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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 16 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 16

   Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Government National 
 Mortgage Association guaranty fee should not be increased to provide 
     increased revenues or the Federal Government to offset other 
                             expenditures.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 1999

    Mr. Grams (for himself and Mr. Gorton) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Government National 
 Mortgage Association guaranty fee should not be increased to provide 
     increased revenues or the Federal Government to offset other 
                             expenditures.

Whereas the Government National Mortgage Association, known as Ginnie Mae, was 
        established as a wholly owned corporation of the United States to 
        facilitate the world-wide sale of investment securities backed by 
        mortgages insured or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration 
        (FHA) or the Veterans Administration (VA), which is now the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs;
Whereas Ginnie Mae assesses a fee to lenders issuing such securities and notes 
        for the guaranty, by Ginnie Mae, of the timely payment to investors of 
        principal and interest of the securities and notes;
Whereas the guaranty fee currently charged by Ginnie Mae, at a rate of 6 basis 
        points, has produced significant net revenue for the Federal Government 
        each year;
Whereas Ginnie Mae is actuarially sound and its reserves are sufficient to 
        protect the taxpayers of the United States from any loss;
Whereas the cost of home ownership is increasing, thereby making the dream of 
        home ownership unattainable for many families in the United States;
Whereas FHA and VA loans are used primarily by first-time and minority 
        homeowners to achieve the dream of home ownership;
Whereas Congress should seek to eliminate barriers to affordable housing and 
        reduce the costs of home ownership; and
Whereas proposals to increase the Ginnie Mae guaranty fee above the current 
        rate, if enacted, would constitute a tax on home ownership, would 
        increase the costs of owning a home, and would ultimately deny many 
        Americans the opportunity to own a home: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that any increase in the guaranty 
fee assessed by the Government National Mortgage Association above the 
rate currently in effect constitutes an unnecessary and unwarranted tax 
on home ownership that cannot be justified as sound public policy or as 
necessary for financial soundness of the Government National Mortgage 
Association and, therefore, should not be used to provide increased 
revenues or the Federal Government to offset other expenditures.
                                 <all>
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