
The FHA multifamily and health care mortgage insurance
programs are critically needed during this period of
significant turmoil in the credit markets. Without additional
commitment authority, needed affordable rental housing and
health care facilities could be at risk of losing time-
sensitive financing and subsidy commitments as a result.
Properties with maturing loans that must refinance could be
at risk of losing the only source of refinancing available in
the market at this time. The consequence is the delay or loss
of bringing affordable housing to those people who need it so
much.
Again, NAHB supports H.R. 5872 and urges your support on
the House floor. This critical legislation will benefit
thousands of people who need affordable rental housing and
health care facilities, as well as provide needed
construction jobs in this difficult economy.
Best regards,
Joe Stanton,
Senior Vice President,
Government Affairs.
____
Mortgage Bankers Association,
Washington, DC, July 28, 2010.
Hon. Barney Frank,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. Spencer Bachus,
Ranking Member, Committee on Financial Services, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus: On behalf of
the Mortgage Bankers Association, I want to thank you for
your leadership in quickly moving H.R. 5872, the General and
Special Risk Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010, to the
House floor. This legislation is urgently needed to avert a
looming shutdown in the Federal Housing Administration's
multifamily programs.
Recently, FHA notified Congress that it was close to
exhausting its commitment authority to insure multifamily
mortgages, and that an additional $5 billion would be needed
to keep the programs running through the end of the fiscal
year. FHA's multifamily programs have been a critical source
of stable and affordable financing during the current
downturn in the credit markets. We simply cannot afford a
suspension of these important programs now.
It is also important to note that the authorization of
commitment authority is not the same as a direct
appropriation and does not come with a cost to taxpayers. In
fact, because FHA collects premiums to guard against the risk
of default, the additional $5 billion in commitment authority
is estimated to generate $94 million to the U.S. Treasury.
We urge the House to approve this bill so that we keep
these important multifamily programs up and running.
Sincerely,
William P. Killmer,
Senior Vice-President,
Legislative and Political Affairs.
____
National Multi Housing Council and National Apartment
Association,
Washington, DC, July 28, 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: The National Multi Housing Council
(NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) urge
immediate action on H.R. 5872, the ``General and Special Risk
Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010'', to prevent an
imminent shutdown of the FHA multifamily loan program.
Absent Congressional action the multifamily and health care
insurance programs will shut down. As a result, needed
affordable rental housing and health care facilities could be
at risk of losing time-sensitive financing and subsidy
commitments. Properties with maturing loans that must
refinance could be at risk of losing the only source of
refinancing available in the market at this time. The
consequence is the delay or loss of bringing affordable
housing to those people who need it so much.
As required, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
notified Congress that it had
[[Page H6251]]
exceeded 75 percent of its commitment authority to insure
mortgages under the General Insurance and Special Risk
Insurance (GI/SRI) Fund. FHA Commissioner David Stevens
further warned that without an additional $5 billion in
commitment authority, the agency's current limitation would
be fully exhausted by late August or September. Without swift
action, that warning is now a reality.
As you know, during this period of significant turmoil in
the credit markets, FHA's multifamily and health care
programs have been a critical source of stable and affordable
financing. We cannot afford a suspension of these important
programs.
NMHC and NAA strongly urge passage of this critical
legislation.
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Bibby,
President, National Multi Housing Council.
Douglas S. Culkin, CAE,
President, National Apartment Association.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5872, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________