Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[obiterdictum]

It is not an error and it is not scurrilous trickery. It is a legislative obfuscation performed knowingly by Johnson and Crapo.

There is no Johnson-Crapo "bill," that is, a bill sponsored by one of the two and then co-sponsored by the other and some other committee and Senate members. Such a bill would need to be introduced by a single Senator to the Senate where, if there is no objection to it, it would be referred to the appropriate committee and, in this case, the Senate Banking Committee. The bill then would be entered by the Clerk into the Senate Journal and given a number. Then a bill clerk enters this into ledgers and the Legislative Information System and the bill is made ready for printing. Once that is done, the bill is sent to the Government Printing Office where it is printed with copies going to House and Senate document rooms and digital files sent to the Legislative Information System for the Senate (https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/g_three_sections_with_teasers/legislative_home.htm).
Once all of this is completed, printed copies are delivered to the Senate Banking Committee.

I could not find the Johnson-Crapo "bill" in any legislative archive and could not see a schedule for the markup of said "bill."

When the markup was scheduled for Corker-Warner, it suddenly dawned that Johnson and Crapo put out carefully worded messages through press releases that never said "bill" though it was easily misconstrued as a bill that they authored by the media.

What they said was "bipartisan compromise," "agreement," "proposal," "forthcoming legislation," "bipartisan housing finance reform agreement," "comprehensive, bipartisan plan." They never said it was a bill or a new bill but that was how it was taken and then presented by the media and then repeated everywhere else.

What the facts show now is that Johnson and Crapo came up with an amendment in the nature of substitute. The Johnson and Crapo amendment in the nature of a substitute is an amendment that will be offered to replace the Corker-Warner (S.1217) text in its entirety with Johnson-Crapo's text in full.

This was a deliberate effort to keep the DOA Corker-Warner bill out of the limelight because of the negative feedback it received and that surrounded S. 1217 and to make it seem like a new bill was being proposed, even though they never once said so. The media were taken in and we had the impression of a new bill on the legislative rather than a markup proffered amendment. What sounds more impressive, a new bill or an amendment to Corker Warner?

Now we know it is an amendment to Corker-Warner that needs to be voted on like any other amendment. And the Johnson-Crapo amendment can have amendments to it and these need to be voted on. And then the whole shebang has to be voted on to pass committee.

This explains why Corker-Warner is scheduled for markup; why the Johnson-Crapo text was not submitted as an official bill referred to committee and archived with its own bill number; why the discussion draft retains the same bill number and title as Corker-Warner (with the exception of the year) and; the fact that the heading material of the discussion draft says Amendment No. and Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.

So, on Tuesday, April 29th, Johnson-Crapo's amendment in the nature of a substitute will be submitted and possibly voted on for acceptance as a complete substitute for Corker-Warner.

Will there be other amendments to Corker-Warner offered on Tuesday? Will there be amendments to the johnson-Crapo amendment in the nature of a substitute? Will there be a vote for acceptance or denial of the substitute bill amendment and any additional amendments to Corker-Warner or the Johnson-Crapo amendment in the nature of a substitute proffered on Tuesday?

We will soon find out all.

Source:
Johnson-Crapo's amendment in the nature of a substitute
http://www.banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=512757b1-e595-4b85-8321-30d91e368849

See: Johnson and Crapo press releases on Housing Finance Reform from December 17, 2013 till March 28, 2014 for wording used instead of amendment in the nature of a substitute for Corker-Warner.
http://www.banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressReleases