Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson is calling on the Biden administration to change course on a new federal housing policy.

Under the policy, Mortgage fees will increase for those with high credit scores and fall for those with lower scores.    The White House says the goal is to create more affordable housing and help borrowers with lower scores get into a home.

Johnson said the policy will add fees to the mortgages of buyers with high credit scores and down payments to subsidize less-qualified borrowers.   Johnson and financial officers from 26 other states sent a letter to the President and Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, asking for the policy to be repealed:

“For decades, Americans have been told that they will be rewarded for saving their money and building a good credit score.  This policy turns that time-tested principle upside down. 

The State of Kansas encourages home ownership through a tax-advantaged first-time home buyer savings account. This program allows Kansans to save up to $3,000, or $6,000 for a married couple, per year to a designated first-time home buyer account. Contributions to the account are eligible for a deduction from state income taxes, and the interest earned by the accounts is also exempt from state income taxes.

We all want to increase home ownership across our great country – that’s a central component of the American Dream,” the group wrote. “And we recognize that there’s a gap in access to credit and that low credit scores are a significant barrier to buying a home. Moreover, federal programs exist to address affordable housing assistance and the new policy does nothing to address the shortage of housing inventory.”