Bachus: Administration housing report not a real plan

He also criticized the White House for failing to offer a single plan. Instead, the administration’s report lays out three options for housing finance, with varying levels of government involvement.

“What the administration offered today isn’t a plan to move us forward, but rather a collection of options to consider. What’s needed is a real plan, and we intend to sit down with administration officials to find common ground,” he said. “The administration’s report today is just a start. What we need is legislation that protects taxpayers from further losses and future bailouts and builds a stable housing finance system based on private capital.”

Shaun Donovan, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, defended the menu of options earlier Friday. He said the Dodd-Frank financial reform law required the administration to lay out a series of options and the accompanying pros and cons of each. In addition, he said the administration did rule out some options, such as a wholly private housing finance system or one similar to the current arrangement.

“We did rule out certain options, so we are recommending deeper exploration of three options,” he said on a conference call with reporters.