Prospects for a bipartisan housing-finance overhaul dimmed as Democrats on a U.S. Senate panel struggled to reach consensus on how to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. After a year of delicate bipartisan negotiations on a bill, Democrats on the 22-member Senate Banking Committee remained divided on issues including lending in disadvantaged communities, big-bank dominance of the mortgage market and the powers of a new regulator. Senate Banking Chair Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the ranking Republican on the committee, yesterday postponed a vote on the housing measure after negotiating its provisions late into Monday night. A lobbying visit to the Senate floor on Monday by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan also failed to produce more commitments from the panel’s six undecided Democrats.
