IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 728 
Condemning the decision of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark 
A. Calabria to remove the borrower’s preferred language question and 
the housing counseling question from the Universal Residential Loan 
Application. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. DAVID SCOTT 
of Georgia, and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the decision of Federal Housing Finance Agency 
Director Mark A. Calabria to remove the borrower’s pre-
ferred language question and the housing counseling 
question from the Universal Residential Loan Applica-
tion. 
Whereas 8 percent of the United States population (25.1 mil-
lion) is considered limited-English proficient (LEP); 
Whereas the preferred language question was designed only 
to better understand the unique challenges that LEP per-
sons face throughout the home buying process; 
Whereas language barriers make it especially difficult to navi-
gate the complex process of purchasing a home; 
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•HRES 728 IH 
Whereas over one-third of Asian Americans and Pacific Is-
landers (AAPI) are LEP individuals; 
Whereas Spanish speakers in the United States account for 
64 percent of the United States LEP population; 
Whereas LEP home buyers make up a growing share of the 
mortgage market; 
Whereas communities with larger LEP populations have 
lower home ownership rates; 
Whereas every American, regardless of their race, color, gen-
der, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, dis-
ability, LEP status, or gender identity should have a fair 
and equal opportunity to purchase a home in this coun-
try; 
Whereas the 2008 financial crisis caused countless borrowers 
to lose their homes because language barriers made it im-
possible to comprehend the terms of the loans some of 
them received; 
Whereas access to credit and home ownership is a struggle 
for far too many qualified home buyers who are new 
Americans or immigrants; 
Whereas AAPI and Hispanic home ownership continues to 
fall behind the national average due to a number of fac-
tors, including language barriers and misinformation 
about the home buying process; 
Whereas the Federal Housing Finance Agency should collect 
data on the preferred language of borrowers to better un-
derstand and address the growing needs of LEP home 
buyers; and 
Whereas a standardized question on the Universal Residential 
Loan Application (URLA) indicating the borrower’s pre-
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•HRES 728 IH 
ferred language neither obligates home buyers to respond 
nor mortgage originators and servicers to conduct com-
munications in the preferred language of the borrower: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the decision of Federal Housing 
Finance Agency Director Mark A. Calabria to re-
move the preferred language question from the Uni-
versal Residential Loan Application; and 
(2) urges the Director to immediately reverse 
this arbitrary decision and restore the language pref-
erence question and the Homeownership Education 
and Housing Counseling question to the Universal 
Residential Loan Application. 
Æ 
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