I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2553 
To establish an interagency Task Force to analyze Federal collateral 
underwriting standards and guidance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2021 
Mr. CLEAVER (for himself and Mr. TORRES of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish an interagency Task Force to analyze Federal 
collateral underwriting standards and guidance, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Estate Valuation 
Fairness and Improvement Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Two Federal agencies, the Federal Home 
Owners’ Loan Corporation and the Federal Housing 
Administration played a major role in the develop-
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ment of the modern home mortgage origination in-
dustry. 
(2) Both Federal agencies explicitly considered 
the racial and ethnic make up of neighborhoods 
when underwriting loans and valuing the real estate 
to be used as home loan collateral. 
(3) Both agencies devalued property or refused 
to make loans secured by property in communities of 
color. 
(4) The harmful consequences of this discrimi-
nation remain unresolved. 
SEC. 3. REAL ESTATE VALUATION TASK FORCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Appraisal Subcommittee 
of the Financial Institutions Examination Council shall fa-
cilitate the establishment and convening of an Interagency 
Task Force on Real Estate Valuation (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(b) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall consist of the 
following members or their designees: 
(1) The Director of the Federal Housing Fi-
nance Agency. 
(2) The Chair of the Board of Directors of the 
Federal National Mortgage Association. 
(3) The Chair of the Board of Directors of the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. 
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(4) The President of the Government National 
Mortgage Association. 
(5) The Chairperson of the Board of Directors 
of one of the Federal home loan banks, selected by 
the Chairpersons of the Boards of Directors of all of 
the Federal home loan banks. 
(6) The Assistant Secretary of the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development who is the Fed-
eral Housing Commissioner. 
(7) The Undersecretary for Rural Development 
of the Department of Agriculture. 
(8) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
(9) The Director of the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection, who shall serve as the Chair-
person of the Task Force. 
(10) The Comptroller of the Currency. 
(11) The Chairperson of the Board of Directors 
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 
(12) The Chairman of the Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System. 
(13) The Chairman of the National Credit 
Union Administration Board. 
(14) The Chairman of the State Liaison Com-
mittee. 
(c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 
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(1) harmonize to the greatest extent possible 
the various collateral underwriting standards and 
guidance of the agencies and entities represented on 
the Task Force governing residential and commer-
cial real estate valuations, including standards and 
guidance with respect to appraisals, non-traditional 
and alternative methods of providing real estate 
property evaluations such as automated valuation 
models, processes and procedures for managing re-
considerations of value by consumers, and standards 
and guidance with respect to common collateral un-
derwriting challenges, such as energy efficient hous-
ing and limited or inactive markets; 
(2) to the extent that standards or guidance de-
scribed under paragraph (1) are not harmonized, the 
Task Force shall issue a report to Congress explain-
ing why harmonization cannot or should not be im-
plemented; 
(3) establish specific definitions for limited or 
inactive housing markets in which comparable sales 
are limited or unavailable over a certain period of 
time, and establish greater flexibilities and guidance 
for appraisals and any underwriting processes asso-
ciated with appraisals conducted in such markets, 
such as the ability to consider market evidence for 
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similar properties in other geographic areas or uti-
lizing a range of value; 
(4) aggregate data across Task Force members 
and conduct a study to determine whether there are 
racial disparities at both the borrower and commu-
nity level in the valuation and price of the residential 
real estate to be used as collateral for mortgage ap-
plications processed by Task Force members; 
(5) identify specific causes of such racial dis-
parities and— 
(A) adopt changes to address such causes; 
or 
(B) if the Task Force determines that ad-
ditional statutory authority is needed to adopt 
such changes, issue a report to Congress de-
scribing the needed statutory authority; and 
(6) evaluate whether there are any barriers to 
entry that are disproportionately preventing minori-
ties from entering into the appraisal profession, such 
as current minimum requirements established by the 
Appraiser Qualifications Board, the cost and avail-
ability of education, the content of the State ap-
praiser exam questions, or the time it takes to finish 
training. 
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(d) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall convene regu-
larly, including with the advisory committee described 
under subsection (g), to carry out the duties under sub-
section (c) and submit the reports required under sub-
section (f). 
(e) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Each agency and 
entity represented on the Task Force shall share with the 
Task Force any data of the agency or entity necessary 
for the Task Force to carry out the duties of the Task 
Force under this Act. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL.—The Chairperson of the Task 
Force shall submit a report to the Congress not 
later than the expiration of the 24-month period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act de-
tailing the findings and any actions taken to further 
the duties of the Task Force as of such time and de-
scribing any planned efforts and activities. 
