NOTUS: Top Democrats Want To Know More About Scott Turner’s Interest in Privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Senate Democrats are trying to get Housing Secretary Scott Turner to explain his support for reprivatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — and how such a change would impact homebuyers.

In a letter obtained by NOTUS, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Elizabeth Warren and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked Turner to clarify what role the Department of Housing and Urban Development would play in the process — the Federal Housing Finance Agency is the firms’ regulator, and the Treasury Department holds most of its common stock.

“Reprivatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threatens to raise the cost of mortgages and rent and make it even harder to access credit for purchasing a home. At a time when so many Americans are struggling with housing costs, we must ask why you are choosing as one of your first priorities a policy that only makes it harder for Americans to afford housing,” the senators wrote.

Signed by nearly a dozen Democrats, the letter goes on to ask who Turner plans to include in privatization conversations, and asks what role he intends to play in the process considering “HUD does not play a direct role in oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

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Read the full article here.

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