posted July 10, 2008
U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tn.), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, voted on Thursday for the final piece of a three-part housing package that will modernize the Federal Housing Administration and reform oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“I’m glad we’ve taken another step toward passing legislation to modernize the FHA and strengthen oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Sen. Corker. “I believe these tools will go a long way toward enabling the private sector to stabilize falling housing prices and toward creating safety and soundness guidelines for the lending industry to help prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future.”
For months in Banking Committee hearings, Sen. Corker pressed for modernizing the FHA before expanding its role and exposure to more risky borrowers and made it clear that he could not support Senate passage of housing reform legislation that did not include twice-passed Senate language to modernize the FHA.
“FHA modernization is long past overdue, and by including it in this bill we will allow the private sector to respond to our housing dilemma responsibly,” he said.
Sen. Corker also praised the “long overdue and significant reform to the oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” included in the bill.
“These entities were created to provide liquidity and stability to the conventional conforming loan mortgage market, and strong oversight of their safety and soundness is needed now more than ever. The inferred liability that our taxpayers have as it relates to these entities demands that we have a strong regulator in place and it is time that we move rapidly to do so. This bill is a very positive development to ensure the integrity of these organizations and to ensure that they do not become liabilities to our citizens.”
Sen. Corker voted on Thursday in favor of the final section of a three-part housing package. House amendment #3 to H.R. 3221, the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, passed by a vote of 84 to 12. On June 25, he voted to pass the first and main section of the housing package. The bill will now return to the House.
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