Congressional Record, Volume 167 Issue 86 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)

[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2458-H2460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2021

Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3008) to amend the National Housing Act to authorize State-
licensed appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection with mortgages
insured by the FHA and to require compliance with the existing
appraiser education requirement, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 3008

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 ``Homebuyer Assistance Act of
2021''.

SEC. 2. APPRAISAL STANDARDS FOR SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING
MORTGAGES.

(a) Certification or Licensing.--Paragraph (5) of section
202(g) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)) is
amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the
following new subparagraph:
``(A)(i) in the case of an appraiser for a mortgage for
single-family housing, be certified or licensed by the State
in which the property to be appraised is located; and
``(ii) in the case of an appraiser for a mortgage for
multifamily housing, be certified by the State in which the
property to be appraised is located; and''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, which, in the case of appraisers
for any mortgage for single-family housing, shall include
completion of a course or seminar that consists of not less
than 7 hours of training regarding such appraisal
requirements that is approved by the Course Approval Program
of the Appraiser Qualifications Board of the Appraisal
Foundation or a State appraiser certifying and licensing
agency''.
(b) Compliance With Verifiable Education Requirements;
Grandfathering.--Effective beginning on the date of the
effectiveness of the mortgagee letter or other guidance
issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section,
notwithstanding any choice or approval of any appraiser made
before such date of enactment, no appraiser may conduct an
appraisal for any mortgage for single-family housing insured
under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et
seq.) unless such appraiser is, as of such date of
effectiveness, in compliance with--
(1) all of the requirements under section 202(g)(5) of such
Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as amended by subsection (a) of
this section, including the requirement under subparagraph
(B) of such section 202(g)(5) (relating to demonstrated
verifiable education in appraisal requirements); or
(2) all of the requirements under section 202(g)(5) of such
Act as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(c) Implementation.--Not later than the expiration of the
240-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
issue a mortgagee letter or other guidance that shall--
(1) implement the amendments made by subsection (a) of this
section;
(2) clearly set forth all of the specific requirements
under section 202(g)(5) of the National Housing Act (as
amended by subsection (a) of this section) for approval to
conduct appraisals under title II of such Act for mortgages
for single-family housing, which shall include--
(A) providing that the completion, prior to the effective
date of such mortgagee letter

[[Page H2459]]

or guidance, of training meeting the requirements under
subparagraph (B) of such section 202(g)(5) (as amended by
subsection (a) of this section) shall be considered to
fulfill the requirement under such subparagraph; and
(B) providing a method for appraisers to demonstrate such
prior completion; and
(3) take effect not later than the expiration of the 180-
day period beginning upon issuance of such mortgagee letter
or guidance.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.

