Clinton: FHA Limit Hike May Pass This Year

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., says she supports comprehensive Federal Housing Administration reform but believes her limited bill to increase the FHA single-family loan limit could be passed this year.The Clinton bill (S. 2597) would raise the FHA single-family loan limit up to the $417,000 conforming loan limit so that borrowers are not shut out of the federal mortgage insurance program in high-cost areas. "It is only one step," Sen. Clinton said, but it would help families in high-cost areas who have "been left behind." The New York senator stressed that she wants to take up comprehensive reform next year and believes the Bush administration's FHA reform package contains "good recommendations." However, she wants to be sure the FHA has the personnel, databases, and technology so that the FHA can be viable alternative to higher-cost subprime loans. "I want to make sure FHA has the tools and flexibility to serve Americans in today's more dynamic economy," Sen. Clinton told the Mortgage Bankers Association.