(2) ONGOING.—Periodically after the submis-
sion of the report pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Chairperson shall submit reports to the Congress 
setting forth updates of the findings and actions 
taken to further the duties of the Task Force. 
(g) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Task Force shall 
establish an advisory committee to provide advice with re-
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spect to the duties of the Task Force. The advisory com-
mittee shall consist of— 
(1) at least 2 civil rights advocates; 
(2) at least 2 consumer advocates; 
(3) at least 2 real estate appraisers (or rep-
resentatives of real estate appraiser trade groups); 
(4) at least 1 small lender (or representative of 
a trade group for small lenders); 
(5) at least 1 representative of a trade group 
that represents private investors; 
(6) at least 2 representatives of appraisal man-
agement companies or trade groups for such compa-
nies; 
(7) at least 2 individuals who are industry ex-
perts on alternative valuation models; and 
(8) at least 1 representative of the organization 
that adopts the appraisal standards and appraiser 
qualification criteria under title XI of the Financial 
Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act 
of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3331 et seq.). 
(h) SUNSET.—The Task Force shall terminate upon 
the expiration of the 5-year period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 4. PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE AP-
PRAISAL PROFESSION. 
The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 
Enforcement Act of 1989 is amended— 
(1) in section 1103(a) (12 U.S.C. 3332(a))— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
(D) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘a semicolon; 
and’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(7) administer the grant program under sec-
tion 1122(j).’’; 
(2) in section 1106 (12 U.S.C. 3335)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be-
fore ‘‘The Appraisal Subcommittee’’; 
(B) by striking the comma after ‘‘com-
ment’’; 
(C) by inserting before ‘‘Any regulations’’ 
the following: 
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—’’; and 
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(D) in subsection (a) (as so designated by 
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph), by adding 
at the end the following: ‘‘The Appraisal Sub-
committee may coordinate, and enter into 
agreements, with private industry stakeholders 
(including appraisal management companies 
and industry associations) to facilitate activities 
and practices that ensure diversity among indi-
viduals newly hired as appraisers in their first 
employment positions in the appraisal indus-
try.’’; and 
(3) in section 1122 (12 U.S.C. 3351), by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(j) GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND 
INCLUSION IN THE APPRAISAL PROFESSION.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Appraisal 
Sub-
committee shall carry out a program under this sub-
section to makes grants to State agencies, nonprofit 
organizations, and institutions of higher education to 
promote diversity and inclusion in the appraisal pro-
fession. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried 
out with amounts from a grant under this Act shall 
be designed to promote diversity and inclusion in the 
appraisal profession, and may include— 
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‘‘(A) funding scholarships; 
‘‘(B) providing training and education; 
‘‘(C) providing implicit bias training for 
appraisers; and 
‘‘(D) other activities as determined appro-
priate to further the purposes of this grant pro-
gram by the Appraisal Subcommittee. 
‘‘(3) ALLOCATION
OF
FUNDS.—In making 
grants under this subsection, the Appraisal Sub-
committee shall— 
‘‘(A) allocate 50 percent of the funds made 
available to Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities or universities with degree pro-
grams approved by the Appraiser Qualifications 
Board or a relevant State regulatory agency 
for— 
‘‘(i) scholarships for students of color 
who want to pursue a career in real estate 
appraisal; and 
‘‘(ii) subsidizing living expenses for 
those students while in training; and 
‘‘(B) allocate 20 percent of the funds to 
cover the cost of fulfilling the experience re-
quirements or other applicable requirements 
that the students described under subparagraph 
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(A) will need to complete in order to become 
appraisers. 
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Appraisal 
Subcommittee may use 1 percent of amounts appro-
priated pursuant to paragraph (6) to cover the ad-
ministrative costs of carrying out this subsection. 
‘‘(5) REPORTS.—For each fiscal year during 
which grants are made under the program under 
this subsection, the Appraisal Subcommittee shall 
submit a report to the Congress regarding imple-
mentation of the program and describing the grants 
made, activities conducted using grant amounts, and 
the number of individuals served by such grants, 
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, and gender. 
‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ap-
praisal Subcommittee for grants under this sub-
section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 
through 2026.’’. 
Æ 
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