Affordable housing

The Senate advanced the One Big Beautiful Bill Act through a procedural vote, opening the legislation for debate followed by Monday's vote-a-rama.

The president should unwind the federal government's stake in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and direct the proceeds to a housing remainder trust designed to close critical gaps in real estate lending.

When supposed "fraud" becomes the headline, real solutions get pushed to the margins. In the case of housing, the real crisis is about housing affordability and supply.

The 11 Federal Home Loan banks play an essential role in the housing market and in local economies. Cutting their community ties would damage their ability to fulfill that mission.

A bill being introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., would compel the Federal Home Loan Bank System to contribute 30%, or a minimum of $200 million, of each bank's net earnings into affordable housing or other community development programs.

Shrinking the Federal Home Loan Bank System from 11 banks to eight would save members money, improve efficiency and generate more money for affordable housing.

The government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wasn't meant to last forever, but releasing the companies is complicated and should involve a diffident Congress, housing policy experts said during a Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta housing panel.

A proposal to tie cancellation of private mortgage insurance policies to automated valuation models would add unnecessary risk to mortgage portfolios and would result in less, not more, affordable housing.

The government-sponsored enterprises were not meant to remain in conservatorship permanently, but privatizing them once again must include a new set of rules that minimize market disruptions and maximize their focus on making homeownership affordable.

The incoming administration will have a number of tools at its disposal to immediately pare back stifling federal regulation of financial services and boost the housing market. It should use them.