Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, announced the committee will markup bipartisan housing finance reform legislation on April 29 at 10:00 A.M. “From the start, members of the committee have been extremely engaged on the issue and have demonstrated a sincere interest in advancing reform in a bipartisan manner,” Johnson said. “I look forward to a thoughtful debate in committee as we seek to move reform one step closer to the finish line.” “It is critical that we vote on reforming our broken housing system,” Crapo said. “We have produced a strong, bipartisan product, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this legislation forward and end the five year-plus status quo.” In mid-March, Johnson and Crapo unveiled a bipartisan housing finance reform proposal that used Senators Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner’s, D-Va., bill, S.1217, as the framework.
Johnson and Crapo’s proposal is designed to protect taxpayers from bearing the cost of a housing downturn; promote stable, liquid and efficient mortgage markets for single-family and multifamily housing; ensure that affordable, 30-year, fixed-rate, prepayable mortgages continue to be available, and that affordability remains an important consideration; provide equal access for lenders of all sizes to the secondary market; facilitate broad availability of mortgage credit for eligible borrowers in all areas and for single family and multifamily housing types.
The legislative text can be found here, the section-by-section of the legislation can be found here, and a detailed summary can be found here.
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