NAHREP has been invited to participate in a series of working groups with industry leaders and the administration where we provide input on the Johnson-Crapo GSE reform bill before it goes to Congress for a vote.
The housing market accounts for nearly 20 percent of the American economy, so it is critical that we have a strong and stable housing finance system that is built to last. The status quo in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship is not a sustainable option for our nation’s housing finance system. In an effort to address these concerns and find bipartisan consensus, the Senate Banking Committee hosted an in-depth series of hearings and briefings in the fall of 2013 exploring essential elements necessary for reform. Building on Senator Corker and Warner’s bill S.1217 and what was learned throughout the Committee process, Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo released a bipartisan draft that is designed to protect taxpayers from bearing the cost of a housing downturn; promote stable, liquid, and efficient mortgage markets for single-family and multifamily housing; ensure that affordable, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages continue to be available, and that affordability remains a key consideration; provide equal access for lenders of all sizes to the secondary market; and facilitate broad availability of mortgage credit for all eligible borrowers in all areas and for single-family and multifamily housing types.