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发帖数: 1247 | 1 这消息好像没有人留意到，雅虎版上有人挖到这条消息，貌似这轮又要涨了。
Waters to Release Rival GSE Bill
by Victoria Finkle
SEP 10, 2013 4:39pm ET
WASHINGTON — Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial
Services Committee, said Tuesday that she is preparing to unveil an
alternative housing finance reform proposal to rival more conservative
legislation backed by many House Republicans.
Waters criticized the GOP plan, spearheaded by Financial Services Committee
Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, during a speech Tuesday at the National
Association of Federal Credit Unions congressional caucus, arguing that it
seeks "a radical remake that is not viable."
"Housing finance reform must maintain an affordable 30-year fixed rate
mortgage, protect taxpayers by making any guarantee fully paid for, support
affordable rental housing and importantly, ensure that all financial
institutions including credit unions can equally participate," she said
during the speech.
Hensarling's bill, called the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners
Act, would unwind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and remove a government
guarantee from the secondary market. The legislation was introduced in July
and passed the committee largely down party lines later that month, though
questions now remain over whether the bill will move to the House floor,
particularly after the issue was left off of a fall legislative agenda
released by Majority Leader Eric Cantor late last week.
Democrats, including Waters, have been vocal in their opposition to
Hensarling's bill, warning that it would undermine the 30-year mortgage and
fails to help low-income borrowers and renters. During her remarks on
Tuesday, Waters said she would pursue an "alternative approach" that aligns
with a set of principles House Democrats released in July.
Waters said that her legislation would be "quite different" from Hensarling'
s bill, noting that it's still an open question whether that legislation has
adequate support to move to the House floor.
Hensarling is said to be in ongoing talks with lawmakers outside of the
banking panel, working to round up the necessary 218 votes for passage.
While some in the caucus support his efforts to push a free market-oriented
proposal, others are said to have concerns about removing the government
guarantee against the wishes of numerous stakeholders, including the
homebuilders and realtors.
"As you know the PATH Act is not moving, it's not going anywhere, it's not
been scheduled for the floor, and I think that it's because they don't have
the support — certainly not from our side of the aisle and of course they'
re divided on the Republican side," the California Democrat told reporters
after the speech.
But Waters did not provide details on what her bill will contain or when it
would be unveiled. One key issue is whether her bill will include elements
of legislation introduced by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Bob Corker, R-
Tenn., which is a bipartisan attempt at GSE reform.
"The big question for the substance of her bill is whether it is similar to
Corker-Warner, with more robust affordable and multifamily housing
provisions, or does it just enshrine something closer to the status quo?"
said Brandon Barford, a vice president at ACG Analytics.
He added that the principles put forward by House Democrats were "very much
aimed at a middle-class audience" and not the "affordable housing groups
that she has so long championed and been the voice for," calling it a "very
measured document."
"The order of how things were ranked in it are also not necessarily
reflective of what her personal priorities have been, which perhaps suggests
she is trying to evolve as a ranking member and she knows that her best
hope to rally the caucus and impact the debate is to drop the more left-
leaning wish list of issues and focus on tangible outcomes for the middle-
class," said Barford.
While analysts said it's extremely unlikely the effort would come up for a
standalone vote in the committee or on the House floor, legislation authored
by Waters and other House Democrats could ultimately play into the
formation of a final housing reform bill.
"The PATH Act needs to be moderated in order to be supported by industry
groups or House Democrats. So for the House Democrats to have tangible
language on paper that would reinforce the importance of the 30-year
mortgage will help all parties move toward the medium-term goal, which is a
conference committee," said Isaac Boltansky, a policy analyst for Compass
Point Research & Trading. "Work by congressmen like Waters will overall
advance the effort." | u**********n
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