Statement from the National Housing Conference on recent ads attacking bipartisan reform effort
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 8, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Recent attack ads from the 60 Plus Association use scare tactics to get in the way of the housing finance reform that we need to create housing opportunities for Americans. The ads attack senators who have supported the Senate Banking Committee’s bipartisan legislative proposal from Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo, which winds down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and lays out a path to a new, stronger housing finance system that combines a necessary government backstop with regulation and competitive private capital participation all aiming to provide broad access to affordable homeownership and rental homes.
The 60 Plus Association, along with hedge funds and other third party groups who have shown little other interest in housing, is offering misleading information and comparisons in an effort to derail this bipartisan reform effort that has been years in the making. These same hedge funds have recently speculated in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, and they could reap massive profits by keeping the housing finance system in its current state of limbo.
If misinformation gets in the way of creating a new housing finance system, then all of us will lose out. The instability of today’s housing finance system has led to extremely tight credit and the fewest new mortgage originations in fourteen years. Under this system, the teachers, retirees, firefighters, retail workers, and others of modest means referenced in the ads have fewer opportunities to buy homes, refinance homes, or find good homes to rent in their community. Failure to create a stable and liquid secondary mortgage market will have far-reaching implications for the overall economy. While legislation remains a work in progress, our coalition collectively believes it is imperative that we continue moving housing finance reform forward.
Organizations endorsing this statement:
AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust
American Bankers Association
Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
Center for American Progress
Consumer Federation of America
Financial Services Roundtable
Habitat for Humanity International
Housing Partnership Network
Housing Policy Council
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Low Income Investment Fund
Mercy Housing
Mortgage Bankers Association
National Association of Home Builders
National Council of State Housing Agencies
National Housing Conference
National Housing Trust
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Opportunity Finance Network
The Realty Alliance
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About the National Housing Conference
The National Housing Conference (NHC) represents a diverse membership of housing stakeholders including tenant advocates, mortgage bankers, nonprofit and for-profit home builders, property managers, policy practitioners, Realtors®, equity investors, and more, all of whom share a commitment to safe, decent and affordable housing for all in America. We are the nation’s oldest housing advocacy organization, dedicated to the affordable housing mission since our founding in 1931. We are a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together our broad-based membership to advocate on housing issues.
Contact:
Amy Clark
202.466.2121 (ext. 226)
