Duval Times

Senator Rick Scott has voiced concerns about housing policies from the Biden administration, which he considers damaging to both taxpayers and borrowers. In a letter to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Scott acknowledged Turner's efforts with the Trump administration in reversing these policies and highlighted issues with mortgages insured under Biden's Federal Housing Administration.

Senator Scott specifically pointed to delinquency rates among low-income homeowners, alleging they have reached levels not seen since the 2008 housing crisis. He stated, "Throughout the four years of the Biden-Harris administration, we saw how their reckless decisions made life harder for American families."

The letter criticized the previous administration's underwriting standards, noting that "nearly two-thirds of all borrowers whose mortgages were insured by the FHA had a debt-to-income ratio greater than 43%." The letter also mentioned that default rates have exceeded those from the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.

To prevent foreclosures, the Biden administration implemented the Payment Supplement loss mitigation option, which Senator Scott argues worsened the debt situation for borrowers by adding missed payments to the principal owed. "This only delayed and worsened the consequences for homeowners," Scott's letter claims.

The senator expressed concern that these policies "set tens of thousands of borrowers up for failure, with U.S. taxpayers on the hook." He emphasized the need for immediate action to address the situation and safeguard the FHA insurance fund, urging a return to "fiscally prudent underwriting standards" and addressing the remaining impacts of the Payment Supplement program.

Scott looks forward to collaboration with Secretary Turner to rectify the situation, aiming to restore the feasibility of homeownership for American families.