Mortgage Action Alliance Call to Action Urgest Senate Support of Bill Limiting G-Fee Use
The Mortgage Action Alliance–the grassroots advocacy arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association–issued a Call to Action yesterday, urging its members to contact their senators in support of recently introduced legislation prohibiting Congress from using government-sponsored enterprise guaranty fees for unrelated spending.
S. 1463 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1463), introduced by Sens. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J. would prohibit Congress from counting increases to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s guarantee fees–commonly known as g-fees–as sources of funding for unrelated spending. Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., are co-sponsors.
“G-fees are a critical risk management tool used by the GSEs to protect against losses from loans that default. Increasing these fees makes loans more expensive and raises costs for borrowers,” said MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer.
Killmer noted Congress has appropriated g-fees for other uses before. In 2011, Congress increased g-fees for 10 years to pay for a payroll tax cut for two months.
“This increase has harmed homeowners and continues to do so every day,” Killmer said. “Since then, whenever Congress has considered using g-fees to cover the cost of programs unrelated to housing, whether for highway reauthorization legislation in 2015, the Administration’s FY 2019 budget proposal, immigration reform, or Gulf Coast restoration, industry advocates have used MAA to send direct and emphatic messages to lawmakers that homeownership cannot, and must not, be used as the nation’s piggybank.”
The Call to Action urges members to ask their senators to sign on as bill co-sponsors. The form is available at https://action.mba.org/mba/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=500038&_zs=rPPPA1&_zl=AXK75.
Membership in MAA is free; for more information, click https://registration.mba.org/login/maalogin.aspx?_zs=rPPPA1&_zl=BXK75.
