The Honorable Brian D. Montgomery
Assistant Secretary
Housing - Federal Housing Commissioner

Mr. Montgomery came to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from the Executive Office of the President, where he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary from January 2003 until April 2005. While serving in the White House, Mr. Montgomery contributed to the policy process on a wide range of issues including the Administration's efforts to boost homeownership, increase access to affordable housing, and to reform both RESPA and the GSEs. Mr. Montgomery also served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance from January 2001 until January 2003.

Following the Shuttle Columbia accident in February 2003, Mr. Montgomery headed up a White House working group to monitor all facets of the accident investigation. This ultimately led to the process that developed the President's vision for space exploration. For this effort, Mr. Montgomery was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in June 2004.

Since being Senate confirmed at HUD in June 2005, one of Mr. Montgomery's primary initiatives has been the creation and promotion of a bill designed to modernize FHA. The Modernization Bill, which passed the House of Representatives in July 2006, is primarily focused on increasing borrower flexibility through both policy and programmatic changes. Included among them are increased loan limits, updated down payment assistance options, and a risk-based premium structure. The goal of Mr. Montgomery's bill is to provide low and moderate-income borrowers a safe homeownership option at a fair price.

Another one of Mr. Montgomery's priorities while at HUD has been the preservation of affordable multifamily rental housing, achieved primarily through mortgage insurance as well as flexible refinancing options. During Mr. Montgomery's tenure, HUD has gone to great lengths to get legislation passed in the House of Representatives that will preserve more than 900 apartment complexes, allowing for 87,000 additional units of affordable housing.

Mr. Montgomery's time at HUD has also been marked by extensive work with Hurricane Katrina disaster victims. He chaired HUD's Hurricane Recovery and Response Center at Headquarters and helped coordinate and secure temporary and long-term housing for displaced persons.