Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, July 17, 2013 - UPDATE: After releasing details of the PATH Act, the full committee held a hearing entitled “A Legislative Proposal to Protect American Taxpayers and Homeowners by Creating a Sustainable Housing Finance System” on July 17, 2013, bringing the total to 12 hearing and more than 50 witnesses on this subject since January.

We've blogged before about the importance of holding in-depth hearings with leading experts and stakeholders before advancing important legislation. That's why we've held 11 hearings this year to gather a wide variety of ideas and opinions on how to best reform America's government-run housing finance system. 

The product of the hearings below is the PATH Act -- the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act. We'll hold a full committee hearing on the PATH Act tomorrow at 1 p.m. but you can read the discussion draft (.pdf) as well as a section-by-section summary (.pdf) of the proposal in advance. 

1. “Examining the Proper Role of the Federal Housing Administration in our Mortgage Insurance Market” (Full Committee on February 6, 2013 | What we learned)


2. “Bailout, Bust, or Much Ado About Nothing?: A Look at the Federal Housing Administration’s 2012 Actuarial Report” (Full Committee on February 13, 2013 | What we learned)


3. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: How Government Housing Policy Failed Homeowners and Taxpayers and Led to the Financial Crisis” (Capital Markets & GSEs Subcommittee on March 6, 3013 | What we learned)


4. “Mortgage Insurance: Comparing Private Sector and Government-Subsidized Approaches” (Housing & Insurance Subcommittee on March 13, 2013 | What we learned)


5. “Sustainable Housing Finance: An Update from the Federal Housing Finance Agency on the GSE Conservatorships” (Full Committee on March 19, 2013 | What we learned)


6. “Sustainable Housing Finance: Perspectives on Reforming the FHA” (Housing & Insurance Subcommittee on April 10, 2013 | What we learned)


7. “Building a Sustainable Housing Finance System: Examining Regulatory Impediments to Private Investment Capital” (Full Committee on April 24, 2013 | What we learned)


8. “Sustainable Housing Finance: The Government’s Role in Multifamily and Health Care Facilities Mortgage Insurance and Reverse Mortgages” (Housing & Insurance Subcommittee on May 16, 2013 | What we learned)


9. “Qualified Mortgages: Examining the Impact of the Ability to Repay Rule” (Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit Subcommittee on May 21, 2013 | What we learned)


10. “Beyond GSEs: Examples of Successful Housing Finance Models without Explicit Government Guarantees” (Full Committee on June 12, 2013 | What we learned)


11. “Examining How the Dodd-Frank Act Hampers Home Ownership” (Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit Subcommittee on June 18, 2013 | What we learned)