A group of more than a dozen Democratic senators recently sent a letter to Bill Pulte, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director, expressing concern about the Trump Administration’s recent discussions about reprivatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The senators asked the FHFA to pause efforts to reprivatize or otherwise alter the enterprises, including relisting their common and preferred stock. Reprivatizing could dramatically raise housing costs for millions of Americans, the senators said.
“Economists have warned that reprivatizing the enterprises could have disastrous effects on the mortgage market, driving up costs for homebuyers even further,” the letter said. “For example, some experts have estimated that mortgage rates could increase by up to 1 percent in the first year of privatization alone.”
The senators submitted a list of questions and requested a response by June 18. The senators also request a briefing to discuss the responses.
The letters signees included Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-Mich), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Banking Committee members U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Van Hollen (D-Mary.), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA).