U.S. House of Representatives Passes Financial Service Bills

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed five financial service bills that deal with everything from diversity in the workplace to affordable housing. 

According to a press release from the House Financial Services Committee, the five bills would do the following:

• H.R. 2852, Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2019, a bill that would make it easier for homebuyers to buy a home with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage by alleviating the current shortage of certified appraisers.
• H.R. 3620, Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019, a bill that would permanently authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) Program and further authorizes $1 billion to carry out the program. It also requires USDA to come up with a plan for preservation of rural multifamily housing backed by USDA loans and establishes an advisory committee to advise USDA in implementing this plan.
• H.R. 281, Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act of 2019, a bill that would require the Federal Reserve Bank to interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one reflective of racial or ethnic diversity in making the appointment of a regional bank president.
• H.R. 241, Bank Service Company Examination Act, a bipartisan bill to amend the Bank Service Company Act (BSCA) by enhancing the coordination of state banking agencies with federal banking agencies in regulating and examining the activities of bank service companies. It also allows for the sharing of information related to examinations and regulations between federal and state agencies related to banks’ technology service providers (TSPs).
• H.R. 1690, Safe Housing for Families Act of 2019, a bill that protects residents of public housing from carbon monoxide poisoning by authorizing over $300 million over three years to fund the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detectors in Department of Housing and Urban Development-subsidized housing units that have combustion-fueled appliances or a ventilation system that connects them to such units.

H.R. 3620 has the greatest chance of being enacted at 73 percent, according to Skopos Labs, a firm specialized in predicting the passage of legislation. The bill would provide assistance to low-income tenants in rural housing projects and has support from both Democrats and Republicans. 

Due to heightened partisanship, most legislation has little chance of passing this Congress, including the other four bills passed by the House. NAFSA will continue to monitor these bills and other legislation that could impact the financial services sector.