WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is meeting stiff opposition to its plan of forcing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to finance more homes for low-income people.
A lobbying drive led by the National Association of Home Builders has been joined by home builders, the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
The group is preparing a letter to Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The letter warns proposed HUD rules requiring the two government-sponsored enterprises to finance more "affordable housing" may have "unintended consequences," hurting some poor and middle-income people struggling to afford houses.
HUD is charged with ensuring the two GSEs use their ability to borrow cheaply in the government agency bond market to help low-income people buy homes.
The GSEs and their allies have warned the proposed rules could weaken the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for low-income borrowers. They say the goals would push the GSEs to "cherry-pick" the FHA's most creditworthy customers. If the FHA is left with only the weakest credits, its performance will deteriorate, the lobbying groups say.
