Mark R. Warner

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following joint statement praising the confirmation of Nani Coloretti to be the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary, making her the fourth female Deputy Secretary and one of the highest-ranking Filipino-Americans serving in the Administration:

“President Obama made an excellent choice in nominating Nani Coloretti to be the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary, the Chief Operating Officer of the agency. We are proud to have joined our Senate colleagues in confirming Ms. Coloretti, who is currently the Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has more than 20 years of experience in budget, finance, economic and program analysis. We are confident that Ms. Coloretti will focus her talent and experience on growing the housing sector and advocating for communities across the country in need of critical assistance.”

WASHINGTON – On Friday, December 5, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) will bring together a cross-section of Virginia’s leaders in science on Friday for the second annual Virginia Summit on Science, Engineering and Medicine, co-hosted by Sen. Warner, the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM) and Virginia Tech. This summit will provide an opportunity for VASEM members and their protégés to join with representatives from government, industry, and institutions of higher education in Virginia to discuss Big Data and its implications for science, technology, healthcare and industry.

“In an era of diminished federal support for research and development, it is more important than ever for Virginia’s leading thinkers across institutions and disciplines to increase collaboration,” Sen. Warner said.  “Virginia is home to some of the nation’s top technology companies and leading education and research institutions. That means the Commonwealth can play an important role in the rapidly growing sector of Big Data.  This second annual Summit provides an exciting venue for some of the best and brightest in Virginia to discuss the challenges and benefits of Big Data.  I am eager to see what Friday’s program inspires.”

“Virginia has some of the nation’s leading universities, and I commend the Virginia Academy for addressing important ‘big data’ applications that will enable us to be on the forefront in solving some of the most complex societal and medical problems of our day,” said Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands.

“We have worked hard over the past year and a half to get VASEM off the ground. This is the second convergence of the group, and I’m looking forward to the further collaboration and conversations that this meeting stimulates,” said Joe Campbell, the Lucian Carr Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia and President of VASEM.  

Summit participants include representatives from some of Virginia’s top educational institutions; healthcare organizations including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Inova Health Systems and the Virginia BioScience Health Research Corporation; government agencies including NASA Langley, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Naval Research Laboratory and National Science Foundation; and private sector partners including Orbital Sciences, Amazon Web Services, and Metron.  Each participant is also encouraged to bring a protégé to engage the next generation of the Commonwealth’s leaders in the sciences.

Senator Warner established VASEM in 2013 to bring together many of Virginia’s most prominent scientists to foster and promote a vibrant intellectual exchange and serve as a resource for the Commonwealth. The group is comprised of Virginia’s members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. Election to one of the three national academies is a lifetime designation, and represents one of the highest honors for scientists in the U.S. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today passed the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Accountability Act of 2014, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA-01), by unanimous consent. The legislation will bring increased accountability measures and a more collaborative management approach to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts and spending.  The 2013 legislation now returns to the House of Representatives for approval.   

The Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2014 requires the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to prepare a crosscut budget to better track the progress of Bay restoration efforts, comparing costs and the performance of restoration activities by the various federal agencies involved in the Bay preservation effort. The multi-state, multi-year initiative to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay involves at least 10 federal agencies, Virginia and five other states, the District of Columbia, and more than 1,000 local governments.

“The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a centerpiece of the culture and economy of many coastal communities in Virginia, and neighboring states.  I commend the collaborative efforts of federal, state, and local partners across the watershed who are working tirelessly to preserve and restore the Bay,” Senator Warner said.  “In order to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay during a time of limited federal funding, we must make sure that every dollar spent on restoration activities produces real results.  I will continue to focus on ways to be a good steward of both the taxpayer’s dollar and the Commonwealth’s invaluable natural resources.”

