Letters, statements, telegrams, etc. submitted for the record by-Con. Bacoats, J. A., president, Benedict College, Columbia, S. Č.: Letter, Apr. 2, 1949, to Senator Maybank............ Dougherty, James L., general counsel, Reconstruction Finance Cor- Foutz, Dave, legislative representative, Veterans Organizations 334 Giesecke, Bertram E., chairman, national housing committee, Ameri- 213 Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., Mrs. Marie Jordan, chairman of 250 Goodman, Leo, director, national housing committee, CIO: Summary of middle income housing bills... 309 Suggested changes in title III.. 173 New coustruction of nonfarm homes, etc., chart_ Letters, statements, telegrams, etc., submitted for the record by-Con. Kefauver, Estes, a United States Senator from the State of Ten- Page 461 248 Summary of some of lending programs of the Government_. Lane, William A., Miami, Fla., representing himself and others in 338 Lockwood, Rodney M., president, National Association of Home Union wage scales in building trades, July, 1949. Reply to Mr. Foley's statement. 283 296 303 Maybank, Burnet R., a United States Senator from the State of South 462 Munitions Board, National Military Establishment: Report on S. 333 National Builders Association, W. H. Aiken, president, Atlanta, Ga.: 158 National Catholic Welfare Conference, F. G. Hochwalt, director, de- man_ Neel, Samuel E., counsel, Mortgage Bankers Association of America: Articles from Mortgage Banker magazine: The folly of direct lending by the Federal Government.. Government lending isn't cheaper.. Letter to Senator Sparkman on volume FNMA new contracts. 331 381 212 338 Northeastern Roofing, Siding and Insulating Contractors Associa- 201 183 184 Rightley, A. J., president, National Cooperative Housing Associa- Sheehan, Stanley J., representing Pennypack Woods Home Ownership 326 Smith, Norman M., president, University of South Carolina, Colum- 184 Snyder, Calvin K., secretary, Washington Committee, National As- 378 Sparkman, John, a United States Senator from the State of Alabama: 67 Summerall, C. P., president, The Citadel, Charleston, S. C.: Letter 183 Thompson, Wayne, city manager, Richmond, Calif.: Letter to Sen- 198 HOUSING AMENDMENTS OF 1949 TUESDAY, JULY 26, 1949 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND RENTS OF Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a. m., in room 301, Senate Office Building, Senator John Sparkman presiding. Present: Senators Sparkman (chairman of the subcommittee), Maybank, Douglas, Long, Flanders, Cain, and Bricker. Senator SPARKMAN. Let the committee come to order, please. These hearings are called on S. 2246, particularly to discuss portions of that bill upon which it was felt by the committee that adequate hearings had not yet been held. It may be remembered that early in the year we took up S. 138, which was the so-called public housing bill. It was announced that those hearings would cover not only S. 138, S. 685, S. 686, S. 709, S. 712, and S. 724, and perhaps other bills which were then pending, but also various bills and amendments that were introduced while the hearings were in process. Virtually everything contained in S. 2246 was covered to some extent in those hearings. But it was felt by the subcommittee that some features of this bill were not adequately covered. For that reason it was decided to confine the hearings to 3 days, today, tomorrow, and Thursday, if possible. Because of the short duration of the hearings, it has been necessary to limit the number of witnesses that can appear in that time, but we are going to try to give all of the various segments and interested groups proper representation before the subcommittee during these three days. We are going to have to operate, however, on a rather tight schedule in order to complete all of them. We have quite a full day ahead of us. At this point in the record we will insert the bill. (The bill, S. 2246, follows:) [S. 2246, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the National Housing Act, as amended, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Housing Amendments of 1949." TITLE I-AMENDMENTS OF NATIONAL HOUSING ACT SEC. 101. Section 2 of the National Housing Act, as amended, is hereby amended (1) by striking out of the first sentence of subsection (a) thereof "September 1, 1949" and inserting in lieu thereof "July 1, 1952"; (2) by striking out the last sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "The aggregate amount of principal obligations of all 1 loans, advances of credit, and obligations purchased with respect to which insurance may be heretofore or hereafter granted under this section and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed $1,250,000,000"; (3) by striking out of clause numbered (1) in subsection (b) "$4,500" and inserting in lieu thereof "$3,000"; (4) by striking out of clause numbered (2) in subsection (b) the words "residential or"; and (5) by striking out of subsection (f) the word "title" in each place it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof the word "section". SEC. 102. Title I of said Act, as amended, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: "INSURANCE OF MORTGAGES "SEC. 8. (a) To assist in providing adequate housing for families of low and moderate income, particularly in suburban and outlying areas, this section is designed to supplement systems of mortgage insurance under other provisions of the National Housing Act by making feasible the insurance of mortgages covering properties in areas where it is not practicable to obtain conformity with many of the requirements essential to the insurance of mortgages on housing in built-up urban areas. The Commissioner is authorized, upon application by the mortgagee, to insure as hereinafter provided, any mortgage (as defined in section 201 of this Act) offered to him which is eligible for insurance as hereinafter provided, and, upon such terms as the Commissioner may prescribe, to make commitments for the insuring of such mortgages prior to the date of their execution or disbursement thereon: Provided, That the aggregate amount of principal obligations of all mortgages insured under this section and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed $500,000,000. "(b) To be eligible for insurance under this section, a mortgage shall— "(1) have been made to, and be held by, a mortgagee approved by the Commissioner as responsible and able to service the mortgage properly; "(2) involve a principal obligation (including such initial service charges, appraisal, inspection, and other fees as the Commissioner shall approve) in an amount not to exceed $4,750 and not to exceed 85 per centum of the appraised value as of the date the mortgage is accepted for insurance, of a property, urban, suburban, or rural, upon which there is located a dwelling designed principally for a single-family residence, the construction of which is begun after July 1, 1949, and which is approved for mortgage insurance prior to the beginning of construction: Provided, That the mortgagor shall be the owner and occupant of the property at the time of insurance and shall have paid on account of the property at least 5 per centum of the appraised value in cash or its equivalent, or shall be the builder constructing the dwelling, in which case the principal obligation shall not exceed $4,250 and shall not exceed 85 per centum of the appraised value of the property: And provided further, That the Commissioner finds that the project with respect to which the mortgage is executed is an acceptable risk, giving consideration to the need for providing adequate housing for families of low and moderate income, particularly in suburban and outlying areas; (3) have a maturity satisfactory to the Commissioner but not to exceed thirty years from the date of insurance of the mortgage; "(4) contain complete amortization provisions satisfactory to the Commissioner requiring periodic payments by the mortgagor not in excess of his reasonable ability to pay as determined by the Commissioner; "(5) bear interest (exclusive of premium charges for insurance and service charges, if any) at not to exceed 5 per centum per annum on the amount of the principal obligation outstanding at any time; "(6) provide, in a manner satisfactory to the Commissioner, for the application of the mortgagor's periodic payments (exclusive of the amount allocated to interest and to the premium charge which is required for mortgage insurance as hereinafter provided and to the service charge, if any) to amortization of the principal of the mortgage; and "(7) contain such terms and provisions with respect to insurance, repairs, alterations, payment of taxes, service charges, default reserves, delinquency charges, foreclosure proceedings, anticipation of maturity, and other matters as the Commissioner may in his discretion prescribe. |