NAHB Blasts GSE Attackers

The accounting scandal at Freddie Mac has "triggered an opportunistic onslaught" against the housing government-sponsored enterprises that "threatens the economic recovery process," according to the National Association of Home Builders.NAHB chief economist David Seiders said the recession would have been worse and the recovery weaker without the "truly heroic performance" of the housing finance system, which he said is "highly dependent" on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "It's perfectly clear that the presence of the GSEs in the secondary market has lowered the cost of home mortgage credit and assured the ready availability of credit through a broad range of mortgage instruments tailored by the GSEs to the diverse needs of American households," he said. Mr. Seiders said the problems at Freddie Mac have raised legitimate questions, but that "anti-housing factions already have stretched 'regulatory reform' into the areas of mission oversight and program approval. And now we're hearing even more alarming suggestions out of the Treasury Department that would weaken or destroy the GSE status of Fannie and Freddie." One such suggestion, he said, is severing the GSEs' line of credit to the Treasury. The NAHB can be found online at http://www.nahb.com.