Federal Credit Programs

CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options and their estimated effects on the federal budget. This report presents 76 options for altering spending or revenues to reduce federal budget deficits over the next decade.

CBO analyzes how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac achieve their housing goals by offering discounts on their standard fees for mortgages that meet the goals’ requirements and charging higher fees for mortgages that do not meet the requirements.

CBO examines ways in which the federal government and private entities share the risk involved in various federal credit programs, including those related to home mortgages, small businesses, and project financing.

CBO uses several measures of student loan repayment to describe borrowers’ outcomes from 2009 to 2019, before payments were suspended during the pandemic.

CBO estimates the costs of federal credit programs in 2025 in two ways—following procedures prescribed by the Federal Credit Reform Act and using a fair-value approach, which measures the market value of the government’s obligations.

To assess the full costs of federal loans and loan guarantees, CBO has developed a method for estimating the present value of the lifetime administrative costs of certain federal credit programs.

CBO estimates the flood damage homes with federally backed mortgages are expected to face in multiyear periods centered on 2020 and 2050, reflecting the effects of climate change. The agency also analyzes where that damage is concentrated.

CBO describes the commitments the federal government has made through its credit and insurance programs, including housing, real estate, and student loan programs, deposit insurance, insurance for private pensions, and flood and crop insurance.

CBO describes the Housing Trust Fund's and Capital Magnet Fund's income, spending, and budgetary impact, how their grants are used in the production of low-income housing, and how the funds compare with other support for affordable housing.

CBO describes the securitization programs of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and compares its baseline budget projections for Ginnie Mae with outcomes under a scenario of severe economic stress.

CBO describes VA’s mortgage guarantee program, provides estimates of the budgetary costs of the program, and compares those costs with expenditures for other federal guarantees.

This report examines approaches to budgeting that would distinguish expenditures for investment in physical capital, education, and research and development from other expenditures.

This report explains the details of two approaches to measuring the cost of government activities that involve financial risk, the qualitative differences between them, and their application to various activities and programs.