“Today’s Senate passage of this Chesapeake Bay legislation is a tremendous step forward,” Wittman said. “After seeing my Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act pass the House with overwhelming bipartisan support numerous times, I am thrilled to see progress in the Senate. I appreciate Senator Warner’s steady cooperation and leadership in getting the bill passed through the Senate in its current form. Moving forward, I will push for swift House passage of this bill so that we can get it to the President’s desk.”

Sen. Warner first sponsored the Chesapeake Bay Accountability Act along with then-U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) in 2011. The 2013 Act was cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). Rep. Wittman first introduced the bill in the House of Representatives in 2008. Versions of the bill have passed the House of Representatives alone or as part of broader packages in each of the last three sessions of Congress.

“This bill will display on one sheet which agencies are investing in Chesapeake Bay restoration and on what activities and where,” said Senator Kaine.  “Having chaired the Chesapeake Executive Council as Governor of Virginia, I understand the importance of tracking restoration work among many stakeholders in a tangible, quantifiable way.  This legislation is a good government measure that bolsters our efforts to clean up the Bay while improving the transparency of government spending, and I salute Senator Warner and Congressman Wittman for their bipartisan leadership on it.”

As Governor of Virginia from 2002-2006, Sen. Warner increased spending on natural resources by 34% and took a leadership role in protecting the Bay, including adoption of the most comprehensive nutrient reduction standards in the nation. Governor Warner’s final budget included $243 million for clean drinking water programs, and the Warner Administration funded the largest single investment in water quality in state history.

A PDF of the legislation is available here.  

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) announced today that Keyanna Conner will join his state staff as Director of Government and Community Affairs. Ms. Conner, who previously served as a senior advisor on Sen. Warner’s successful  2014 re-election campaign, will serve as a primary point of contact between the Senator’s office and representatives of state and local governments, public agencies and other constituency organizations. She will be based in Richmond.

“I am very pleased that Keyanna Conner will be joining our state staff as director of government and community affairs,” said Sen. Warner. “Effective communication and problem-solving for state and local governments, and the Virginians they serve, remains a key priority for our entire office.”

“I am thrilled and honored to join Senator Warner's staff, and I look forward to engaging and empowering state and local leaders in communities across Virginia,” Conner said. 

Conner graduated from Hampton University in 2006 and currently is completing a doctoral degree in organic chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. She grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement in support of the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy to be Surgeon General of the United States.

"Dr. Murthy brings an entrepreneurial focus, and he is committed to using technology to expand our outreach on health and wellness in innovative ways. I believe he will make an excellent Surgeon General,” Senator Warner said.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement on the passing of Dr. William C. Bosher, Jr.:

“I am so sorry to learn of the passing of Dr. Bill Bosher, a career public servant who started as a classroom teacher, served as public school chief for Henrico and Chesterfield counties, and also served as Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Bill Bosher was a thoughtful policymaker and effective administrator. He demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the power of quality public schools to create opportunities for all of Virginia’s young people. I offer my condolences to his family, friends and many colleagues,” Senator Warner said.    

On Tuesday, November 25, the President signed the Government Reports Elimination Act (H.R. 4194), a bipartisan initiative to eliminate or modify more than 50 unnecessary, outdated, or duplicative federal reports required of more than a dozen federal agencies. The Government Reports Elimination Act is the House version of Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) companion legislation, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent on September 16. Among the reports to be eliminated under the legislation: a Department of Homeland Security annual report on illegal imports of products made with dog or cat fur, and a Department of Agriculture report on the number of acres of peanuts planted each year.  

Additionally, Senators Warner and Ayotte introduced the Reports Reduction Act of 2014 on November 13, to further their bipartisan efforts to increase government performance by removing government waste and inefficiency. This legislation would eliminate or modify an additional 67 unnecessary reports.

“I’m very pleased the President has signed this important step towards increasing efficiency in the federal government,” Senator Warner said. “There is no reason that hundreds of federal employees should spend countless hours producing outdated and often useless reports. Getting rid of these 50 unnecessary reports is a simple but effective step, but we can and should go even further. Sen. Ayotte and I have introduced additional legislation to take aim at 67 more unnecessary federal reports produced each year. We need to continue to find smart ways to create a more efficient government to ensure our taxpayers dollars are being spent productively.”

Sen. Warner serves as Chairman of the Budget Committee’s bipartisan Government Performance Task Force, and Sen. Ayotte serves as the Ranking Republican Member. The Task Force was established in 2009 to examine how the government measures the cost-effectiveness of federal programs with a goal of saving taxpayer dollars. Sen. Warner was a lead sponsor of the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, which required federal agencies to identify outdated or duplicative congressionally mandated reports that could be consolidated or eliminated to direct agency resources towards more productive activities. In addition, Sen. Warner was lead sponsor of the bipartisan Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, which standardizes federal spending data and ensures it is made available online so taxpayers can access information about how their tax dollars are being spent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with 40 of their Senate colleagues, sent a letter in support of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) plan to update the Military Lending Act (MLA) and close existing loopholes to better protect servicemembers and their families from abusive financial practices.  The letter, sent to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, expresses strong support for the proposed new rule to help prevent lenders from charging excessive fees and taking advantage of military families.

“As our servicemembers are asked to take on even more tasks in defense of our nation, we should take every opportunity to protect them and their families here at home, especially from unscrupulous lenders,” the senators wrote.  “We strongly support the proposed MLA rule and urge that the final MLA rule be similarly robust in enhancing protections for servicemembers and their families, producing significant cost savings for DOD, and improving military readiness.”

This is the third action Warner and Kaine have taken in recent months to protect servicemembers and their families from abusive financial practices. In August, they called for a federal investigation into aggressive debt collection actions used by retailers against servicemembers.  In response to a separate letter from Warner and Kaine, DOD recently announced a policy change to protect servicemembers from businesses that use allotments to trap Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and their families in illegal predatory loans.

Congress first passed the MLA following a 2006 Pentagon report that found that “predatory lending undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their families, and adds to the cost of fielding an all-volunteer fighting force.”  This law capped the annual interest rates for consumer credit to servicemembers and their dependents while giving DOD the authority to define what loans should be covered.  The DOD’s 2007 implementing regulations narrowly included only three types of loans: certain payday, auto title, and refund anticipation loans.

In the proposed changes to the MLA, first announced in September, DOD seeks to close existing loopholes in the current MLA rule.  Warner and Kaine’s letter voices strong support for the proposed rule, arguing that the changes strike a better balance between protecting servicemembers and their families while maintaining access to good credit. 

Warner and Kaine were joined by Senators Jack Reed, Dick Durbin, Mark Udall, Carl Levin, Sherrod Brown, Mazie Hirono, Joe Manchin, Al Franken, Tammy Baldwin, Bill Nelson, Chris Murphy, Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley, Martin Heinrich, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Patty Murray, Sheldon Whitehouse, Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Udall, Claire McCaskill, Jean Shaheen, Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Michael Bennet, Chris Coons, Joe Donnelly, Diane Feinstein, Ben Cardin, Tom Carper, Ron Wyden, Heidi Heitkamp, Jon Tester, Barbara Boxer, Kay Hagan, Tom Harkin, and Charles Schumer in signing onto the letter.  The signatories include every Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The comment period, which was recently extended, for the proposed rule ends on December 26, 2014.

 

The text of the letter can be found below:

 

The Honorable Chuck Hagel

Secretary

U.S. Department of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301-1000

 

Re: Limitations on Terms of Consumer Credit Extended to Service members and Dependents

Docket ID: DoD-2013-OS-0133

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We are writing in response to the Department of Defense (DOD) proposal to update the implementing rules for the Military Lending Act (MLA).

By enacting the MLA as part of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Congress sent a clear bipartisan message that protecting servicemembers and their families from predatory and high cost lending was of paramount importance to their financial security and military readiness.

