Dodd Seeks FHA/GSE Add-on to Stimulus

Arguing that Congress needs to do something about the "foreclosure crisis," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., says he wants to attach a Federal Housing Administration reform bill and an increase in the GSE loan limit to the economic stimulus package Congress and the White House are working on. Sen. Dodd said he will be meeting with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., to discuss how the House and Senate FHA bills can be reconciled quickly and attached to the stimulus package. "I want to send a bill to the president as soon as possible," Sen. Dodd told reporters. The Connecticut senator also said he supports a temporary increase in the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so the two government-sponsored enterprises can bring liquidity to the jumbo market. But he did not sound optimistic that that would be possible. The chairman also served notice that he has "concerns" about the House-passed GSE regulatory reform bill and that some changes are needed to get the bill through his committee. "I want a strong regulator," he said. "But I am not going to gut the GSEs. It is not going to happen on my watch."