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Real Estate Harmonization Act

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 25, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Finance and Banking Housing and Property

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6347, the 7(a) Real Estate Harmonization Act, which updates SBA's outdated real estate appraisal threshold for the 7(a) loan guarantee program.

The 7(a) loan program, the SBA's flagship lending product, is a vital source of capital for thousands of small businesses unable to secure financing through traditional lending. Today's bill brings the 7(a) program's real estate appraisal threshold in line with other Federal banking regulators, namely the Fed, OCC, and FDIC. In doing so, it eliminates the burden lenders currently face in having to meet two different standards. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for his leadership on this important issue.

This past spring, Federal banking regulators updated their threshold level for when a State licensed or certified appraisal is required, raising it to $500,000. In order to remain consistent with the rest of the market, SBA's levels should match the market. This bill does this by harmonizing the real estate appraisal threshold for the SBA's 7(a) program with the rest of the marketplace.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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