The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has given its approval to the Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which will apportion millions of dollars covering payroll and expenses for Ginnie Mae.
More specifically, the bill provides a total of $98.7 billion in discretionary funding to various government agencies and departments, covering things from transit infrastructure to maritime defense to personnel at the Federal Aviation Administration. Most relevant to the mortgage lending sphere is $78.2 billion in programmatic funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), within which Ginnie Mae — or, formally, the Government National Mortgage Association — operates.
Within that HUD allocation is some $67 million earmarked toward salaries and other operational expenses for Ginnie. The bill’s allocation for Ginnie’s administrative costs is up from $54 million last year.
“This bipartisan bill makes critical new investments to help people keep a roof over their head and safely get to where they need to be—with new funding to hire more air traffic controllers and air and rail safety inspectors, boost our housing supply, sustain rental assistance, improve America’s roads and bridges, and much more,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This bill strengthens our efforts at the federal level to address the housing crisis, invests in improving transportation infrastructure in communities across the country, and will help keep our country moving forward.”
After passing Senate Appropriations through a 28-1 vote, the bill now makes its way to the full Senate. If it is approved there via floor vote, it will also require the approval of the House of Representatives before it is signed into law.
Scott Olson, executive director of the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA), lauded the approval as a win for small lenders.
“CHLA is thrilled to see the Senate boost in funding for Ginnie Mae, which plays a critical role for independent mortgage banks, and particularly for smaller issuers,” he said.
The CHLA was one of seven organizations, joining the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, Housing Policy Council, Leading Builders of America, National Association of Home Builders and National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, that co-signed a letter in June urging Senate and House Appropriations Committee officials to sign off on the bill and its budget increase for Ginnie.
