Administration Releases Housing Finance Reform Proposals

September 6, 2019                                           By: Donna Kimura

Affordable housing leaders raise concerns about potential changes to GSE goals and other moves.

The Trump administration has released wide-ranging plans for housing finance reform that call for replacing the statutory housing goals of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a new system and giving the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) more autonomy.

Affordable housing leaders are keeping a close eye on these proposals and others outlined in two separate plans released by the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“It’s really a road map to government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) reform rather than a blueprint,” says David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference. “It includes a mix of ideological red meat for conservatives and practical suggestions and concessions to moderates and liberals. There are different paths you can take. I expect the strategy is to move forward incrementally with Congress as opposed to acting unilaterally, which the administration has enormous power to do.”

However, some moves require congressional approval, including changing the affordable housing goals of the GSEs with a more accountable mechanism...............Read More