After Fannie, Freddie's wild ride, future is murky

``Yes, U.S. senators are taking an important step by introducing a piece of major housing-finance reform with bipartisan support . But analysts agree that there are vanishing chances for the Senate to approve a bill this year. Even if senators make progress next year on the legislation, an agreement still must be reached with U.S. House lawmakers, and Republicans there want the government to play a smaller role in a reformed housing-finance system than what senators have proposed.''