[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 10 (Monday, March 13, 2000)]
[Page 485]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Dedicating Federal Housing Administration Revenues for 
Affordable Housing

March 7, 2000

Memorandum for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Director, 
Office of Management and Budget, Director, Domestic Policy Council

Subject: Dedicating Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Revenues for 
Affordable Housing

    One of the fundamental goals of my Administration has been to 
reinvent government, to make it serve the public better and restore 
public confidence in the institutions of government. The Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has met these goals well. HUD's 2020 
Management Reform Plan has transformed HUD from top to bottom, and 
helped HUD improve performance even as it has reduced the number of its 
employees. The Department has twice been recognized by the Kennedy 
School of Government for innovation in government.
    Nowhere is the turnaround at HUD more evident than in FHA. In the 
early 1990s, FHA was in near-bankruptcy. Today, FHA and its Mutual 
Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund are financially healthier than they have 
been in decades. On March 6, HUD released the results of an actuarial 
review showing that the total value of the Fund in Fiscal Year 1999 was 
more than $5 billion above the total value reported for Fiscal Year 
1998. These improvements in the Fund are due not just to recent economic 
prosperity, but also to fundamental changes in FHA. The Office of 
Management and Budget will assess the actuarial review to determine its 
accuracy, its implications for the overall status of FHA finances, and 
its consistency with my Administration's economic assumptions.
    As you know, my Budget for Fiscal Year 2001 substantially expands 
our efforts to provide affordable housing. The Budget provides a total 
of $32 billion--$6 billion more than last year--with increases for all 
of HUD's core programs. And as the improved administration of HUD and 
the FHA make available additional resources, we will have the 
opportunity to do even more to ensure that all Americans have access to 
affordable housing.
    Therefore, I direct you to report to me within 160 days your 
recommendations on how newly available funds can be used to further 
strengthen Federal housing programs and develop a plan to enhance 
comprehensive affordable housing opportunities.
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: This memorandum was released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
on March 8.