To leave the door open for GSE reform, two Democrats and two Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee are co-sponsoring a bill to prevent Congress from tapping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for additional revenue to pay for other government programs.
The bipartisan bill would prohibit Congress from raising GSE guarantee fees to offset other government spending. Last year,
“The reality is that if Congress were to spend g-fee revenue from the GSEs on other programs, reforming these mortgage behemoths would become nearly impossible,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., David Vitter, R-La., and Corker are co-sponsors of the “Jumpstart GSE Reform Act.”
The bill also prohibits the Treasury Department from selling GSE-preferred shares without congressional approval. In exchange for bailing out Fannie and Freddie in 2008, Treasury has received preferred stock from the two secondary market agencies.
“We know our housing finance system is not sustainable in the current form, and this legislation will keep us on a path to accomplish real reforms,” Warren said.
