Congress passed a combined spending proposal (H.R. 2112) that includes an increase in the limits on mortgages held by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are left untouched. A forthcoming study by The Heritage Foundation demonstrates how federal intervention in the… Read more
In one spectacularly misguided move, a House–Senate conference committee has taken a step that will expand the federal presence in the housing markets, preserve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and damage the near-bankrupt Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in the name of helping the housing sector to recover. One small provision… Read more
Abstract: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the government-sponsored mortgage giants—must be shut down. Both entities distort the market by issuing mortgage-backed securities with subsidized government guarantees that the mortgages will be repaid. If such guarantees are necessary, they should be priced and issued by the… Read more
Testimony before Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Committee on Financial Services … Read more
The housing market is still weak,[1] and federal regulators are considering a regulation that could make matters even worse. Known as the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rule, the draft rule could have the effect of requiring many home buyers to have at least a 20 percent down payment… Read more
While much of the press attention has focused on other parts of the budget plan put forth by Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI), a key provision is its call for an end to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two housing giants that essentially failed and were taken over by their… Read more
Given the task of producing a plan to develop a new housing finance system in light of the 2008 crisis and the failure of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—a task that everyone agrees will be extremely complex—the Obama Administration decided to punt. Rather than one detailed plan, it produced… Read more
The era of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is over, and it is time to formally close them down. The activities of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) played a major role in the 2008 financial crash and have so far cost taxpayers over $150 billion to cover their losses; more… Read more
Abstract: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently held a meeting to discuss what the future housing finance system should do and look like. However, he discouraged discussion of what caused the crisis in the housing market. Regrettably, the consensus view from the panel called for… Read more
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market in late 2006 set in motion a chain reaction of economic and financial adversity that has spread to global financial markets, created depression-like conditions in the housing market, and pushed the U.S. economy to the brink of recession. In response, many in Congress and the executive branch have… Read more
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market in late 2006 set in motion a chain reaction of economic and financial adversity that has since spread to nearly all sectors of the economy, as well as to global financial markets, has created depression-like conditions in the housing market, and has led the American economy… Read more
After weeks of negotiations, a congressional conference committee has finally come to an agreement on a financial regulation bill. Weighing in at close to 2,000 pages, the legislation represents the largest expansion of Washington’s role in the financial industry since the Great Depression. Final votes are expected in the House… Read more
Sunday's announcement by the Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve seems to have cooled the immediate crisis concerning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, their plan does nothing to resolve the fundamental cause of the problem, and without major structural reforms in the housing finance industry, it is probable that… Read more
The misguided federal policy to concentrate the U.S. mortgage finance industry in two huge government-sponsored entities...… Read more
On Friday, December 9, 2011, Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), with several cosponsors, introduced H.R. 3630, the "Middle...… Read more
House investigators are alleging a White House double standard in its rhetoric toward executive compensation for large...… Read more
Government programs cannot stop the decline in housing prices. The latest evidence of this comes from a study of...… Read more
Undeterred by the underperformance of several previous efforts at mortgage refinancing, the Obama Administration has...… Read more
News reports say that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will sue about 12 major banks in order to recover some...… Read more
The Washington Post reports that President Obama wants the federal government to continue to have a major role in...… Read more
U.S. taxpayers were reminded on Friday (and again this morning) that our long national Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...… Read more
Four years after home values in America plummeted, fears over America's housing market remain. In testimony before...… Read more
After more than a year of delay, the House Financial Services Committee is finally starting work on legislation that...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions