Garrett Statement on GAO Adding FHA to “High-Risk” List

Feb 14, 2013 Issues: Budget, Financial Services

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, released the following statement today after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to its “high-risk” list:

“Government guarantees are not free, and, per today’s report, they clearly don’t bring about good policy.  Instead of learning from past mistakes, President Obama has doubled down on FHA’s disastrous approach.  The simple truth is that the FHA is providing financing for homes to people who cannot afford to pay for them.  It should come as no surprise that the GAO is labeling FHA’s fiscal health as ‘high risk.’  Hopefully this report will be the much needed wake-up call to finally fix the FHA, reform our housing finance market, and reduce taxpayer exposure to further bailouts.”

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