Author Description

Statement of Deborah Lucas, Assistant Dir. for Financial Analysis, Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Historically, support for the mortgage market has been part of a broader federal policy aimed at encouraging home ownership and, to a lesser extent, at making housing more affordable for low- and moderate-income families. The activities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Admin. (FHA) have been an important aspect of that policy. In 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned or guaranteed roughly half of all outstanding mortgages in the U.S., and they financed 63% of the new mortgages originated that year. Including the 23% of home loans insured by federal agencies such as FHA, about 86% of new mortgages made in 2010 carried a federal guarantee. However, the largest federal subsidiesfor home ownership have generally come from favorable tax treatment for housing. This testimony focuses on the CBO's estimates of the budgetary cost of the government's takeover and continuing operation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lucas also discusses how the budgetary treatment of those two enterprises differs from that of FHA and other federal mortgage programs and the potential problems those inconsistencies cause, and summarizes alternative options for the future role of the federal government in the secondary mortgage market. Tables. This is a print on demand report.