Future of Fannie and Freddie has GOP split

The housing crisis is shaking Republicans’ beliefs to the core. According to the AP, though traditionally against government involvement, the GOP hasn’t taken a unified stance against Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Freddie and Fannie, federally funded organizations that buy mortgages from lenders to provide more cash for loans, needed $154 billion in taxpayer bailouts and have many calling for private lenders to take on a bigger share of the mortgage market. But shutting down the programs, Republicans fear, could shake the housing industry and in turn, the economy. Rep. Gary Miller said “it would devastate the housing market.” Mortgage bankers and home builders have lobbied in favor of Fannie and Freddie, and the National Association of Realtors, also in favor of the programs, has spent $18 million lobbying in 2011, alone. But others see it as a wasteful program typical of government excess, and the House Financial Services Committee is advancing eight bills to take some power away from Fannie and Freddie. [AP via MSNBC]