Senate Panel OKs New FHA Chief

The Senate Banking Committee has approved by voice vote the nomination of Brian Montgomery to be the new commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration.If confirmed by the full Senate, Mr. Montgomery will get to run a federal mortgage insurance agency that is facing declining single-family loan production and rising loan defaults. He told members of the banking committee during his confirmation hearing that the FHA needs to do a better job of marketing itself as an option for low-income homebuyers. In response to questions about his housing experience, the nominee stressed that he has "proven himself as a very capable manager and a steady leader" in leading the White House's effort to revamp the space program following the space shuttle Columbia disaster and in coordinating federal responses to wildfires in California and hurricanes in Florida. "If confirmed, I hope to bring those same skills to the Office of Housing," Mr. Montgomery testified. Mr. Montgomery currently works in the White House as a deputy assistant to the president.