Southern New Jersey Overlook

The Washington Post published (6/9) a report, How HUD Mortgage Policy Fed The Crisis, subtitled, Subprime Loans Labeled 'Affordable'.  The article basically takes HUD to task for fueling the risky lending process, under the banner of "affordable" housing, that was characteristic of the subprime mortgage market.  It implicates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but focuses on HUD, starting under the Clinton administration.
 
The next day (6/10), HUD fired off their response with a press release entitled, Setting the Record Straight, in which it states that "the Washington Post, citing former HUD officials and academics, claimed HUD's affordable housing goal requirements of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped to fuel the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. This is a gross misrepresentation of much larger forces that were at work in the mortgage market. We believe it's time for a reality check..."
 
HUD goes on to point the finger at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but ultimately at Congress, calling on it to create a stronger, world-class regulator of Fannie and Freddie.
 
In the process it points out that 92% of the current mortgages are being paid on time and often by underserved borrowers who were previously unable to obtain mortgages prior to HUD's affordable housing goals.
 
As participants and front-row observers, we are directly impacted by this crisis and what is being done to correct it and what steps will be taken to make sure it doesn't happen again.  
 
From your prospective, have these two articles correctly defined the problem and possible solutions or is one more accurate from your experience than the other.  Or, are both just pieces of a broader issue?
 
Of course, we all know that the government never lies, newspapers always get their facts straight and reporters never have a hidden agenda or bias.  ;-)



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