Representative French Hill (R-AR) introduced the “GSE Review and Reform Act” (H.R. 5505) that would require the U.S. Department of Treasury to study ways of ending the conservatorship of government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on an annual basis. The bill updates the “Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010,” which required Treasury to perform a one-time study in 2011.
The bill would require the study to analyze the federal government’s role in housing finance, the structure of housing finance to support the availability of 30-year fixed rate mortgages, and the impact of reforms on the rental market, among other things. When Treasury was working on its initial report, advocates reached out to the agency to underscore the need to maintain funding for the national Housing Trust Fund under any housing finance reform (see Memo, 1/14/11).
“There has been no progress toward moving these federally dependent GSEs out of the conservatorship,” Mr. Hill said when introducing H.R. 5505. “My bill would force Treasury to study this issue and present its recommendations to Congress at least once a year, creating engagement on the best path forward on housing finance reform to end taxpayer exposure and ensure access to mortgage credit for Americans.”
Learn more about the bill at: http://1.usa.gov/28PfaB2
Read Representative Hill’s press release at: http://1.usa.gov/28ZLfsy