WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two influential Democratic lawmakers warned on Friday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could derail a $150 million clean-energy home-financing program and urged the Obama administration to rectify the problem with new regulatory guidance.
Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Henry Waxman, head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a letter that the two government-controlled mortgage finance providers have objected to tax liens on homes participating in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.
The programs, part of the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation last year, allow local governments to issue bonds to make loans to homeowners to cover the hefty upfront costs of installing solar panels and making other energy-saving improvements.
