Fannie Mae (FNMA)

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Jumpstart GSE Reform Bill Reintroduced but Passable Reform at a Standstill

By Carisa Chappell [e-mail]

A streamlined version of the Jumpstart GSE Reform Act, recently reintroduced in Congress then placed on hold and reintroduced again, could be considered before the end of the year.

The bill, sponsored by Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, Mark Warner, D-VA, and Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, would bar the Treasury from selling its stock in the two GSEs and prevent increases in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranty fees to pay for other government spending.

An earlier version of the bill that Corker tried to fast-track through the Senate did not include the prohibition on using g-fees to pay for unrelated government spending. Warren reportedly refused to back that version, and the Senate instead passed a much narrower bill that only repeals pay hikes provided to Fannie?s and Freddie?s chief executive officers this year.

With Congress pressing to enact legislation to keep the government running beyond a short-term continuing resolution, industry groups are concerned that GSE g-fees could be tapped again. For more details, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance.