The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has approved the nomination of Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) for the position of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director (see Memo, 7/19). However, the full Senate did not consider the nomination prior to the August recess. Mr. Watt’s nomination is expected to be the first considered by the Senate in the fall. The vote will likely occur prior to the end of October. NLIHC strongly supports Mr. Watt’s nomination and urges advocates to contact their Senators and ask them to vote in favor of Mr. Watt’s nomination. In his role as a Congressman, Mr. Watt has been a long-time supporter of the National Housing Trust Fund. NLIHC is hopeful that Mr. Watt will have a more favorable view of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s obligation to make contributions to the National Housing Trust Fund than the current Director, Edward DeMarco, has been. Despite Fannie and Freddie’s record profits, Mr. DeMarco continues to decline to lift the suspension on the requirement enacted in 2008 that the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) contribute to the National Housing Trust Fund. The requirement was suspended when the GSEs were taken into conservatorship by the FHFA during the financial crisis in fall 2008. NLIHC, the Right to the City Alliance, and three individual plaintiffs sued Mr. DeMarco in July 2013 to begin making the payments to the NHTF (see Memo, 7/12). A response from FHFA is expected by October 16.