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1 H.R. 4560, GSE Jumpstart Reauthorization Act of 2017 1 (February 8, 2018)

handle is hein.congrec/gsejump0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 




                   CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
                               COST ESTIMATE

                                                                   February 8, 2018


                                   H.R.   4560
                 GSE   Jumpstart   Reauthorization Act of 2017

           As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services
                                on December 13, 2017


H.R. 4560 would prohibit the U.S. Treasury from selling the senior preferred stock issued
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until January 1, 2019. The bill also would direct those
entities to suspend annual contributions to affordable housing trust funds if they withhold
any of their profits from the Treasury during any quarter in a calendar year.

Using information from the agencies' regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency
(FHFA),  CBO  estimates that enacting the bill would not affect the federal budget;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

In recent years, FHFA has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to contribute to
affordable housing trust funds. Annual contributions to those funds have averaged about
$300 million in the recent past. FHFA can direct Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to suspend
contributions if either entity has a negative net worth. Under H.R. 4560, if either entity
withheld profits from the Treasury for any quarter during a calendar year, it would be
required to suspend contributions to the trust funds for that year.

CBO  estimates that implementing H.R. 4560 would not affect contributions to the
affordable housing trust funds because, according to FHFA, there are no plans to direct
the entities to withhold future profits from the Treasury.

In addition, according to FHFA, the federal government has no plans to sell the preferred
stock issued by the entities. Therefore, prohibiting the sale of the preferred stock until
after January 1, 2019, would not affect the federal budget.

On December  21, 2017, FHFA  and the Secretary of the Treasury directed Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac to withhold some of their profits from the Treasury and to establish
capital reserves of $3 billion each. The entities must maintain those capital reserves and
continue to send any excess quarterly profits to the Treasury. Withholding profit solely
for that purpose would not require the entities to suspend contributions to the affordable
housing trust funds under the bill because the direction to establish the capital reserves
occurred before enactment of H.R. 4650 and, under the bill, would be considered a part

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