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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 67 and complicated issue, saying, "ere is not enough agreement out there." Mayopoulos, however, said that the GSEs have "already largely been reformed" over the past decade. "e management teams working in consultation with their regulator, FHFA, have undertaken significant changes at Fannie and Freddie over the last 10 years," Mayopoulos said. "e right way to think about this is housing finance reform as opposed to GSE reform, and one of the notable things about what this administration is doing is that it has put out proposals to make changes to Fannie and Freddie, to bring them out of conservatorship, but also to make changes to FHA and Ginnie Mae." He added that, while many people bemoan the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in conservatorship for the past 11 years, be believes the conservatorship has been a "positive event." "I would suggest that people should look at it differently, that this was a big success for the taxpayers," Mayopoulos said. "By putting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship, the government was able to preserve the stability of the housing finance market at a time when the economy was on the brink of depression. It was able to use Fannie and Freddie to implement important policy changes to try to keep borrowers in their homes as foreclosures rose dramatically. It allowed real estate markets to stabilize." Stevens said any proposed legislation has a chance of getting through the Republican- controlled U.S. Senate, but had little hope of anything being approved by the House. David Dworkin, President and CEO of the National Housing Conference, said in a release that the plan submitted by the Trump administration "has many roads, but there is a viable path forward if Congress is engaged in true bipartisan change. If taken, we can finally move forward with a housing finance system that serves all Americans without putting taxpayers at risk of another bailout." However, Dworkin's statement in the release added that "e housing goals language in the report is a non-starter that undercuts the value of everything else in the paper. And let's be clear, there's no getting around Congress on the housing goals. ey are written into the law, and the civil rights community and a broader group of housing experts, including the National Housing Conference and most of our members have made clear, we won't accept any back-tracking on this critical element of the system." THE POLITICS OF WASHINGTON Further compounding the issue is the upcoming election, as President Trump is ramping up re-election efforts. Fontaine noted there could be changes in both Congress and in the White House, which could leave the plan stalled and the industry "starting back over at ground zero." Stevens said Washington is approaching what he called the "silly season" as the election cycle nears, with very little movement on legislation happening during that time. Even if there was movement, he said GSE reform isn't a high priority among voters. "No voter is saying, 'Hey, we need GSE reform.' It's not an issue," Stevens said. "And the housing market is one of the few bright spots in a weakening economy." Stevens gave legislative action little chance to be effective and is "bearish" on this plan ending conservatorship among the GSEs. "I applaud the administration for taking these steps. I think directionally it says all the right things," he said. "I just think, substantively, to execute against this plan is going to require more of a herculean effort, and it would require the full weight of the White House to even give it a shot." For Fontaine, the answer was simple when asked if he felt this plan could end conservatorship. "I don't know if I'd want to bet on it." " Ten years ago, many in Washington wanted to burn down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and salt the earth." —Timothy Mayopoulos, President of Blend

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