WASHINGTON — After several weeks of failed attempts, the Senate passed legislation designed to stabilize the housing market late Friday.
But the odds of quick enactment remain in doubt.
The bill includes provisions that would create a regulator for the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It would also modernize the Federal Housing Administration and let that agency provide alternatives to foreclosure by backing mortgages worth more than the value of a home after lenders and investors agree to principal reductions.
After Senate passage, the bill will head back to the House where Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said Thursday he would make changes and lob it back to the Senate.
At a press conference Friday designed to calm fears about Fannie and Freddie, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, said he hoped the House would quickly accept the Senate's bill and send it immediately to the president but acknowledged that the outcome was uncertain.
"I spoke with Barney Frank … . Our hope is that, one, either they might accept the Senate-passed bill, or if they have some problems with it, to make those corrections and send them back to us in an expedited fashion," Sen. Dodd said.
But such a tidy wrap-up to the long debated legislation might not be so simple despite cries from lawmakers in all camps that certain aspects of the bill — like GSE overhaul — are long overdue.
The Senate is planning to take up two unrelated measures during the week of July 14 and would need to clear space on its schedule in order to return to the housing bill. The leadership is unlikely to do so unless a bipartisan agreement on changes is reached.
Sen. Dodd acknowledged Friday he did "not know" whether Sen. Richard Shelby, his panel's No. 1 GOP member, with whom he negotiated the Senate's housing bill, would agree to the House's anticipated changes. He even drew a distinction between himself and Rep. Frank on a potential sticking point.
On Thursday Rep. Frank told reporters he planned to delay the bill's effective date and make other changes. "Our biggest problem with the Senate bill is the effective date. Requiring everything to start right now" would be a "mistake," said Rep. Frank.
But Friday Sen. Dodd said he was not sure the Senate could accept that change.
"We'd have a hard time agreeing to that," he said. "It's important that we get this bill done. I want to make sure that the new regulator has the ability to act."
