Citizens Against Government Waste Statement on GSEs Report

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#FannieandFreddie–Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz released the following statement regarding the Department of the Treasury’s reform plan for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

“On September 6, 2008, the nation’s largest housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were placed into conservatorship. Since then, the GSEs have benefitted from weak oversight and lax regulatory supervision, engaged in risky strategies, and conducted activities beyond the limits of their statutory authority, while taxpayers remain on the hook for $5.3 trillion in mortgage obligations. Eleven years is long enough. With the release of this report, the Department of the Treasury has sent a clear message that it is time to reform the housing finance system.”

Highlights from the report include:

• Protecting taxpayers against bailouts through stringent capital and liquidity requirements
• Restricting mission creep and promoting competition in the mortgage finance system
• Transparency in the approval process for the GSEs’ pilot programs that focuses on public input
• Restructuring affordable housing mandates
• Limiting the GSEs’ footprint in the multifamily lending portfolios
• Requiring the GSEs to pay a commitment fee for an explicit government guarantee
• Clarifying the roles of the GSEs and the Federal Housing Administration
• Ending the net worth sweep

CAGW looks forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress to put the GSEs on a sustainable path out of conservatorship and shield taxpayers from the risk of another bailout.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

Contacts

Ally Abrams (202) 467-5310