124 STAT. 2164 PUBLIC LAW 111–203—JULY 21, 2010 ‘‘(g) OFFICE OF HOUSING COUNSELING.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, in the Depart- ment, the Office of Housing Counseling. ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—There is established the position of Director of Housing Counseling. The Director shall be the head of the Office of Housing Counseling and shall be appointed by, and shall report to, the Secretary. Such position shall be a career-reserved position in the Senior Executive Service. ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall have primary responsibility within the Department for all activities and matters relating to homeownership counseling and rental housing counseling, including— ‘‘(i) research, grant administration, public out- reach, and policy development relating to such coun- seling; and ‘‘(ii) establishment, coordination, and administra- tion of all regulations, requirements, standards, and performance measures under programs and laws administered by the Department that relate to housing counseling, homeownership counseling (including maintenance of homes), mortgage-related counseling (including home equity conversion mortgages and credit protection options to avoid foreclosure), and rental housing counseling, including the requirements, standards, and performance measures relating to housing counseling. ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS.—The Director shall carry out the functions assigned to the Director and the Office under this section and any other provisions of law. Such functions shall include establishing rules necessary for— ‘‘(i) the counseling procedures under section 106(g)(1) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(h)(1)); ‘‘(ii) carrying out all other functions of the Sec- retary under section 106(g) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, including the establishment, operation, and publication of the availability of the toll-free telephone number under paragraph (2) of such section; ‘‘(iii) contributing to the distribution of home buying information booklets pursuant to section 5 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604); ‘‘(iv) carrying out the certification program under section 106(e) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(e)); ‘‘(v) carrying out the assistance program under section 106(a)(4) of the Housing and Urban Develop- ment Act of 1968, including criteria for selection of applications to receive assistance; ‘‘(vi) carrying out any functions regarding abusive, deceptive, or unscrupulous lending practices relating to residential mortgage loans that the Secretary con- siders appropriate, which shall include conducting the study under section 6 of the Expand and Preserve Home Ownership Through Counseling Act;
