Senator Bob Corker is pushing to advance his plan to bar the Treasury Department from selling its stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until Congress approves a housing-finance overhaul.
Corker has won his party’s support to fast-track his legislation prohibiting Treasury from selling or liquidating preferred shares in the U.S-owned mortgage companies, a step that could see it passed without debate, according to a Senate aide who request asked not to be named. The effort faces a stumbling block in the form of a hold on the bill placed by Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, which would prevent a vote by the full Senate.
The legislation would be a blow to hedge funds including Pershing Square Capital Management and Fairholme Capital Management, which have made large bets on the companies’ common and preferred shares. Hedge funds are challenging the U.S. takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in federal court to stop an arrangement in which the Treasury takes all of the entities’ profits as a dividend on the $187.5 billion taxpayer bailout the companies required after the 2008 financial crisis.
The Corker legislation would block investors from receiving a payout for their shares from the Treasury Department. It is cosponsored by Senators David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, and Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat.
The bill failed to advance when it was offered as an amendment to the fiscal year 2016 budget. Brown hasn’t given a reason for placing a hold on the legislation, which could advance quickly if he removes the block. Greg Vadala, a spokesman for the Senator, declined to comment on the status of the legislation.