President Barack Obama recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration may need a bailout to the tune of $943 million in taxpayer money to keep the agency afloat. If this were to happen, it would the first time in FHA’s 80-year history that the government-based mortgage insurer would need a bailout.

The FHA is taking on losses as the result of its damaged reverse mortgage portfolio. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan is urging Congress to give the agency the authority to fix its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program. The FHA is looking to limit the maximum upfront draw available to borrowers, require the use of a financial assessment in making a HECM loan, mandate an escrow for mandatory property changes and a change the statutes to clarify the rights and responsibilities of the non-borrowing spouse on a HECM loan; however, they would need Congress’ approval.

The FHA has until September 30 to decide whether to accept the funding. However, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante indicated that might be unnecessary: although the agency has taken on a large number of delinquent loans and a projected budget deficit, it is doing “everything possible to ensure that the impact of these legacy loans … are corrected as soon as possible.”

Right now, the FHA is backing $1.1 trillion of loans and is a primary source of funding for first-time homebuyers and those with modest incomes. In November 2012, an independent audit found that the FHA faced a projected budget deficit of $16.3 billion. Galante said that the FHA’s policy changes, including raising the premiums that borrowers pay, could bring in approximately $18 billion this year. With home prices on the rise, that amount can be even greater.