System. Fannie mae and freddie mac have been in conservatorship for close to nine years. In september 2008, then treasury secretary hank paulson famously described the conservatorships as a timeout. Today, fannie and freddie along with fha continue to dominate the Mortgage Market. Approximately 70 of the mortgages are backed by the federal government. While fannie and freddie are currently earning profits, if the Housing Market experiences a downturn, taxpayers could again be on the hook for billions of dollars. The status quo is not a viable option. The Housing Finance system depends on two Government Sponsored Enterprises and perpetual conservatorship is not a sustainable solution. Taxpayers today bear too much risk and the government plays too big a role in the Mortgage Market. A number of groups have released proposals for reform in recent months. Including the mba, the icba, the milken institute, several coauthors writing jointly for the urban institute, and many others. The commi