Reed Lauds Independent Effort by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director to Preserve Needed Funding Program for Affordable Rental Housing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2018
CONTACT: Chip Unruh, (202) 224-4642

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who led the effort to establish the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) and who is a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued the following statement:

“I thank the Federal Housing Finance Agency for exercising its independent authority pursuant to the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act to continue funding the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. I worked to create the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund to provide communities with the resources they need to help address a very real and dangerous shortage of affordable housing. Many of our neighbors who work hard still can't afford their rents, and a dire need remains for more affordable housing opportunities. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a national shortage of 7.4 million affordable homes and a Rhode Island shortage of nearly 30,000 affordable homes for extremely low income renters. These additional funds for the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund will help more of our neighbors by increasing the supply of affordable rental housing nationwide and in Rhode Island.”

Senator Reed first began working on affordable housing trust fund legislation back in 2000 and created the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) in 2008 as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to enable housing agencies to build, preserve, and rehabilitate affordable housing for residents with extremely limited means. The CMF was also designed to increase investment in related economic development activities or community service facilities, such as workforce development centers.

The HTF and CMF were established in 2008 but were not funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before they were placed into conservatorship. In late 2014, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, independently determined that their financial operations stabilized to a sufficient level to permit contributions to the HTF and CMF.