BPC Launches Housing America Series

The work of the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission helped spark a national dialogue on housing finance reform and the growing need for affordable rental housing. The Housing Commission’s 2013 report, Housing America’s Future: New Directions for National Policy proposed:

• A responsible, sustainable approach to homeownership that will help ensure that all creditworthy households have access to homeownership and its considerable benefits
• A reformed system of housing finance in which the private sector plays a far more prominent role in bearing credit risk while promoting a greater diversity of funding sources for mortgage financing
• A more targeted approach to providing rental assistance that directs scarce resources to the lowest-income renters while insisting on a high level of performance by housing providers

Dr. Michael Stegman, who served as the Obama administration’s point person on housing finance and affordable housing policy, has joined BPC as a fellow. As we move through a pivotal federal election and transition, we’re introducing a new series to provide an update on the shifting policy landscape.

This series is meant to elevate the need for housing policy reforms, focusing specifically on:

• Credit Availability and Risk Metrics
• Lessons Learned from the Johnson-Crapo Legislation
• How Much Capital Is Enough?
• FHFA’s Credit Risk Transfer Program
• Enhancing Access to Credit with New Scoring Tools
• Impacts of the 2016 Elections on GSE Reform
• A Challenge to a Ginnie Mae-Based Approach to Housing Finance Reform

With government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, still lingering in conservatorship, the affordability crisis worsening, and new leadership coming to Washington, now is the time to revisit the work of the BPC Housing Commission and lay the groundwork for real action in 2017.