§2183 General provisions

Summary

The President must set a fee for each guaranty made under the housing guaranty programs. If the fee for a type of guaranty is lowered, fees already under contract for that type can be lowered too. A total of $50,000,000 from earlier fees, plus all fees from these guaranties, can be used to pay running costs (like staff, supplies, and printing), to manage and guard any currencies or assets taken under guaranties, and to investigate and settle claims (including arbitration). Fees from the related program under section 2182a can be used the same way. All these fees and any earnings go into a revolving fund in the Treasury. That fund can be invested in U.S. government obligations and the interest goes back into the fund. When a guaranty must be paid, the payment comes first from the fees (unless those fees are tied up for other purposes), then from money from selling assets taken under the guaranty, and finally from any appropriations made later. All guaranties are obligations of the United States and are backed by its full faith and credit. Congress may appropriate money as needed to run the program. If reserves are not enough to pay claims, the administrator can borrow from the Treasury but only as allowed by Congress and with no more than $100,000,000 outstanding at one time. Borrowings carry interest set by the Treasury Secretary. For loans covered by these guaranties, the administering agency sets a maximum interest rate to the investor that cannot exceed the then-current HUD mortgage rate by more than 1 percent. Existing guaranties stay under their old rules and continued fees go to the same purposes. No payment is allowed for losses caused by fraud or misrepresentation by the claimant. At least 90 percent of the face value of future housing guaranties must be for housing suitable for families with incomes below the country’s median (or below the median urban income for urban housing).