WASHINGTON—During a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee later this week, Rick Stafford, president and CEO of Tower Federal Credit Union in Laurel, Md., will share with lawmakers credit unions' priorities and concerns with a bipartisan housing finance reform bill.
That schedule, however, could change as the result of activities planned around the funeral and other ceremonies related to former President George H.W. Bush.
Stafford, who will be testifying on behalf of NAFCU, also testified in October 2017 during a hearing on housing finance reform priorities before a House Financial Services subcommittee.
Thursday's scheduled hearing will focus on draft legislation from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) that would preserve a NAFCU-sought government guarantee to the secondary mortgage market and create more lending opportunities for small lenders, noted NAFCU.
What Legislation Would Do
The legislation, the Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform Act, would also repeal the government-sponsored enterprises' (GSEs) charters and would instead use Ginnie Mae as the provider of the explicit government guarantee on mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Currently, Ginnie Mae backs payments of principal and interest to those that invest in the Federal Housing Administration and other government-insured loans.
NAFCU said it has continually reiterated credit unions' needs for unfettered access to the secondary mortgage market and fair pricing based on loan quality, not quantity.
The hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. ET Thursday.