Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today announced that the Committee passed “The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,” legislation which includes major efforts to help prevent the rising number of foreclosures, to create more affordable housing for Americans, and to reform the regulation of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in order to improve their role in the housing finance system. The legislation passed by a vote of 19-2.
In an effort to craft a bill that would be supported by both Democrats and Republicans the funding for the proposed National Housing Trust Fund was tapped to pay for the mortgage refinancing included in the legislation. According to the NY Times, “that $500 million would be taken from a new affordable housing fund, which would collect slightly less than half a cent on every dollar of mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.” This funding would be used for one year to insure mortgages through the FHA, then for two more years would be used partly for mortgage insurance and partly for a National Housing Trust Fund, then beginning in the fourth year would be used completely for the National Housing Trust Fund.
Click here for the Manager’s Amendment to the bill.
To read the full bill click here.
To read our previous posts on this subject click here.
Tags: Advocacy, foreclosures, National-Housing-Trust-Fund, subprime crisis, Supportive Housing
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