Supports Reforms to Wind Down Housing Finance Giants Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 24, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Following a Senate Banking Subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released a statement on the role of community banks in the housing finance system, and expressed his support for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
“If we continue on the current, unsustainable trajectory without ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, American taxpayers will be on the hook for their future losses,” Senator Kirk said. “I support the bipartisan Corker-Warner reforms that will increase private risk sharing and provide for market liquidity. Illinois has the second-most community banks of any state in America. This legislation will ensure that those and other community banks across the country have access to the secondary mortgage market and continue to provide credit to the communities they serve.”
Background:
Senator Kirk announced his support for the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act, S. 1217, on July 10. The legislation is backed by a bipartisan group of members on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and is led by Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.). S. 1217 would establish a new housing finance system —one void of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that take all the private gain while exposing taxpayers to all the risk. Under the proposed legislation, the new housing finance system would be based on a greater reliance on private capital, while shielding taxpayers from loss, and maintaining a liquid mortgage marketplace. For more information about S. 1217 click here.
Senator Kirk is a member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, which held a hearing today on “Creating a Housing Finance System Built to Last: Ensuring Access for Community Institutions.”
