Ellison Stands Up for Affordable Mortgages for Working Families

Press Release

Congressman Keith Ellison this week tried to reform Republican legislation in the House Financial Services Committee that would undermine the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage in America. Republicans offered eight bills designed to decrease Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's involvement in the mortgage market, which currently guarantee approximately 70 percent of all new mortgages for American families.

"The thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgage is a staple of middle class families' ability to buy -- and keep -- affordable homes," Ellison said. "By undermining access to these loans, Republicans are foreclosing on the American Dream."

Republicans want to shutter Fannie and Freddie, but have failed to make any proposals about the future design of the mortgage market. Their "piecemeal approach" has been denounced by the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors, and the Center for Responsible Lending.

"House Republicans are looking for anyone to blame for the financial meltdown and foreclosure crisis, as long as it isn't the banks and Wall Street firms that were culpable. They want to re-write the history of the financial collapse, and cast consumers and lower-income homeowners as the villains," Ellison said. "This week Republicans are targeting Fannie and Freddie -- the entities that provide affordable home loans to families that need it the most -- and are ignoring Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers."

Ellison's amendments included:

* Recognizing the importance of the thirty-year fixed rate mortgage as a pathway to middle class homeownership and prosperity, which the Republican legislation ignored.
* Correcting legislative findings that overlooked the Bush Administration's role in placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship.
* Highlighting the excessive pay of CEOs in the private sector by requiring a study to compare the salaries of Fannie and Freddie executives with CEO pay in the private sector, not government workers, as is included in the original bill.
* Requiring the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Inspector General's office to disclose how much taxpayer money is spent on firearms and ammunition for its auditors. Congressman Ellison questions why an agency that oversees Fannie and Freddie would need to be armed.

Source