Two House Republicans warned that growing losses at the Federal Housing Administration could lead to a taxpayer-funded bailout and have asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development for data backing up the FHA’s assertion that it won’t need to ask Congress for any taxpayer money.
“Congress and HUD must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that this program operates in a manner that does not expose the taxpayer to yet another bailout,” wrote Republicans Darrell Issa of California and Spencer Bachus of Alabama in a letter, dated Monday, to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
The letter was released on Wednesday, hours after FHA Commissioner David Stevens and Mr. Donovan abruptly postponed the public release of the FHA’s annual actuarial review. The release of the report, which will show that the projected value of the agency’s reserves have fallen below a federally mandated level, was delayed after the FHA raised questions about one of the report’s findings.
Those flaws emerged after the FHA’s independent actuary, at the request of the FHA, included stress tests beyond the minimal requirements of the annual review. Those tests raised questions about a possible flaw in the recently completed report. The FHA wouldn’t specify what particular data had raised questions....MORE
Thursday, November 5, 2009
FHA Postpones Release of Audit As Bailout Worries Mount
From the Wall Street Journal's Developments blog:
