The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HOUSING LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM EXTENSION ACTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E14 on Jan. 7, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HOUSING LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM EXTENSION ACTS
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HON. DOUG BEREUTER
of nebraska
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, January 7, 1997
Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. Speaker, today this Member is introducing two bills designed to extend important alternatives to traditional Federal housing direct lending.
The first bill, the Rural Multifamily Rental Housing Loan Guarantee Extension Act of 1997, permanently authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] administered section 538 program which, as the name implies, guarantees repayment of loans to build multifamily rental housing in rural communities. The section 538 program was patterned after the highly successful section 515 loan guarantee program, which is also administered by the USDA. While the section 538 program was only fully authorized in the last Congress through the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996, it has been already been well received in rural America and certainly merits permanent authorization in the 105th Congress.
The second bill this Member is introducing today permanently authorizes the section 184 loan guarantee program for Indian housing, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD]. This guarantee program, which I authored and was enacted into law in 1992, is designed to bridge the obstacles that have prevented private lenders from participating in housing finance on Indian trust land. Because of the unique trust status of these reservations, private lenders have been reluctant to make loans due to the fact that they have no legal recourse should the borrower default. Under the section 184 guarantee program, the Federal Government eliminates this obstacle by guaranteeing that the lender will be repaid should the borrower default. This program has already proven to be widely popular in Indian country and provides incentive for private lenders to participate in housing one of our Nation's most underserved populations.
Members should remember and be reassured by the fact that the disposition of loan guarantee programs provides oversight in that Congress must appropriate loan subsidies for all loans to be guaranteed under these programs. Thus, the end result of such a permanent authorization will be smoother operating programs without interruptions resulting from expired authorizations and congressional oversight maintained through the annual appropriations process.
Thank you Mr. Speaker. This Member invites his colleagues to join him as a cosponsor of both of these important housing measures.
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