House Republican leaders have included a hike in GSE guarantee fees in their bill to extend a payroll tax holiday that is similar to a Senate version, which means seller/servicers could be facing higher g-fees next year.
House and Senate leaders are promising to pass a payroll tax bill by the end of this month to prevent a tax increase on January 1 that would cost the average worker $1,000 a year.
The House bill (H.R. 3630) calls for a g-fee increase of at least 10 basis points over two years, which would raise $35.7 billion in revenue over the next decade. The bill drafted by Senate Democratic leaders calls for a 12.5 bp hike that would raise $38 billion over 10 years.
But House and Senate leaders will need to have serious negotiations before a passable bill is sent to President Obama.
Currently, both parties are trying to score political points. The House version expedites approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project that the president has deferred until next year, while the Senate includes a surtax on millionaires that the GOP strongly opposes.
However, both bills call for Fannie and Freddie to charge "uniform" g-fees. In other words, the GSEs could no longer provide volume discounts to the largest lenders and charge smaller lenders higher g-fees.
In a surprise move, the House bill also includes a National Flood Insurance Program reform bill that the House of Representatives passed in July by a 406-22 vote. It extends the NFIP program for five years.
Efforts to pass a similar reform bill in the Senate have been bottled up in the Banking Committee. The Senate recently passed a six-month extension of the flood insurance program. The House has now countered with a five-year extension with significant reforms and premium increases.