This concern was reiterated in the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which stated that “the conferees are concerned that the Department must remain vigilant to eliminate continuing, evolving predatory lending practices targeting servicemembers and their families, and believe the Department should review its regulations implementing section 987, to address changes in the industry and the evolution of lending products offered since 2007, continuing use of predatory marketing practices, and other abuses identified by consumer protection advocates, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs.”

As a result of this required review of the current MLA rule, DOD in its proposal now recommends closing existing MLA loopholes.  We believe this strikes a significantly better balance than the current MLA rule between protecting servicemembers and their families on the one hand and maintaining access to non-predatory credit on the other.  As such, this proposal also does a much better job of reflecting Congressional intent. 

Specifically, we support the proposal to expand the MLA’s “definition of ‘consumer credit’ to cover a broader range of closed-end and open-end credit products.”  In so doing, the rule proposes that these products be treated in a manner generally consistent with the decades-old requirements of the Truth in Lending Act. 

This comprehensive approach is essential to preventing future evasions.  As DOD notes in its proposed rule, “the extremely narrow definition of ‘consumer credit’ permits creditors to structure credit products in order to reduce or avoid altogether the obligations of the MLA.”  For example, MLA protections currently can be avoided by simply adding a day to the term of a payday loan or by lending just one additional cent so that the payday loan no longer qualifies as “consumer credit” subject to the MLA protections.   

Contrary to Congressional intent, these evasions threaten military readiness.  According to DOD, “each separation of a servicemember is estimated to cost the Department $57,333, and the Department estimates that each year approximately 4,703 to 7,957 servicemembers are involuntarily separated due to financial distress.”  In addition to the estimated cost savings DOD has identified, we give great weight and deference to DOD’s statement that the proposed MLA rule “would reduce non-quantifiable costs associated with financial strains on servicemembers. High-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.”  As a result, we strongly agree with DOD’s view that the proposed MLA rule not only has the potential to produce substantial cost savings, but also enhance military readiness.

In August of last year, a number of us wrote, “servicemembers and their families deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound.”  Indeed, as our servicemembers are asked to take on even more tasks in defense of our nation, we should take every opportunity to protect them and their families here at home, especially from unscrupulous lenders. 

For all these reasons, we strongly support the proposed MLA rule and urge that the final MLA rule be similarly robust in enhancing protections for servicemembers and their families, producing significant cost savings for DOD, and improving military readiness.

Sincerely,

 

Reed

Durbin

Mark Udall

Levin

Brown

Hirono

Manchin

Warner

Franken

Baldwin

Nelson

Murphy

Blumenthal

Merkley

Heinrich

Warren

Gillibrand

Murray

Whitehouse

King

Klobuchar

Tom Udall

Kaine

McCaskill

Shaheen

Schatz

Markey

Bennet

Coons

Donnelly

Feinstein

Cardin

Carper

Wyden

Heitkamp

Tester

Boxer

Hagan

Harkin

Schumer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a letter from U.S. Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and three of their colleagues in July 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced a policy change today that will prohibit the use of allotments by servicemembers to purchase, lease or rent personal property.  This important change will protect servicemembers from businesses that use allotments to trap Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and their families in illegal predatory loans.

“I’m very pleased Secretary Hagel and the Department of Defense are making important improvements to the allotment system to better protect our servicemembers from predatory lending,” Senator Warner said. “The current system allows unscrupulous companies to sign servicemembers up for questionable payment plans and then turn around and sue them for failure to pay. This policy change will prevent these sorts of abuses going forward and provide our military families with more of the protections they deserve.”

“I applaud Secretary Hagel and the Department of Defense for taking this important step to protect our servicemembers and their families from predatory loans,” said Senator Kaine.  We need to improve Department of Defense policy to ensure when our troops seek financial support, unscrupulous businesses cannot divert payments from a servicemember's monthly income to support their own profits. By protecting their financial stability, these changes also help ensure the military readiness of our troops.”

