Republicans Seek to Block Housing Funds Payments

As I wrote in my post dated December 14, 2014, entitled "Fannie / Freddie To Make Housing Fund Payments" Mel Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ordered FNMA and FHLMC to make their payments to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund as required under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The GSEs never made a payment to the housing funds since that legislation was passed.  Now House Republicans, led by representative Ed Royce (R-California) are about to introduce a bill entitled "Pay Back the Taxpayers Act of 2015".

The measure, which has not yet been introduced by Representative Royce, would prohibit the GSEs from making the payments to the federal housing funds as required under the 2008 legislation, past, present and future. The measure would also require that any payments made by the GSEs be turned over to the Department of the Treasury to be applied to the federal budget deficit.  This was announced on the heels of Royce's criticism of Mel Watt for putting the taxpayers at risk by allowing the GSEs to make 97% LTV loans.

The House Republicans have been a concern for several years and they do not appear to have things quite straight yet.  I hope these actions by Representative Royce are not an indication of things to come from House Republicans.