Housing Affairs Letter

Washington Watch

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CFPB To Air Anonymous Complaints

Armed with its limitless authority and lack of congressional oversight granted it in the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to publicly air anonymous complaints without first determining whether the complaints are credible.

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FAA Targets Realtors Over Drone Use

Federal Aviation Administration executives are telling real estate agencies and others, including farmers, to halt the use of drones in their commercial activities while the agency figures out how to regulate the new technology.

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CFPB Spending Sparks Backlash

While HUD officials scramble to patch housing programs under a congressional budget-cutting spree that has public housing, Section 8, and other housing assistance programs operating at nearly 25% less than officials say is necessary to maintain basic needs, a new federal agency operating out of congressional oversight is spending money

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DeMarco Eases Out Of FHFA

Four months after Edwards DeMarco was removed from his post as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by a White House anxious to get him out of the way, the career government employee is set to quit the regulator at the end of April for the private

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Treasury Diverts Mortgage Rescue Money

Ohio and Michigan have received approval to use money from a fund intended to help homeowners avoid losing their homes and use it instead to demolish thousands of homes.

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Report: Fannie Freddie Losses Lurk

A time frame Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use to determine the financial impact of overdue single-family mortgages is faulted by the inspector general (IG) of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator of the two mortgage giants.

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Obama Calls For $15B Housing Stimulus

Congress should authorize a $15 billion economic stimulus to rehab and demolish vacant lots in areas where the housing market collapse left thousands of empty and unfinished homes, President Barack Obama says in a speech devoted to housing delivered in Phoenix, an area particularly devastated by the collapse.

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Watt Recess Appointment Possible

Edward DeMarco is given a brief reprieve from ouster as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency when the Senate stalls on the confirmation of his successor. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took a last minute nose count and found he didn’t have enough votes to shut off debate over Rep. Mel Watt’s (D-NC) nomination to head the

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Housing Concerns Keep Stimulus Intact

Federal Reserve support for the housing market will persist -- at least for the time being -- with the central bank continuing to purchase $85 billion in government and mortgage bonds to keep interest rates low and boost the economy.

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High Court Move Fuels CFPB Dilemma

Conflict over Richard Cordray’s legitimacy to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moves to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decides to hear Noel Canning v. NLRB after two lower courts ruled President Barack Obama doesn’t have the legal authority to make recess appointments while Congress technically remains in session

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