It turns out Sen. John McCain foresaw the impending Fannie Mae /
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis more than two years before it happened, and
co-sponsored legislation that would have required greater oversight of
the mortgage lending entities. But, of course, that legislation was
torpedoed by the Democrats, never making it out of committee. Obama did
nothing to speak out at the time in behalf of the legislation, and
would not sign on as a co-sponsor. Here's what John McCain said on May 25, 2006:
Mr. President, this week
Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of
profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and
systematically created" by the company's senior management, which
resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on
to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally
manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to
trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines,
Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that
over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was
directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial
misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit
restatement at Freddie Mac.
The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political
power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's
examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes
some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a
settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying
disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have
demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.
For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that
governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored
entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the
role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does
nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the
contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be
reformed without delay.
I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory
Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage
of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If
Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed
to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the
housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a
whole.
Blogs for John McCain
What did Barack do, or at least say, about this while in the Senate?
Or was he just "present?"
How about Joe? Joe was promoting legislation which would help MBNA, which is headquartered in DE.
Now, having done nothing to avoid the crisis (and some things to help it, in Joe's case), they can speak of the "failed Bush polcies" and promise the moon.
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