Live blog: Politicians talk GSE reform, tax bill and more at MBA Advocacy

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

• “The whole international order has been disrupted. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I feel liberated from that. If you ask me, the simple thing that keeps me up, it is the destruction of our alliances and friendships around the world.”
• “We spoke up and we chastised the Biden administration, we chastised the Trump administration the first time. But there is such a fear at this point to voice against this President, that it is unlike anything that I witnessed in politics.”

Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY)

• `On trigger leads: “It’s about standing on the side of consumers. First, it’s about protecting data privacy. No one should have the ability to sell your data without consent and knowledge. And then second, it’s about consumer protection.”

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI)

• “We are going to have some growing pains during these tariffs.”
• “President Trump is extremely engaged. He is very focused on what his vision is…he’s delivering what he promised during his campaign cycle. He’s surrounded himself with much different people than he did his first term.”
• Regarding the budget resolution: “We are in the middle of the budget resolution, but we are planning to do transformational legislation. I will share with everyone, it’s ugly…I am an optimist by nature. I believe the budget resolution will be passed this week. It’s going to look ugly over the next 36 hours, but I think the budget reconciliation will be unlocked.”
• Regarding the co-sponsoring of trigger leads bill: McClain “absolutely” pledges her support

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

• “When I took over as ranking member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, I said that lowering the cost of housing and giving everyone a better chance at buying a home would be my number one priority.”
• “But what’s happening at these agencies is a disaster. Over just the past several weeks…HUD has frozen tens of millions of dollars in grants. Providers to grants and support instruction, hundreds of affordable housing development projects across the country that were well under play are now in limbo.”
• “Our economy has taken a dangerous turn. Last week, the stock market experienced sharpest losses since the start of the COVID 19 pandemic. Unemployment claims are the highest they’ve been in their four years. Manufacturing shows signs of contraction. Surveys show that now can expect more unemployment, less income and higher prices in coming months. The unfolding turmoil is not caused by a death virus. Instead, this is caused by the President of the United States.”

• “The hard truth is that we cannot leave it to states and local governments to solve this housing crisis alone.” 
• “The Fed’s monetary policy has made…it more expensive to buy homes. Climate change has made disasters more common and more extreme, and that in turn, price of insurance, private equity, corporate giants unfurling their chemicals across that housing line are increasingly pricing families out of their own communities.”
• For housing, we need to think about housing as more is more.

MBA’s Mike Fratantoni

• “We’re already anticipating a slower growing, closing economy this year relative to what we had in the past couple of years.”
• “We’ve seen the builders really, really pick up the pace the last couple of years because of the lock in effect, we see fewer existing homes on the market now up to about nine months of supply on the new home side, about half a million new homes per sale. Now, on the existing side, it’s still tight, about three months of supply.”
• “The fact that inventory is up a bit, we are seeing home price growth decelerate a lot.”

HUD Secretary Scott Turner

The current HUD Secretary received a standing ovation when his session wrapped up. The former professional football player and pastor described himself as a “team player” and told attendees he’s looking to private industry to help fix housing affordability problems.

• “I’ve been a part of many huddles in my life and I’ve been a part of a lot of great teams. Today is a huddle. This is how I approach my position. Sometimes, you disagree with your teammates. Sometimes, you question them about why they did certain things. Sometimes, you challenge them. We’re not always going to all agree. It’s okay. Sometimes, you need to be challenged to why you’re doing what you’re doing.”

• “These issues are deeply personal to me because I have lived it and seen it. We actually care about the American people at HUD. This is not a job, this is a call and an assignment.”
• “Median home prices reached a record high of over 400,000 last year. Home sales in 2024 fell to the lowest level since 1995. These are just two examples of where we are. This data tells us that we cannot keep running the same old plays, getting the same old, tired results. I just said that we’re in a huddle. We have to start calling new plays. plays. We have to regroup. We have to understand that the status quo is not good enough.”
• “Public housing is not permanent housing or a permanent solution. It plays a role, but it is not the solution. Permanent is being detailed and deliberate about every dollar, every foreign-earned taxpayer, American dollar that we spend, and inventory to produce the variables.”
• “The President on day one made it clear that running things business as usual is over. 20-25% of single-family homes are under land use restrictions and regulations.”
• “We recently signed an order to use Federal land for housing. I’m looking forward to the continuation of Opportunity Zones. The spirit of the law of Opportunity Zones, just as a reminder, is economic development and community development, public-private partnership. I’m in favor because the private sector working with the public sector can bring about great results.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)

The senator from North Carolina didn’t appear in person. In a recorded video message, Tillis touched on several housing related subjects, notably GSE reform and the broader tax bill. But they were more general statements about what he supports, with no insights into Congress’ role in an exit from conservatorship or negotiations on the landmark tax bill.

• “The mortgage industry employs over 275,000 people, and your economic contributions are huge. I’m a proud supporter of making housing more affordable for all Americans, regardless of background, so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their American dream. I’m also committed to listening, learning and advocating…we can make this a reality through common sense supply side policies like expanding low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and bond caps to reflect the needs of the current housing demand.”
• “I’m also a strong supporter of responsibly transitioning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac how the FHFA deserves. Our housing system remains deep, liquid and dynamic while still supporting affordable home ownership opportunities for all Americans.”

Opening general session – Bob Broeksmit

As is custom, MBA President Bob Broeksmit delivered the opening remarks. He didn’t hold back, either.

• “Washington is in the throes of an historic experiment in shrinking the size and scope of government. We are not sure that some of the federal agencies we have blocked out will continue to function as they have, or even to exist down the road.”
• “President Trump’s bold vision for reorienting America’s economic and political relationships has introduced uncertainty in the marketplace. I’m grateful to the market for being up a few percentage points this morning, so we’re a little less sour than we were yesterday. But I’m sure many of you have experienced some shock and awe if you happened to check your 401K statement.”
• “Overly aggressive cuts to the federal programs that enable or encourage homeownership could be very disruptive to our industry and negatively impact millions of hardworking Americans who struggle to attain the American dream. On tax policy, members of Congress are struggling to reduce taxes without adding significantly to the nation’s debt and deficits. We will be vigilant and fight hard to retain tax policies that strengthen a competitive and provoke real estate marketplace.”
• “The biggest issue hanging over FHFA is the GSEs’ release from what was supposed to be a temporary conservatorship. Sixteen years later, with the new administration and Congress, we anticipate there will be new momentum for getting this job done.”