	Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are congressionally chartered, stockholder-owned companies known as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs or the enterprises ) that receive special favorable treatment in return for limiting their businesses to purchasing existing mortgages and either holding them as investments or pooling them into mortgage-backed securities, which are sold to institutional investors. Some of the mortgages that Fannie and Freddie purchase must meet certain affordable housing goals. In September 2008, as a result of losses and insufficient capital reserves, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed with their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to go into conservatorship with the goal of returning the GSEs to financial health. Since the start of conservatorship, the government has purchased more than $150 billion in special preferred stock issued by the two GSEs. Since the financial crisis, the two GSEs have accounted for more than half of all new mortgages in the country. On January 26, 2011, Representative Jason Chaffetz introduced the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Transparency Act of 2011 ( H.R. 463 ), which would make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subject to FOIA. On July 12, 2011, the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises forwarded H.R. 463 to the full committee by a voice vote. No further action has been taken on the bill. When should private entities in federal conservatorship be considered federal agencies for the purposes of certain recordkeeping and records accessibility laws? Would making Fannie and Freddie subject to FOIA prompt serious concerns for private institutions that in the future are found in federal conservatorship? Not all of these questions can be answered in this report. It then identifies additional policy options for Congress. Possible FOIA Requests

As stockholder-owned and -controlled companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not usually considered government agencies and would not appear to be covered by FOIA. government." FOIA applies only to agencies in the executive branch of the federal government. Applying this test to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac campaign contribution records, the district court found that although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac voluntarily agreed to the conservatorship and, thus, to FHFA's taking control of their records, and although FHFA has "virtually unrestricted ... use of the records," "the records ... are not relevant to the supervisory mission of the FHFA and ..., for that reason, no agency employees have read or relied on the requested records" and "the FHFA ... plans to return the records to the Enterprises once the conservatorship ends...." For the appellate court, because the FHFA did not use the records, access to them would in no way further the objectives of the FOIA: 
[t]he public cannot learn anything about an agency decisionmaking from a document the agency neither created nor consulted, and requiring disclosure under these circumstances would do nothing to further the FOIA's purpose of 'open[ing] agency action to the light of public scrutiny.... On May 23, 2011, H.R. 463 was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. At the hearing, Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the FHFA, testified that FOIA was not designed to apply to private companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. §552) grants the public presumptive access—without explanation or justification—to certain existing, identifiable, unpublished, executive branch agency records. FOIA includes nine categories of exemption from disclosure, including information that could prompt national security concerns, invade privacy, or damage financial markets, among other concerns. Disputes over the accessibility of requested records can be appealed administratively or ultimately settled in court.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are congressionally chartered, stockholder-owned companies known as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Their charters grant them special favorable treatment in return for supporting the nation's housing by limiting their businesses to purchasing existing mortgages and either holding them as investments or pooling them into mortgage-backed securities, which are sold to institutional investors. In addition, Fannie and Freddie are charged with meeting certain affordable housing goals.
In September 2008, as a result of losses and inadequate capital reserves, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed with the federal government to go into conservatorship. In conservatorship, the government takes control of a failing financial institution with the goal of returning it to financial health and stockholder control. Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went into conservatorship, the government has purchased more than $150 billion in special stock issued by the two organizations. Since the financial crisis in 2008, the two GSEs have helped to finance more than half of all new mortgages in the country.
As stockholder-owned and -controlled companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would not normally be considered government agencies and would not appear to be covered by FOIA. On January 26, 2011, Representative Jason Chaffetz introduced the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Transparency Act of 2011 (H.R. 463) that would make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subject to FOIA by requiring them to be considered federal "agencies" for the purposes of FOIA. H.R. 463 was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services on March 23, 2011.
On May 25, 2011, Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, testified that making Fannie and Freddie subject to FOIA could generate operational, compliance, and legal costs.
On July 12, 2011, the House Committee on Financial Services' Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises voted to approve the bill at markup, and it was then forwarded to the full committee. No further action has been taken on the bill.
This report examines some possible effects of applying FOIA to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and identifies some open questions that Congress may address in this context. The report analyzes how certain FOIA requirements and guidelines may pose concerns if they are applied to private institutions. The report explores cases in which members of the public sought information from an entity in federal conservatorship, as well as how Amtrak, a shareholder-owned company that is financially dependent on the federal government through grants and entitlements, administers FOIA.