After mortgage meltdown, Barney Frank gets another chance to remake housing finance
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rep. Barney Frank, the disheveled, fast-talking Democrat from Massachusetts, had long been known more for his acerbic tongue than for the cause that has captivated him since he was a young aide in the Boston mayor's office.
Frank had championed housing for America's poor for four decades, but he gained the chance to leave his biggest mark in 2007 when he became chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He dreamed of tapping into the riches of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - at the time, both fabulously successful mortgage finance companies - to help pay for the construction of thousands of affordable apartments.
It was too good to be true. Fannie and Freddie would soon melt down, requiring a federal bailout so far costing more than $160 billion. Frank's critics have alleged that his aspirations blinded him to the danger.
Now Frank is poised to play a pivotal role on Capitol Hill as the Obama administration prepares to tackle the future of Fannie and Freddie and to overhaul how millions of Americans are housed. In taking on their next major economic challenge, senior Obama officials are scheduled to release a proposal in January that would replace the two mortgage giants and rethink federal programs that help make housing affordable.
(More here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rep. Barney Frank, the disheveled, fast-talking Democrat from Massachusetts, had long been known more for his acerbic tongue than for the cause that has captivated him since he was a young aide in the Boston mayor's office.
Frank had championed housing for America's poor for four decades, but he gained the chance to leave his biggest mark in 2007 when he became chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He dreamed of tapping into the riches of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - at the time, both fabulously successful mortgage finance companies - to help pay for the construction of thousands of affordable apartments.
It was too good to be true. Fannie and Freddie would soon melt down, requiring a federal bailout so far costing more than $160 billion. Frank's critics have alleged that his aspirations blinded him to the danger.
Now Frank is poised to play a pivotal role on Capitol Hill as the Obama administration prepares to tackle the future of Fannie and Freddie and to overhaul how millions of Americans are housed. In taking on their next major economic challenge, senior Obama officials are scheduled to release a proposal in January that would replace the two mortgage giants and rethink federal programs that help make housing affordable.
(More here.)
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