Letter: Comments on FHFA’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan

On March 11, 2022, USMI submitted a comment letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Acting Director Sandra Thompson on the agency’s draft Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026. USMI supports the overarching goals articulated in the Strategic Plan to: (1) secure the government sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) safety soundness; (2) foster housing finance markets that promote equitable access to affordable and sustainable housing; and (3) responsibly steward the FHFA’s infrastructure. USMI offered additional recommendations and observations, including that FHFA should work in concert with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to ensure that pricing promotes borrower choice and allows the GSEs to advance access and affordability in the housing finance system, and that FHFA should implement policies that allow industry participants and consumer advocate organizations to serve as partners to the GSEs on initiatives that aim to promote equitable housing, address barriers to homeownership, and continue prudent risk management. Read the full letter here.

Letter: USMI Calls for Senate Finance Committee to Co-Sponsor the Middle Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act of 2022

USMI sent letters to members of the Senate Finance Committee encouraging them to co-sponsor the Middle Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act of 2022, introduced by Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and co-sponsored by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). USMI writes, “This important bipartisan legislation would expand eligibility for and make permanent the tax deduction for MI premium payments for borrowers who put less than 20 percent down to purchase their home and qualify for financing thanks to private MI or government-backed MI through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).” Read our letters to Chairman Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo.