Democrats trying to pressure Fannie, Freddie into loan forgiveness

Read here:

A top regulator’s unbending refusal to use troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rescue underwater homeowners is whipping up a growing protest from liberal lawmakers and advocacy groups — some of whom are now calling on President Obama to fire him.

The little-known Washington official, Edward DeMarco, is under pressure by the left to reduce mortgage principals for struggling borrowers. Nearly 20 Democrats in Congress along with groups like MoveOn.org have launched somewhat of a campaign against the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Their solution would presumably help thousands of families, but at taxpayer expense.

And DeMarco has suggested it just wouldn’t be fair to use government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to clear the way for a multi-billion-dollar homeowner bailout. In a recent letter, he said foreclosure prevention programs have already added to American taxpayer loss and destabilized neighborhoods.

But the lawmakers and advocacy groups allege he’s standing in the way of a robust housing recovery, and want him to either relent to their demands or step down. Absent that, some are calling on Obama to fire him.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Financial Service Committee, recently joined the ranks of those calling on DeMarco to step down.

The lawmakers specifically want DeMarco to agree to write down principal amounts for struggling homeowners. The Van Jones-backed Rebuild the Dream, which is circulating a petition supposedly signed by 90,000 people, calls DeMarco the “number one obstacle to solutions for struggling homeowners” and a “right-wing ideologue” who sides with Wall Street.

A House aide with the Progressive Caucus, whose members are pressuring DeMarco, told FoxNews.com that the strategy is to get him to “write down the loans or get out of the way.”