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Aug. 22, 2014 – The Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission held a forum in Sun Valley, Idaho on Thursday, which featured remarks Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and FHFA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing Carol Galante, among others.

Crapo told HousingWire before the forum that government-sponsored enterprise reform is crucial to housing recovery. He said the housing finance reform legislation he co-authored with Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is "very much on the table and in focus," despite the inaction by the full Senate thus far. Johnson and Crapo serve as chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Banking Committee.

NAFCU has raised concerns about the costs and operability of the housing finance reform model proposed in the legislation, and continues to push for government-guaranteed access for credit unions to the secondary mortgage market, and for fair pricing based on loan quality rather than loan volume.

Also during the forum, Galante said the FHFA will not experience a repeat of the $1.7 billion draw it took from government funds last year, saying, "We have already surpassed the amount of capital in the capital reserve account."

Other speakers at the even included Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, Henry Cisneros, the former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and co-chairs of the commission and former Sens. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Kit Bond, R-Mo.