“It’s really quite simple,” said Howard. “Program authority is first and foremost a housing issue rather than merely a financial consideration, and oversight belongs at HUD as part of its full mission.
“We don’t disagree with some in the Administration who say that the approval process may need to be improved or strengthened. So strengthen it — or at least make that attempt — before shifting important responsibility over to another regulator where it doesn’t belong.”
Noting that the Administration’s top housing goal is to increase the number of minority home owners by 5.5 million before the end of the decade, Howard said it was “puzzling” that the White House would entrust setting its affordable housing goals to HUD while stripping the agency of the program oversight needed to address those goals.
“It is difficult to see how a plan that would undermine the effectiveness of HUD can come anywhere close to meeting this goal,” he said.
“NAHB believes that it is imperative that any GSE reform bill ensures that HUD retains its current status as the mission regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” he said.
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