In a letter to members of the House Oversight and Financial Services Committees, public interest groups are urging representatives to vote against HR 5381, the “GRATER Act.” HR 5381 mandates that Federal agencies transfer all credit and guarantee risk assumed by the government to the private sector, to the maximum extent possible. This mandate would put Wall Street in the driver’s seat in the pricing and execution of critical Federal guarantee programs ranging from mortgage and student lending to disaster relief, and could result in significantly increased costs for taxpayers.
