By Nick Timiraos | The New York Times
Washington is finally talking seriously about how to replace Fannie Mae FNMA +2.26% and Freddie Mac, FMCC +0.78% the mortgage-finance juggernauts that the government was forced to rescue five years ago. Just don’t expect quick action.
The firms are proving to be as difficult to shut down as the U.S.-operated Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided over what to do. On the surface, the disagreements concern what role the government should play in the mortgage market.
But the real debate boils down to this: Should all Americans continue to have relatively easy access to the pre-payable, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage?
