Page 4 - aruba-today-20201210

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 10 december 2020
High court takes on Fannie, Freddie presidential power case

By JESSICA GRESKO In 2008, in response to the
WASHINGTON (AP) — The housing crisis, the FHFA put
Supreme Court is hearing both Fannie and Freddie in
a case Wednesday that so-called government con-
could make it easier for the servatorships and arranged
president to fire the head of a government bailout that
the agency that oversees ultimately amounted to
government-controlled $187 billion. Four years later,
mortgage giants Fannie the government and Fan-
Mae and Freddie Mac. nie and Freddie adopted
The case could also mean new terms of their finan-
undoing an agreement be- cial agreement for paying
tween the companies and the money back. Under
the government that has that agreement, Fannie
sent about $246 billion in and Freddie gave the gov-
their profits to the Treasury. ernment nearly all of their
That was compensation for profits each quarter as a
the taxpayer bailout they dividend, some $246 billion.
received after the 2007 The shareholders have ob-
housing market crash. jected to that agreement.
The case before the justices They argue it should be
involves the Federal Hous- set aside because it was
ing Finance Agency, which In this June 9, 2020, file photo, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria testifies imposed by an unconstitu-
before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Wash-
oversees Fannie and Fred- ington. tional agency.
die and was created fol- Associated Press The Trump administra-
lowing the housing market tion, for its part, is arguing
crash. One of the questions government's consumer was, the head of the FHFA year, however, the justices that the shareholders are
for the court, which is hear- watchdog agency, was is nominated by the presi- suggested a potentially barred from challenging
ing arguments by phone created by Congress in re- dent and confirmed by the important difference be- the agreement. But the
because of the coronavirus sponse to the same finan- Senate to a five-year term. tween the CFPB and the government is not defend-
pandemic, is whether the cial crisis. The director is then only re- FHFA. The CFPB's regulatory ing the constitutionality of
agency's structure violates In the case involving the movable by the president and enforcement authority the FHFA's structure, and
the Constitution. CFPB, the court struck "for cause." is much greater, Chief Jus- the Supreme Court has ap-
The case is in many ways down restrictions Congress That structure can leave a tice John Roberts wrote. pointed a lawyer to argue
similar to one the justices imposed that said the pres- new president with a direc- In the case before the jus- that position.
decided earlier this year ident could only fire the tor chosen by the previous tices, which involves Fan- The two consolidated cas-
involving the FHFA's com- agency's director for "inef- president for some or all of nie Mae and Freddie Mac es the court is hearing are
panion agency, the Con- ficiency, neglect of duty, or the new president's time in shareholders, the verdict Collins v. Mnuchin, 19-422,
sumer Financial Protec- malfeasance in office." Just office. could have major conse- and Mnuchin v. Collins, 19-
tion Bureau. The CFPB, the as the head of the CFPB In their decision earlier this quences. 563.q

Baker, Cuomo to be honored by Edward M. Kennedy Institute

of the disease, including the public transit agency's nation's strongest paid
pushing people to wear finances. family leave program and
masks in public and take Baker has come under some of its strongest gun
other precautions. criticism for his handling safety laws, the largest
The institute praised both of a second surge of the investment in education
governors for actions be- coronavirus in Massachu- in state history and a first-
yond their handling of setts, particularly his deci- in-the-nation Green New
the pandemic. It pointed sion to allow restaurants to Deal for New York, the in-
to efforts by Baker to use continue to allow indoor stitute said.
public-private partner- dining, which he didn't al- Cuomo has been faulted
ships to spur economic de- low during the initial surge. for not acting sooner to
velopment, overhaul the Baker has said that res- shut down New York City
state's regulatory environ- taurants have taken pre- during the early days of the
Gov. Charlie Baker speaks after touring the DCU Center as it
gears up to be used as a COVID-19 field hospital for the sec- ment and deliver tax relief cautions, and this week pandemic and for waiting
ond time on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 in Worcester, Mass. by doubling the Earned In- he announced that their too long to require New
Associated Press come Tax Credit. capacity limit would be re- Yorkers to wear masks.
It also noted Baker's efforts duced from 50% to 40% as He's also been criticized
BOSTON (AP) — Mas- Cuomo, a Democrat, to invest in K-12 education, of Sunday. for a March 25 order that
sachusetts Gov. Charlie have led their states during combat the opioid crisis The institute praised Cuo- sent thousands of recov-
Baker and New York Gov. the coronavirus pandem- and expand the state's mo, who first took office on ering COVID-19 patients
Andrew Cuomo are set to ic, and both were among reliance on renewable January 2011, for fighting from hospitals into nursing
be honored with the Ed- the hardest-hit places dur- energy. And it credited his "for social, racial and eco- homes. The U.S. Justice
ward M. Kennedy Institute ing the first wave of infec- spearheading of changes nomic justice for all New Department is trying deter-
Award for Inspired Lead- tions last spring. Cuomo at the Massachusetts Bay Yorkers." mine whether New York is
ership at a virtual event and Baker were credited Transportation Author- Under Cuomo's leader- undercounting coronavi-
Wednesday evening. with taking actions that ity that were meant to im- ship, New York passed a rus deaths among nursing
Baker, a Republican, and helped slow the spread prove service and stabilize $15 minimum wage, the home residents.q