General Leave

Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous materials thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3008, the Homebuyer Assistance
Act of 2021, which would make a commonsense update to the Federal
Housing Administration's requirements governing appraisals to allow
licensed appraisers to conduct home valuations for FHA-backed
mortgages.
The current requirement to utilize a certified appraiser for all FHA
loans is simply outdated as it was put into place at a time when there
were no minimum Federal standards for State licensure of appraisers,
leaving concerns about consistency in competency across States.
Now that we do have minimum standards for licensure, FHA's
certification requirement is not only out of date and out of alignment
with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is also creating marketwide
pressures for lenders to require certified appraisers for all loans,
even if they are not FHA loans, just in case the mortgage switches to
an FHA loan midway through the process.
This, in turn, makes it harder for licensed appraisers to obtain work
at a time when certain areas are experiencing appraiser shortages, and
we are already struggling to effectively recruit new and diverse
appraisers. Licensed appraisers who are perfectly qualified to conduct
appraisals for GSE loans should be just as qualified to conduct
appraisals for FHA loans.
I would like to thank Mr. Sherman for introducing this legislation;
and the Republican cosponsor, Mr. Van Taylor, for supporting this all-
important bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3008, the Homebuyer Assistance
Act of 2021, sponsored by my friend from California (Mr. Sherman) and
cosponsored by my colleague from Texas (Mr. Taylor), who are both
superb active members of the Committee on Financial Services here in
the House.
The committee reviewed many of the issues faced by the appraisal
industry. There were two concerns heard loud and clear from the
witnesses: the prolonged backlog for appraisals and the decreased
quality in appraisals used in transactions involving loans insured by
the Federal Housing Administration, the FHA.
H.R. 3008 addresses these concerns in two ways. First, the bill
amends current law to expand the pool of appraisers eligible to
participate in FHA-insured transactions from being just certified
appraisers to include both certified and licensed appraisers.
Additionally, the bill addresses the different training requirements
that each must meet. Currently, certified appraisers must have 1,500
hours of supervised experience without any property value or complexity
restrictions. Licensed appraisers need only 1,000 hours of supervised
experience, and there are some property value or complexity
restrictions on licensed appraisers.
So H.R. 3008 sets minimum trending requirements for both types of
appraisers in FHA transactions. Certified and licensed appraisers must
have at least 7 hours of approved training by The Appraisal Foundation
or their State licensing agency. These changes will help break that
logjam and bring FHA's appraisal rules in line with the current
appraisal rules used by our government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, in the secondary market and in the conventional
mortgage market.
Moreover, the changes that Mr. Sherman and Mr. Taylor proposed will
help alleviate the appraisal backlog at the FHA and increase the
quality of work being performed. That would benefit both homeowners and
taxpayers alike.
As a former community banker in Arkansas, I understand firsthand how
the appraiser shortage has been a problem in my home State. For
example, in Arkansas, there has been a consistent delay in home
purchases in rural areas because of the increased burdens that this
shortage has brought about. This has created a ripple effect that has
had a negative impact on the economies or in those neighborhoods.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends, Mr. Sherman and Mr. Taylor. I urge
all Members to support this bill; and I reserve the balance of my time.

{time} 1330

Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman), who is a sponsor of this legislation.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank
our colleague from Texas (Mr. Taylor) for working with me on this bill,
the Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2021. I thank the gentleman from
Arkansas and the gentleman from Missouri for doing an excellent job of
explaining the importance of this bill to the House, so I will be
brief.
There is no more important day in the economic life of a family than
when they buy a home, particularly, their first home, and appraisers
play an important role in that very important day. So this bill looks
to bring into synchrony the rules of the FHA dealing with appraisers,
the FHA being the third-largest Federal home loan finance agency, bring
those standards into conformity or rough conformity with the two larger
Federal home loan finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
This will help deal with the shortage of appraisers that we are
seeing in various parts of the country. Appraisers are an important
part of the home-buying process for both lenders and borrowers to
provide assurance that the amount of the mortgage is supported by the
estimate property value.
Since 2010, all the State-licensed home appraisers have been required
to meet minimum Federal education experience and examination
requirements set by the Appraiser Qualifications Board.
So the standards set by the Appraiser Qualifications Board are fully
sufficient for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and they should be for the
FHA as well. Unfortunately, until this bill passes, appraisers for FHA
mortgages must meet the higher standard. This creates a shortage of
appraisers who can do FHA appraisals.
By helping address the shortage of appraisers that plague many areas,
this legislation will provide much-needed assistance for first-time,
low-and-moderate income and minority homebuyers who rely on FHA
mortgages or rely on mortgages that may become FHA mortgages during the
process.
Over 83 percent of the FHA home mortgages made in 2018 were to first-
time homebuyers and over one-third of all FHA loans were obtained by
minority households. I am pleased to say that with the support of this
House, we passed the Homebuyer Assistance Act in 2019 with overwhelming
bipartisan support, 419-5.
Today, I hope the House renews that wisdom, and I hope to see a
similar level of wisdom in the Senate.
Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman), for his hard work on this bill.
I hope that we are able to get it over the finish line and to the
President's desk. I appreciate Senator Thune working on this in the
Senate.
It is an important piece of legislation that will aid, as Mr. Sherman
outlined, first-time home buyers. A majority of this benefit speeds up
that process for the family who is trying to buy their

[[Page H2460]]

first home or a home that is low enough in mortgage size to be insured
by the FHA. This is something we want to do to speed access to the
American Dream for low- to moderate-income families.
I thank Mr. Sherman for his work, and I encourage all of my friends
on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 3008, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Sherman) for bringing this legislation forward and for the support of
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Taylor).
This bill removes unnecessary barriers to the home-buying process,
which will help millions of FHA borrowers over time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3008.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.

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