BY JORDAN FRIAS
POSTED ON MARCH 19, 2013
The Obama Administration is being pressured to fire the acting director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency Ed DeMarco who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises at the forefront of the housing foreclosure crisis. DeMarco has been described as being insensitive to the financial needs of struggling homeowners who have faced a serious change in income resulting in a foreclosure.
Action by Attorney Generals
Attorney Generals Eric Schneiderman of New York and Martha Coakley of Massachusetts have led a 9 state coalition against DeMarco urging for the President to replace him as soon as possible. Schneiderman and Coakley drafted a letter to the President “demanding new leadership over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” as stated in the title of the document.
Tuesday Afternoon Senate Hearing
DeMarco was questioned at a Senate house hearing this afternoon where he was criticized for not allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to permit principal reduction during foreclosures. Principal reduction is a form of debt relief by mortgage lenders. The letter sent by the Attorney Generals to the President to fire DeMarco specifically sites his opposition to principal reduction, calling it a large obstacle to the nation’s economic recovery.
DeMarco says that principal reduction would cost taxpayers a lot of money. (Read this article in Time Magazine about DeMarco’s opposition)
Future of Federal Housing Finance Agency
It is said that Congressman Mel Watt of North Carolina may replace DeMarco as early as the beginning of next month.
Action on Social Media
The hash tag #DumpDeMarco has been used throughout Twitter since the end of last year.
https://twitter.com/chrisinkyung/status/313700165540265984
https://twitter.com/AGSchneiderman/status/313667184285085696
The organization City Life/Vida Urbana in Boston has been protesting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosures through homeowner testimonies on video. These videos have been posted on YouTube.
Listen to Gary and Olive’s story below:
Housed in Boston 