The new regulations will go into effect in January 2015.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced legislation to help level the playing field for miners battling black lung disease, an ailment caused by inhaling coal dust over an extended period of time that can be debilitating and potentially fatal. Federal law requires that coal companies compensate disabled miners who contract black lung, but employers routinely deploy an array of unfair tactics to avoid paying miners the benefits they deserve.

The Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2014 reforms the black lung benefits programs by improving miners’ access to medical evidence of their health and helping miners access better, more timely assistance from the program.

“It is clear we can take commonsense steps to strengthen and improve the black lung benefits system for miners,” Warner said. “This legislation builds upon recommendations identified by several reports and investigations in recent years, and these proposals are designed to make it much easier for miners and their families to access appropriate medical care and compensation.”

“Black lung is a tragic disease that many Virginia miners develop on the job,” said Kaine. “This bill will end many of the setbacks that sufferers encounter in the current benefits system and will provide care and comfort to those who need it.”

Recent analyses by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News found that doctors who are paid by coal companies have systematically misdiagnosed miners with black lung as having other diseases, thus preventing the miners from accessing benefits. Furthermore, hearings in the U.S. Senate showed that coal company lawyers have caused some miners’ claims to be denied by withholding medical evidence that proves that the miner has black lung.

In the past year, the U.S. Department of Labor has taken several steps to address the issues identified in these reports, but without congressional action, disabled coal miners who deserve black lung benefits will continue to be unfairly denied.

In introducing the bill, Warner and Kaine joined Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), as well as Representatives Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), George Miller (D-CA), and Nick Rahall (D-WV).

The Black Lung Benefits Act of 2014 will strengthen the black lung benefits program by:

Improving miners’ access to medical evidence

• Requiring full disclosure of medical information related to a claim, whether or not such information is entered as evidence
• Helping miners review and rebut potentially biased or inaccurate medical evidence developed by coal companies
• Allowing miners or their survivors to reopen their cases if they had been denied because of medical interpretations that have subsequently been discredited
• Establishing a pilot program in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to provide unbiased evidence for the most severe black lung cases

Helping miners access better, more timely benefits

• Adjusting black lung benefits to increases in the cost of living
• Helping claimants secure legal representation by providing interim attorney fees if miners prevail at various stages of their claim
• Developing a strategy to reduce the backlog of black lung benefits claims still awaiting consideration

Additional information on the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2014 is available here.

“The Senate passed a comprehensive bipartisan reform package more than 18 months ago, and so far the House of Representatives has failed to act. Congress must step-up to fix our broken immigration system. That means securing our borders, reforming our visa programs, and implementing practical solutions for undocumented immigrants who currently live in the U.S.

The President’s action mirrors many of the provisions in the bipartisan Senate legislation. While I understand his decision to take executive action, and while similar steps have been taken by every President in the past 60 years, executive action is not permanent. That’s why Congress needs to act legislatively to provide the long-term certainty that our families, communities and country deserve.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised today’s news that the United States Air Force is considering Joint Base Langley-Eustis as one of four finalists for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC).  Warner and Kaine met with senior Air Force leadership in July to urge the selection of Joint Base Langley-Eustis as it considered sites across the country. In a time of sequestration and austerity for the military, this new headquarters could bring up to 350 positions to Hampton, Virginia.

“Langley-Eustis and the Hampton Roads region offer tremendous benefits, including a highly skilled workforce, access to first-rate facilities, and unmatched quality of service for military men and women and their families,” said Warner. “I am pleased Langley has earned a spot as a finalist as a result of the Air Force evaluation.”  

“Joint Base Langley-Eustis has the ideal combination of a supportive community, extensive Air Force presence, and existing commands to ensure the success of this new Air Force center, “said Kaine.  “The Secretary of the Air Force should select Joint Base Langley-Eustis as the final location of this important support center.”

The Air Force will execute site surveys of the different candidates over the upcoming weeks and release its final decision for the location of the headquarters in January 2015.

