WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the release of the legislative text of the bipartisan housing finance reform agreement announced last Tuesday by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo’s (R-Idaho):

“As an early supporter of legislation that would greatly improve the U.S. housing finance system, I appreciate Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo’s commitment to pursuing this critical issue. The release of the committee’s draft text is an important step forward in the process of building a better housing market. I am encouraged to see that there continues to be bipartisan agreement that the current system is unacceptable, and it is promising to see the principles that I supported in S. 1217 largely reflected in the recently released discussion draft. I look forward to advancing the discussion as we work to include strong taxpayer protections in the pursuit of a healthy housing market.”

Sen. Moran is a cosponsor of the Housing Finance Report and Taxpayer Protection Act (S. 1217), which he introduced in June 2013 along with 12 of his Senate Banking Committee colleagues. S. 1217 would strengthen America’s housing finance system by replacing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that preserves market liquidity and protects taxpayers from future economic downturns.

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