The Trump administration today recommended a major reorganization of the federal government. The president’s recommendations for reforming GSEs (p.75) would make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fully private, shrink them, and effectively eliminate their affordable housing goals.
Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, made the following statement:
“Today, the Trump administration released their latest assault on America’s working class. The President’s recommendation to abolish the affordable housing goals would be disastrous for young Americans. It would extract a lifetime of rent from families and millenials who currently qualify for a mortgage. This demonstrates the influence of industry lobbyists on this administration.
“By eliminating affordable housing goals from the conventional mortgage market, lenders can choose to loan only to the well-heeled rich and ignore everybody still working their way up the economic ladder. For 25 years, the affordable housing goals at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac enabled the American Dream to become real for millions by helping credit-worthy people access mortgages.
“I understand the desire to tackle GSE reform. The enterprises are more profitable, more stable and better-regulated than at any point in history. But GSE reform without an affordable housing mandate is not reform, it’s a retreat. Home ownership is near a 50 year low and the entire GOP policy agenda will make it harder for average Americans to build wealth for their families. It will be devastating for the working class. It will divide us even further.”