"I am saddened and outraged by the senseless attack at a Jerusalem synagogue this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the four victims, including American citizens Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Mosheh Twersky. It is essential that President Abbas address the incitement of violence in recent weeks, and in the wake of this horrifying attack I urge both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work to de-escalate the rising tensions in Jerusalem and the region."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 As we approach the November 24^th deadline in the talks between the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic of Iran, I add my voice to those who seek the following from any agreement:

(1) the dismantling—not freezing—of Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program;

(2) institution of intrusive, any-time inspections for all facilities to assure Iranian compliance;

(3) a slow process of sanctions relaxation dependent upon the outcome of verified compliance; and

(4) Congressional review of any agreement to assure legitimacy and longevity of the decision.

Diplomacy is the best means for resolving all international disputes, but diplomacy cannot be used as a cover for the continuation of the research, development and manufacture of secret weapons of mass destruction.

Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today wrote a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Melvin Watt urging the agency to take steps "to build a housing finance infrastructure for the future, enhance the role of private capital in the agency mortgage-backed security (MBS) market, and responsibly increase access to mortgage credit."

The senators highlighted six areas where further FHFA action can advance these goals: (1) developing a single security for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities; (2) creating the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) as an independent, transparent, and more efficient securitization infrastructure; (3) continuing experimentation in risk-sharing pilot programs; (4) creating specific, uniform, and public regulations for private mortgage insurers that insure loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie; (5) expanding and improving the First Look program; and (6) updating the credit scoring models that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use.

"Millions of creditworthy families are struggling to get mortgages and buy a home," said Senator Warren. "We believe FHFA can use its existing authority to extend credit to responsible families and, at the same time, prepare the housing finance system for the end of government conservatorship."

"While we work in Congress to pass comprehensive housing finance reform, we are asking FHFA to move responsibly and transparently as they lay the foundation for a system that better protects taxpayers and improves access to credit for homeowners," said Senator Warner.

The full text of the letter is below, and a PDF copy is available here. 

November 18, 2014

The Honorable Melvin L. Watt
Director
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Constitution Center
400 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024

Dear Director Watt:

We believe that the government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) is not a long-term solution to provide access to mortgages, and that Congress should enact comprehensive housing finance reform.  However, we also believe that, in the interim, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) can and should take steps to build a housing finance infrastructure for the future, enhance the role of private capital in the agency mortgage-backed security (MBS) market, and responsibly increase access to mortgage credit. 

We write to highlight six areas in which FHFA action can further these goals: 

1. Single Security: We applaud your work to develop a single security for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS that would replace the two distinct securities the Enterprises currently use.  As you know, a single security for the Enterprises will create more liquidity in the market, unify representations and warranties, and standardize due diligence processes.  A single security would also save Freddie Mac the hundreds of millions of dollars it pays annually to lenders to equalize the price offered by Fannie Mae. 

While we appreciate your work to date, we urge you to make the process more transparent and to solicit additional input from industry participants as you seek to converge a long list of the Enterprises' policies and reduce execution risks.  Creating a more formal advisory body of market participants may help the FHFA better anticipate and address potential problems with the transition to a single security. 

2. Common Securitization Platform: We support efforts to create the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) as an independent, transparent, and more efficient securitization infrastructure for the future of our housing finance system.  On October 20, you stated that FHFA would like the CSP to serve "most of [the Enterprises'] current securitization functions."  We believe it would be a mistake to develop a CSP that was compatible with only the infrastructure of the Enterprises.  The CSP could be an important tool for encouraging responsible private-label MBS activity-but only if private issuers can use the CSP. 

We hope you will pay close attention to this issue in your role as conservator.  As of December 31, 2013, the Enterprises had spent $65 million on the CSP, and yet there is no detailed timeline for completing the CSP or total cost estimate.  We ask you to make this information public and to maintain close oversight of the CSP development process. 

