This Is How the Senate Banking GSE Vote Plays Out

American Banker
Monday, May 5, 2014

The Senate Banking Committee is continuing negotiations on legislation to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but it remains unclear when panel leaders will reschedule a vote on the bill. Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) postponed the vote to win additional support within the committee. Supporters hope the bill will attract several more Democrats to the coalition, showing the support necessary to bring the bill to the Senate floor. Failing that, Johnson and Crapo may choose to pass the bill out of the committee without hope of seeing it on the Senate floor simply to set a milestone for later debate. A third possibility: the vote could be postponed indefinitely and the bill allowed to die in committee.