GSE Bill Seeks Probe of Fannie Lobbying

Fannie Mae's lobbying efforts in 2004 would be the subject of a special study under a newly introduced GSE reform bill to see whether Fannie executives "intended to obstruct" an Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight examination that uncovered a $10 billion accounting scandal at the government-sponsored enterprise.The GSE regulatory reform bill introduced by four Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee directs OFHEO's successor agency to conduct the study. "We are asking for a study to really review and see what happened there," a senior aide told MortgageWire. In 2004, Fannie Mae used its political clout on Capitol Hill to get the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate several "leaks" from OFHEO to the news media that were damaging to Fannie. The HUD IG report raised serious questions about OFHEO's conduct, and several lawmakers called for the replacement of top agency officials. OFHEO's final report on its examination noted that a Fannie Mae lobbyist asked a powerful senator to request the HUD IG investigation. OFHEO can be found at http://www.ofheo.gov.