Today the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) wrote a letter requesting $6.6 million in funding for the FHA Catalyst Information Technology (IT) initiative in the FY 2023 THUD appropriations conference report. The House THUD appropriations bill earmarked $6,598,000 in new budget authority for FHA modernization in the Committee report. This would allow FHA to move ahead expeditiously with its Catalyst IT modernization project. Unfortunately, the Senate included zero funding for this initiative. See below. Support Letter for $6.6 million in Catalyst IT Funding – FY 2023 THUD Appropriations Conference ReportDear Senators Leahy and Shelby: The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) writes to request inclusion of $6.6 million in funding for the FHA Catalyst Information Technology (IT) initiative in the FY 2023 THUD appropriations conference report. FHA is the primary federal agency single family mortgage program serving first-time homebuyers and minority and underserved borrowers. In FY 2021, a record 85% of new FHA forward mortgage loans were for first-time homebuyers. 42% of new forward mortgage loans were for minority borrowers, and FHA’s share of Black and Hispanic borrowers was twice the percentage of all other mortgage loans. One of FHA’s highest priorities in recent years has been the modernization of outdated IT systems for its single-family guarantee program for forward loans. The House THUD appropriations bill earmarked $6,598,000 in new budget authority for FHA modernization in the Committee report. This would allow FHA to move ahead expeditiously with its Catalyst IT modernization project. Unfortunately, the Senate included zero funding for this initiative. Completion of the planned modernization of FHA single-family IT systems will require additional funding beyond what has already been appropriated. Significant work remains in key areas such as Asset Disposition and Mortgage Insurance Premium modules. Absent additional funding, modernization of these systems will not be possible. Moreover, FHA is projected to produce over $8 billion in net profits (negative credit subsidy) in FY 2023. Given the significant financial contributions FHA makes to the THUD appropriations bill funding totals, it does not seem appropriate to shortchange the program by this mere $6.6 million in funding. Therefore, CHLA believes it is imperative that the House $6.6 million in funding for the FHA Catalyst IT initiative be included in the final conference report. Thank you for consideration of this request. Sincerely Yours,
COMMUNITY HOME LENDERS OF AMERICA |