Velázquez Applauds Biden Administration’s Indefinite Extension of Federal Financing Bank Risk-Sharing Program

Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement after the Biden administration announced the indefinite extension of the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) Risk-Sharing program as part of a series of new actions to support affordable housing:
 
           “Since the creation of the FFB Risk-Sharing program under the Obama administration, the program has emerged as a proven tool to successfully expand affordable housing and empower local housing development agencies at zero risk to taxpayers. As our nation’s housing crisis puts extreme pressure on working families, we must empower existing initiatives that expand our affordable housing stock.
 
          “That’s why I have fought to protect this critical program for years. When President Trump discontinued the program, I rallied my colleagues to call for its preservation and introduced the first bill to expand and reimplement it.
 
          “Since the program’s resumption by the Biden administration, FFB Risk-Sharing has supported nearly $2 billion in FHA-insured loans that have helped create or preserve more than 12,000 units of affordable housing. Last week, I co-led a letter with House and Senate colleagues calling on the President to cement these benefits moving forward by permanently extending the program. I’m grateful that the Biden administration heeded our call to indefinitely extend the program as part of a broad set of actions to build more housing and lower housing costs.
 
          “However, the federal government must do more as the housing crisis jeopardizes the right to safe and affordable housing in New York City and across the country. I will continue to fight in Congress to make the investments necessary to strengthen and expand affordable housing for all.”