U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and French Hill (R-AR) recently sent correspondence to House Committee on Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters to call on Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra L. Thompson to testify before the Committee during its housing hearing on June 29.
McHenry, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, and Hill, the top Republican on the Housing, Community Development, and Insurance Subcommittee, want Thompson to testify specifically regarding increased threats facing the housing finance system.
The legislators said that Committee Democrats have not conducted an oversight hearing with any of the housing finance regulators in nearly two years, and Thompson has not testified before the Committee.
“Prior to now, the Committee received testimony from the FHFA Director at least once a year since 2017,” the legislators wrote. “Failure to bring up Director Thompson is also in direct violation of Section 1103(e) of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (12 USC 4513(e)), which requires annual testimony before the Committee from the Director as a member of the Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board. This is a duty that cannot be delegated.”
The Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) regulated by FHFA presently own or guarantee more than $7.5 trillion in mortgage debts. GSEs spearheaded offering COVID-related loan forbearance to 8.1 million borrowers during the pandemic, game-changing flexibility for homeowners that would have been impossible without a coordinated plan and effort.
“It is inconceivable to us that our Committee would have a conversation about the long-term impacts of the housing market without first hearing the Director’s plans to strengthen the safety and soundness of the GSEs in these turbulent times,” the legislators concluded. “The threats to the safety and soundness of our housing finance system are mounting.”