220 N. Santa Fe St., Visalia, CA 93292 Tel: (559) 713-4512 Fax: (559) 713-4800 City of Visalia
Office of the Mayor
July 19, 2022
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Alex Padilla
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Connie Conway
1013 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senator Feinstein, Senator Padilla, and Representative Conway, As you may know, the HELPER Act of 2021 (S. 2981/H.R. 3172) is bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would amend the National Housing Act to establish a mortgage insurance program for first responders and teachers in the model of the VA Home Loan Program. The City of Visalia would benefit greatly from this reform as it would make housing more affordable for these public servants and help the City recruit and retain these critical workers. With that in mind, we ask that you cosponsor this legislation.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, first responders and educators have continued to answer the call to serve our community, however, some of them face financial obstacles when buying a home in today’s competitive housing market, and as a result are often unable to achieve homeownership in the City.
The HELPER Act addresses this by establishing a new home loan program, administered under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), that creates a process for first responders and educators to affordably purchase a home. Specifically, the HELPER Act:
Creates a one-time use home loan program under the FHA for law enforcement officers, firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), paramedics, and pre-K-12 teachers; Eliminates a down payment requirement;
Eliminates a monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) requirement; Requires a 3.6 percent upfront mortgage insurance (UFMI) premium to ensure the solvency of the program; and Requires the program to be reauthorized after five years.
The HELPER Act currently has 11 cosponsors in the Senate, while the House companion bill has 74 cosponsors. The House legislation is cosponsored by six members of the California delegation: Reps. Josh Harder, Jimmy Panetta, David Valadao, Lou Correa, Salud Carbajal, and Mike Levin.
A home loan program that provides access to affordable homeownership is a much-needed benefit for our first responders and teachers. Thank you for your consideration of this request and please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Steve Nelsen, Mayor
City of Visalia
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Steven A. Nelsen
Mayor
Brian Poochigian
Vice Mayor
Gregory F. Collins
Councilmember
Brett Taylor
Councilmember
Liz Wynn
Councilmember