Bills Sec. 525 — Officers and personnel

The Board shall appoint a Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the FHA, and, except as provided in subsections

(b)and (c), such other officers as are provided for in the bylaws of the FHA. The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the FHA shall be executive officers of the FHA and shall discharge and perform all such executive functions, powers, and duties as may be prescribed by the bylaws of the FHA or by the Board of Directors. There shall be in the FHA a Chief Risk Officer, who— shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the FHA; shall be selected from among individuals who possess demonstrated ability in the general management of, and knowledge of and extensive practical experience in, risk evaluation practices in large governmental or business entities; shall be— responsible for all matters relating to managing and mitigating risk to the mortgage insurance programs of the FHA and ensuring the performance of mortgages insured by the FHA; and responsible for all matters relating to managing and mitigating risk to the housing loans made, insured, or guaranteed under title V of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) and ensuring the performance of such housing loans; shall not be subject to the review or approval of the Board of Directors of the FHA or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the exercise of the responsibilities under subparagraph

(A)or (B), respectively, of paragraph (3); and shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States before submitting to the Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Chief Risk Officer of the FHA and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Directors of the FHA or the Secretary of Agriculture. There shall be in the FHA a Chief Technology Officer, who— shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the FHA; shall be selected from among individuals who possess demonstrated ability in the general management of, and knowledge of and extensive practical experience in, information technology management practices in, large governmental or business entities; shall be— responsible for all matters relating to information technology management relating to the mortgage insurance programs of the FHA; and responsible for all matters relating to information technology management relating to the programs for making, insuring, and guaranteeing housing loans under title V of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.); including analysis and assessment of the information technology infrastructures, information technology strategy, and use of information technology, ensuring the security and privacy of information technology infrastructure and networks, and promoting technological innovation; shall not be subject to the review or approval of the Board of Directors of the FHA or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the exercise of the responsibilities under subparagraph

(A)or (B), respectively, of paragraph (3); and shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States before submitting to the Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Chief Technology Officer of the FHA and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Directors of the FHA, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, or the Secretary of Agriculture. Subject to subtitle D, the Board shall appoint such other employees of the FHA as the Board considers necessary for the transaction of the FHA’s business. The Board shall fix the compensation of all officers and employees of the FHA and define their duties. Officers and employees shall be appointed, promoted, assigned, and removed on the basis of qualifications, and any such actions taken shall be consistent with the principles of fairness, nondiscrimination, and due process. In fixing and directing compensation for officers and employees of the FHA, the Board shall consult and maintain comparability with the compensation provided by the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Comptroller of Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to officers and employees of such entities. The officers and employees of the FHA shall be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. In carrying out its purposes, the FHA may use information, services, staff, and facilities of any executive agency, independent agency, department (including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture), or enterprise (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act of 2018 ) with the consent of the agency, department, or enterprise and shall reimburse the agency, department, or enterprise for the cost of such information, services, staff, and facilities. The FHA may provide for the indemnification of any officer, employee, contractor, or agent of the FHA on such terms as the FHA determines proper, except that, to the extent that the FHA self-insures for any indemnification— the aggregate maximum amount of indemnification outstanding at any time shall not exceed 5 percent of the amount of capital required under section 216 to be maintained by the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund; and not more than $1,000,000 may be paid as an indemnity for any single event. Section 501 of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1471 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: The Chief Risk Officer of the FHA appointed pursuant to section 525(b) of the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act of 2018 shall be solely responsible for all matters relating to evaluating, managing, and mitigating risk to the programs under this title for making, insuring, and guaranteeing housing loans and ensuring the performance of such housing loans. The Chief Technology Officer of the FHA appointed pursuant to section 525(c) of the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act of 2018 shall be solely responsible for all matters relating to information technology management relating to the programs under this title for making, insuring, and guaranteeing housing loans. .

Sec. 525. Officers and personnel