WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s housing finance reform plan “has many roads, but there is a viable path forward if Congress is engaged in true bipartisan change. If taken, we can finally move forward with a housing finance system that serves all Americans without putting taxpayers at risk of another bailout,” said David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC).
“There is a way forward, as the report outlines essential elements that already have broad bipartisan support. It maintains access to the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, ensures enough private capital will be in place to protect taxpayers, and provides access to community banks and credit unions essential to an effective, safe and sound system,” said Dworkin.
Unfortunately, the report includes a major dead end that makes bipartisan agreement impossible. It regurgitates the widely disproven false myth that the housing goals caused or contributed to the housing crisis. So many studies have shown that it isn’t true, including those done by the Federal Reserve and the bipartisan commission that investigated the crisis, while the Trump administration’s report could footnote only one that found they had “marginal impact.”
“The housing goals language in the report is a non-starter that undercuts the value of everything else in the paper. And let’s be clear, there’s no getting around Congress on the housing goals. They are written into the law and the civil rights community and a broader group of housing experts, including the National Housing Conference and most of our members have made clear, we won’t accept any back-tracking on this critical element of the system.”
NHC believes any reform must ensure access to affordable and sustainable mortgage credit to broadly serve homeownership-ready borrowers through a variety of public and private channels, including addressing the homeownership gap for communities of color and the impact of student loan debt on homeownership. We also believe that housing finance reform should sustain, strengthen and modernize FHA’s capacity and flexibility to meet the nation’s housing financing needs while protecting the taxpayer’s investment. A strong and effective FHA is an essential part of America’s housing finance system.
About NHC: The National Housing Conference has been defending the American Home since 1931. We believe everyone in America should have equal opportunity to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community. NHC convenes and collaborates with our diverse membership and the broader housing and community development sectors to advance our policy, research and communications initiatives to effect positive change at the federal, state and local levels. Politically diverse and nonpartisan, NHC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. #OurAmericanHome @natlhousingconf
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