Key Vote Alert – “NO” on Watt Nomination as FHFA Director

The Club for Growth is urging all Senators to oppose the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). This vote, which could include procedural votes, will be included in the Club’s 2013 Congressional Scorecard.

The director of the FHFA has immense power over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As the lead regulator of these two entities, and their trillion-dollar assets, the FHFA director must be a strong advocate for taxpayers who are at risk for the GSE’s business activities. So it is entirely inappropriate for a politician to fill this role who has explicitly advocated for greater involvement by the federal government in the mortgage industry.

Watt is on record supporting principal reduction programs, generous refinance programs, higher loan limits for Fannie and Freddie, and allowing Fannie and Freddie to continue to borrow from the Treasury. All of these policies, plus others not mentioned, put taxpayers more at risk for another financial crisis and a subsequent bailout.

The correct course of action, including putting this nomination aside, is to privatize Fannie and Freddie and shut down the FHFA.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.