General and Special Risk Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Madam Speaker, 2010 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, the largest youth organization in the United States. Since 1910, more than 111,000,000 youth have participated in Scouting programs focused on character development and leadership training.

This Sunday, July 25th, the Boy Scouts will kick-off their 100th Anniversary celebrations with a Grand Centennial Parade. Not since the very first Jamboree in 1937 has there been a Scout-specific parade in Washington, DC. There will be floats, marching bands, vintage vehicles, great entertainment, flags, fun and so much more. I am proud to join my father, former FBI Director Judge William S. Sessions, as a division marshal in this historic parade.

From July 26th to August 4th, the National Boy Scout Jamboree will be hosted at Fort A.P. Hill just south of Washington, DC. The Jamboree will host over 43,000 Scouts and adult leaders visiting from across the globe. This is the last year the Boy Scouts will celebrate its Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill having procured a new high-adventure base, The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, near Beckley, West Virginia. This new base covers 10,600 acres and is located adjacent to 70,000 acres of National Park Service land, offering world-class outdoor opportunities when it opens in 2013.

On Tuesday, July 27th, the Postal Service will host the first day of sale for a new 44 cent commemorative stamp entitled ``Celebrate Scouting,'' made possible through bipartisan congressional support of over 300 Representatives and Senators. The stamp, unveiled in November of last year, will be dedicated by the Boy Scouts at the National Jamboree on Tuesday.

Additionally, the National Postal Museum will be hosting a Congressional Stamp Exhibit at the Rayburn House Office Building from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 28 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 29/30. In collaboration with the Boy Scouts of America, I will be hosting an exhibit on the ``2010 Celebrate Scouting'' stamp.

As an additional token of celebration, I was proud to have introduced H.R. 5872, the Boy Scouts of American Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 8, 2008. In accordance with the legislation, the United States Mint produced 350,000 Silver Dollar coins in celebration of the Boy Scouts centennial anniversary. Each having a $10 surcharge equally matched by private funds, this bill raised $7 million for Scouts in hard to serve areas. After only 12 short weeks these coins sold out, a remarkable success for spreading the joys of Scouting.

This Friday, I am proud to host 11 troops made up of over 500 Scouts from the Dallas area to Washington, DC. I have the pleasure of meeting them on their historic journey to the Jamboree, showing them through the Capitol, and providing them insight into the government of our nation. In this historic year, I ask everyone to join in the celebration of this monumental occasion, and congratulate the Boy Scouts of America on their centennial anniversary.

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. President, I ask unanimous consent the Banking Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5872, and the Senate

proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statement be printed in the Record.