Hearing Of The House Committee On Financial Services - Housing Finance - What Should The New System Be Able To Do?: Part I- Government And Stakeholder Perspectives

Statement

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the Ranking Republican Member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, made the following opening statement at today's Financial Services Committee hearing titled, "Housing Finance-What Should the New System Be Able to Do?: Part I-Government and Stakeholder Perspectives":

"I would like to thank the Chairman for holding this hearing today on a subject that many of my colleagues and I believe needs immediate attention by the Congress: the future of the Government Sponsored Enterprises. Our nation's housing finance system is slowly recovering from the economic downturn; however, the system is being dominated by the GSEs and the Federal Housing Administration. We need to work together to restore a strong private market presence in housing finance.

"As many of my colleagues know, the FHA is facing serious challenges with their capital reserve levels. I am pleased that Secretary Donovan and Commissioner Stevens are taking a pro-active approach in seeking a bipartisan consensus to resolve FHA's challenges. We are still working through this process.

"Unfortunately, the same commitment to reaching a consensus cannot be said for the Administration's approach to the GSE's. Despite the complete collapse of Fannie and Freddie in 2008 and the massive taxpayer exposure, the Administration chose to barely mention the reform of these entities in their budget this year.

"The time for action is now. Republicans on this Committee have put forth a statement of principles on GSE reform and we stand ready to work towards a bipartisan solution to this issue. The federal government should not be playing this large of a role in our nation's housing finance system. We need to begin determining the future of the GSEs and what the appropriate role for the government is in housing finance.

"I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and thank them for joining us today."

Source