Senator Revising AH Fund Amendment

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., says he is refining his GSE amendment so that Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's contribution toward an affordable housing fund would be based on the size of their mortgage portfolios rather than their earnings."Right now we are trying to finalize a version that establishes sufficient funds that can be deployed outside the confines of a federal program," Sen. Reed told a National Low-Income Housing Coalition conference. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., blocked Sen. Reed's original proposal to tax the profits of the two government-sponsored enterprises when the committee marked up a GSE regulatory reform bill last summer. Sen. Reed said he has moved to a kind of "tax" on the GSEs' portfolios to fund the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing. Reed's affordable housing amendment also redirects the GSEs' AH goals to help lower-income homebuyers and renters. However, Sen. Reed said the committee is in a "waiting mode" and that he hasn’t seen any effort by Sen. Shelby to move the GSE bill.