[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11577-11578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         THE FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION REFORM ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2010

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Federal 
Housing Administration Reform Act of 2010 (H.R. 5072). This

[[Page 11578]]

legislation will help ensure the availability of affordable home loans 
while safeguarding the interests of the American taxpayer.
  The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has played a crucial role in 
stabilizing the nation's housing market during the current recession. 
Since the financial crisis and credit crisis that followed, nearly 40 
million qualified Americans became homeowners and arne insurance 
through the FHA. The FHA was critical to keeping mortgage loans flowing 
to credit-worthy home buyers during the foreclosure crisis. As private 
lenders fled the housing market, the insurance provided by the FHA 
helped prevent the housing decline from becoming even more severe.
  The FHA Reform Act of 2010 will strengthen the FHA loan insurance 
program and help keep credit available and affordable to responsible 
homebuyers. Over the last year, the FHA implemented a number of policy 
changes aimed at curbing risk and increasing its capital reserves. This 
legislation builds on these reforms and helps reduce risk by increasing 
net worth requirements for FHA loan originators and providing the FHA 
with authority to prevent fraudulent lending. In addition, this bill 
increases accountability by requiring the FHA to modernize its 
reporting systems to better manage risk and to provide transparent data 
to the public and Congress.
  This legislation helps restore fiscal accountability by reducing our 
deficit by $2.5 billion over five years.
  The Federal Housing Administration Reform Act of 2010 makes essential 
reforms to strengthen the financial footing of the Federal Housing 
Administration and stabilize the mortgage market. I urge my colleagues 
to support this bill.

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