If the Senate fails to resolve the debt ceiling in time, the federal government’s credit rating will likely be downgraded to “restricted default.” So, too, will the ratings on GSE debt.
The fee, passed a decade ago to help pay for a temporary payroll tax cut, expired Oct. 1. Democrats resurrected it for another decade to help pay for infrastructure priorities.
Despite early criticism of Senate plans to use the 10-basis-point g-fee to help pay for a bipartisan infrastructure bill, industry groups have been more muted since the text of the bill became public.
Big-league housing groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors, warned senators not to use the g-fee as “the nation’s piggybank.”
Craig Phillips, senior counselor to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, recounts the Trump administration’s difficulties in ending the net worth sweep and the conservatorships.
Veteran analyst Dick Bove says tapering by the Federal Reserve and meddling by the FHFA will eventually force the Biden administration to address housing-finance reform.
Mortgage industry observers increasingly argue that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be regulated as utilities. But conservative critics say, “Not so fast.”
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-PA, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, this week indicated the GOP may be ready to compromise on key issues related to GSE reform.