In 2008, the federal government bailed out and took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two flawed government-sponsored enterprises whose practices in the secondary mortgage market contributed to the financial crisis. What was supposed to be a temporary patch during a financial crisis has metastasized into almost 12 years of inaction with taxpayers still on the hook for trillions of dollars worth of risky mortgages. Congress has yet to enact any significant housing overhaul, but a newly-proposed rule could be the first step to putting an end to the government's conservatorship of the troubled GSEs.
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