adminToday, the Senate Banking Committee will discuss housing finance reform, a topic of tension between Republicans and Democrats. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in conservatorship for years, and one bill backed by Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., suggested replacing the two with private entities with access to an insurance fund run by the government in case of catastrophic losses.
That bill was adopted by Banking Committee head Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), who with others may shed light on how to handle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Chief among the issues facing lawmakers is that currently Fannie and Freddie give all of their profits to the U.S. government. “At a time when the Trump administration is pushing tax reform and policymakers are searching for new government revenue, the ‘profit sweep’ is difficult to give up,” said a CU Journal article.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling recently recommitted to a bill that would have eliminated Fannie and Freddie and largely removed the government from the mortgage market. Read the full story here.
