Help on the Way for Rural Housing Program

The Senate is slated to begin debate on an emergency appropriations bill Monday afternoon that includes a provision to get the Rural Housing Service program up and running again. The measure would allow the RHS to increase its current 2% upfront premium to 3.5% and make the single-family program self-funding. It would free RHS from the appropriations process and from seeking annual renewal of its loan commitment authority. RHS ran out of loan commitment authority on May 17. Some lenders are still using the program but only because the money has been committed, though not used. RHS is a key program for rural lenders of all stripes but also megabanks like Chase Home Finance. The emergency appropriations bill (H.R. 4899) includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and natural disasters stateside. Congress wants to pass this bill before the Memorial Day recess. It represents the fastest legislative vehicle to fix the RHS program. The House has already passed a RHS reform bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., that increases the upfront premium to 4%, which means House appropriators likely will not object to the inclusion of the RHS provision in H.R. 4899.