Johnson-Crapo Housing Finance Reform Bill Tabled
The Johnson-Crapo Bill—the Senate’s most recent effort to restructure the housing finance system by eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—was tabled after being voted out of committee in a divided 13-9 vote. PCRG supported the efforts of our national partner, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, to defeat the bill which would have a negative impact on access to credit for minorities and lower income borrowers.
The deeply divided committee vote is a clear signal that this bill is dead in the water, and with good reason. Significant changes are needed before it could provide the access to affordable credit guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If this bill became law in its current form, it would be a giant step backward for the working class, people of color, millennials, and other traditionally underserved markets,” said NCRC’s president and CEO John Taylor. “Our system of housing finance is the most successful one in the industrialized world. The overwhelming majority of Americans build wealth through homeownership, and this bill would make it much harder to have that opportunity. Time to go back to the drawing board and develop legislation that works for everyone.”