A bill to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was approved today by the House Financial Services Committee, and in a speech on the economy tonight President Obama will announce that he’s ready to “work with both parties to turn the page on Fannie and Freddie, and build a housing finance system that’s rock-solid for future generations.”
But that doesn’t mean that the bill moving forward in the House — the PATH Act, backed mostly by Republicans and conservative academics — has much of a chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate, or that Fannie and Freddie are going away any time soon.
Trade groups representing homebuilders and real estate agents oppose aspects of the PATH Act, saying it could raise the cost of borrowing and hurt their ability to sell homes. Source: wsj.com.
