FHFA: Statement of Director Mark Calabria

Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to appear at today’s hearing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has acted swiftly and prudently to respond to COVID-19. Thanks in part to our efforts, the housing market has largely been a bright spot in the pandemic economic data. We continue to update our policies as the challenges facing renters, borrowers, and market participants evolve.

FHFA’s Actions to Protect Agency Workforce and Maintain Mission Focus

FHFA’s hard-working employees are the Agency’s greatest asset, and their well-being is my top priority. Our teleworking flexibilities have enabled our staff to remain safe and manage at-home obligations, while continuing to fulfill the Agency’s vital mission.

The FHFA team has gone above and beyond in carrying out FHFA’s statutory responsibilities while also rising to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19. In March, our telework test transitioned the very next day into a full-time mandatory telework period for the Agency that is still ongoing. With critical support from the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, FHFA employees quickly adapted to the new environment, allowing the Agency to maintain continuity of operations during this crisis.

The Office of Technology and Information Management has kept the FHFA workforce productive and connected by rapidly deploying remote tools and staff training, meeting employees’ IT equipment needs, and safeguarding the Agency’s network capacity, connectivity, and security. The Office of Facilities Operations Management has established and continually updated protocols and procedures for keeping our employees and headquarters safe and healthy, working tirelessly to provide employees with the equipment and office supplies needed to set up and sustain their remote workstations. The Office of Human Resources Management has been instrumental in ensuring employees have the support they need to remain engaged and productive, including by developing new work schedule and leave flexibilities, expanding the Agency’s Employee Assistance Program, and meeting special accommodation requests resulting from our remote-work posture.

Across the board, the FHFA team has seamlessly transitioned to a virtual environment. This includes the hiring, on-boarding, and training processes that are essential for FHFA to continue developing and retaining a highly talented and effective workforce. The Office of Budget and Financial Management and the Enterprise Program Management Office, working with FHFA’s COVID-19 Task Force, have helped the Agency stay coordinated on the updated guidance provided by various government entities, health officials, and local authorities. I am proud of the flexibility, cooperation, and hard work of every member of the FHFA team during this pandemic.

The Office of Congressional Affairs and Communication has remained engaged with and accessible to members of Congress and their staff. Since March, FHFA’s legislative affairs team has held dozens of remote congressional meetings and briefings to discuss Agency policies and provide technical assistance with legislation. This is a testament to FHFA’s dedicated staff and our ongoing commitment to responding to congressional inquiries in a timely manner, maintaining transparency, and connecting the Agency’s many subject matter experts to legislative staff.

FHFA has also worked closely with our peer financial regulators and other federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 national emergency. Through regular communication channels, FHFA and these agencies continue to share, in real-time, challenges, ideas, and solutions to help each other develop best practices based on the latest guidance available. Timely information sharing has enabled FHFA to respond to evolving COVID-19 related challenges in a rapid, nimble, and effective manner.

We have continued to prioritize our work to foster an environment where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued for our differences. The senseless violence and loss of innocent life that have roiled our nation in recent months – and that have torn apart too many communities across the country for too long – highlight the importance of this work both in the workplace and beyond. They also have strengthened our resolve to uphold the Agency’s core values of fairness, diversity, and inclusion. At the beginning of this year, we established the Office of Equal Opportunity and Fairness in order to elevate equal employment opportunity practices and conflict resolution resources to the division level. As the Agency announced earlier this week, FHFA has hired Debra Chew as the first permanent Director for the office.

I commend FHFA’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) for its steadfast support of the Agency’s workforce during this time. This includes OMWI’s work, with my support, to launch FHFA’s Diversity Advisory Council, which aims to ensure diversity in all aspects of the Agency’s employment and contracting practices and to create regular programs that engage employees on professional and personal diversity and inclusion issues. OMWI is playing an essential role in helping FHFA employees affected by the recent events and tensions across the country, offering training, listening sessions, and other resources. And tomorrow OMWI is partnering with our Office of Human Resources Management to continue recruiting the next generation of FHFA personnel from Historically Black Colleges and Universities at the Atlanta University Center Consortium virtual career fair. This kind of recruitment is only one of the examples of how the Agency continues to build a diverse pipeline of talent for its future workforce. FHFA already has one of the most diverse workforces amongst federal regulatory agencies. Our diversity is – and will remain – a key source of FHFA’s success.

Across all divisions and offices, FHFA’s employees have remained united in our efforts to enable American families to stay safe in their homes during this public health emergency. We have worked closely with our regulated entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), to support borrowers and renters, while ensuring the proper functioning of the mortgage market both during and after this crisis. Our actions have been – and continue to be – data driven.

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