Cosponsor Resolution Condemning FHFA Director Calabria's Decision to Remove the Preferred Language Question from the Uniform Residential Loan Application

Press Release

Dear Colleague:

We invite you to become an original cosponsor of a resolution condemning Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark A. Calabria's decision to remove the critical borrower's preferred language question from the redesigned Universal Residential Loan Application (URLA).

The URLA is the standardized mortgage application form for all borrowers. Unfortunately, Limited English Proficient (LEP) homebuyers frequently misunderstand the terms of their mortgages due to language barriers, which further complicate the already complex financial process of buying a home. Currently, eight percent of the population of the United States (25.1 million) are LEP individuals. The URLA was revised on October 20, 2017 to include an important preferred language question which Members of Congress, civil rights advocates, and community stakeholders fought vigorously for. The redesigned URLA with the language preference question was scheduled for mandatory implementation by February 1, 2020.

However, this past August, Director Calabria directed the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) to remove the preferred language question as well as the Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling question from the URLA and delay the timeline for its mandatory use to an unspecified future date. The language preference question and housing counseling information were moved to a separate form that lenders are not required to use. This arbitrary decision would allow lenders to avoid using the separate form. This decision was implemented despite the fact that the language preference question clearly stated that lenders were not obligated to communicate in the preferred language of the borrower.

The 2008 financial crisis was compounded by language barriers and it is imperative that we work to better understand the needs of LEP homebuyers as they comprise a growing share of the mortgage market. This is why we condemn Director Calabria's decision to implement this discriminatory as well as unnecessary decision and demand its immediate reinstatement on the URLA form.

If you have any questions or if you would like to cosponsor the resolution, please reach out to Tenzin Pelkyi (Tenzin.Pelkyi@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Green's office or Patrick Bond (Patrick.Bond2@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Garcia's office by COB Friday, November 15th.

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