WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 30, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb) today applauded the intense work being done to put final touches on bipartisan legislation to protect taxpayers from future bailouts of the housing market. Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) plan a committee vote Thursday on the bill.
“I commend our committee leaders for their commitment to addressing our broken housing finance system,” Johanns said. “We are finally lifting Fannie and Freddie off the shoulders of taxpayers, who as of today, are inexcusably still on the hook for a bailout. I’ve been proud to be part of the bipartisan group of problem-solvers who got this ball rolling and I’m pleased the bill has broad support in committee. I am eager to get this bill across the finish line and finally put the private sector back in the mortgage business, after five years of being propped up by the government.”
Johanns worked with Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) to craft the bipartisan legislation Johnson and Crapo are using as a foundation for the Banking Committee’s proposal. The Corker-Warner-Johanns bill – S. 1217, which stands before the committee this week – takes taxpayers off the hook for future bailouts, winds down
government-supported Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, preserves the 30-year fixed
rate mortgage and ensures access to the mortgage market for small lenders.