3. Risk-Sharing Pilot Programs: As we in Congress continue to work toward comprehensive housing finance reform, we appreciate your efforts to expand the successful risk-sharing pilot programs that encourage the private sector to take on a growing amount of credit risk in the agency MBS market.  In its recent strategic plans, FHFA has directed the Enterprises to develop pilot programs to transfer credit risk to private-sector investors. We support your recent decision to direct the Enterprises to triple the expected annual volume of such risk transfers to $90 million in unpaid principal balance per Enterprise. 

However, we believe there are ways to responsibly expand the risk-sharing programs.  First, while the Enterprises have expanded the range of loans in the reference pools for these transactions to include loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios over 80 percent, we encourage you to push the Enterprises to expand this range further.  Second, we encourage you to push the Enterprises to pursue additional front-end credit risk transactions, rather than retaining a small first-loss piece.  Both of these changes will provide valuable information about how private investors evaluate the credit risk of various loan pools.  We generally support continued experimentation in the pilot programs to widen investor participation while there is an opportunity to identify and learn from obstacles in a controlled risk environment.

4. Private Mortgage Insurance Eligibility Requirements (PMIERs): Creating specific, uniform, and public regulations for private mortgage insurers that insure loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie is an important step in preventing another housing crisis, but we urge FHFA to avoid unduly restricting access to credit and creating regulatory discrepancies.  As FHFA finalizes its rulemaking on PMIERs, we encourage you to include the value of insurance premiums within the definition of available capital assets.  Accounting for premiums in this way acknowledges that premiums are real assets that have historically served as a source of capital, and such an approach creates parity with the Federal Reserve's stress tests process.  Excluding insurance premiums would likely lead mortgage insurance companies to raise prices on policies for borrowers with higher LTVs or lower credit scores, making it even more difficult for these borrowers to buy a home.  Moreover, excluding insurance premiums could push more borrowers to Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans, which would increase taxpayer exposure and raise costs for many borrowers.

Additionally, FHFA currently adds loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) to guarantee fees on loans regardless of mortgage insurance coverage.  We believe that FHFA can responsibly increase access to credit for low- and moderate-income borrowers by adjusting its LLPAs to reflect the new buffers provided by its updated PMIERs policies. 

5. First Look Program: We urge you to find ways to expand and improve the First Look program.  As you know, FHFA created the First Look program to ensure that owner-occupants had an opportunity to bid on the Enterprises' repossessed homes before the process was opened up to investors.  FHFA correctly recognized that its sale of such homes to owners, rather than investors, could help families struggling to recover from the housing crisis while it would help stabilize the hardest-hit neighborhoods.   

While we applaud FHFA for developing this program, we believe there are ways to strengthen it.  We ask you to consider whether there are ways to further encourage purchases by owner-occupants, such as increasing the amount of time they have to bid on such properties or lowering the prices of the homes during the First Look period.  We also urge you to consider whether-in the absence of eligible owner-occupant purchasers-there are ways to encourage the sale of such homes to investors whose business plans prioritize homeownership.  Finally, we ask that you collect and publicly disclose detailed performance data about the First Look program so that Congress and the public can monitor its effectiveness. 

6. Credit Scores: We support strong underwriting guidelines for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie, but we are interested in the opportunities that additional competition in the credit scoring market could create.  FHFA announced recently that the Enterprises are studying alternatives to the FICO score and will be updating the version of the FICO score that is used.  We encourage you to use this update as an opportunity to determine whether mortgage originators should be able to use alternative scoring models by FICO and its competitors.  Certain non-FICO score models-as well as more recent versions of the FICO score itself-incorporate the latest data on creditworthiness and better reflect the impact of the financial crisis on borrowers' credit histories.  We urge you to work with lenders to update credit models as soon as possible and to provide the necessary training to minimize errors during the furnishing process.  We also ask that you brief Congress as soon as the study and report are completed.

We look forward to working with you on these and other issues.