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This is the outline of the bill that could have prevented this whole banking mess. It was the Democrats ideology of socialism that started it all. They wanted to have millions of low-income families be able to afford a mortgage and a house.
H.R. 1461 - Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005
Quote:
(Rep. Baker - [R, LA] Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule). This bill would substantially overhaul the safety, soundness and mission-oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks, collectively referred to as the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The bill would place all of the housing GSEs under a single independent regulator with full conservatorship and receivership powers, broad authority to set capital standards to address the risks of the enterprises’ operations, enhanced mission oversight, and strengthened enforcement authority. The bill also establishes an Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), similar to the funds run by the Federal Home Loan Banks, under which a portion of the profits of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would be used for production and preservation of low-income affordable housing. H.R. 1461 - Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005 (Rep. Baker - Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule). This bill would substantially overhaul the safety, soundness and mission-oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks, collectively referred to as the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The bill would place all of the housing GSEs under a single independent regulator with full conservatorship and receivership powers, broad authority to set capital standards to address the risks of the enterprises’ operations, enhanced mission oversight, and strengthened enforcement authority. The bill also establishes an Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), similar to the funds run by the Federal Home Loan Banks, under which a portion of the profits of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would be used for production and preservation of low-income affordable housing. [66.218.69.11/search - end quote]
Democrats Blocked Financial Reforms that McCain and GOP Proposed in 2005!
Quote:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together hold or own up to FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS in mortgage debt. That’s more than half the total of the current U.S. national debt.
Their failure is what has sparked the world financial crisis and the blame lies solely with the Democrats in Congress who shielded them from reform for years while Democrat party hacks running the companies enriched themselves. (it’s a Democrat scandal as I described here)...
Republican Reforms Blocked by Democrats
In the year 2000 Congressman Richard Baker (R-La.) then the chairman of the House subcommittee that had jurisdiction over Fannie and Freddie introduced legislation to more tightly regulate the mortgage giants. The bill never saw the light of day. Congresspersons from both parties receive contributions from Fan & Fred (the list) and collectively they spent $174 million lobbying Congress the last ten years.
The result of Rep. Baker’s legislation would not have been a surprise to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) who had proposed tighter regulation in the 1990’s only to find a highly paid Fannie Mae lobbyist stalking him at events in his district and who played hardball by directing calls to every mortgage holder in the Congressman’s district falsely implying that Ryan meant to raise their rates.
In 2004 another attempt was launched. The Senate took up a measure put forwarded by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) only to have it blocked again by Fan & Fred using Democrats as a partisan attack machine:
Fannie and Freddie chose to fight legislation in the Senate Banking Committee that embodied the administration’s minimum requirements, particularly the receivership provision, in the late spring of 2004. The companies called in their chits and managed to obtain solid Democratic opposition to the bill crafted by the committee’s chairman, Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). The committee also watered down the receivership provision. The partisan nature of the vote to send the bill to the floor virtually assured that it would not be taken up in the Senate unless Fannie and Freddie relented in their opposition … but Fannie and Freddie would not budge. It may be that the [Fan&Fred] were banking on the defeat of President George W. Bush and on the assumption that a Democratic president would abandon the effort to pass tougher regulation. If that was their thinking, it was an exceedingly costly error. [end quote]
http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/09/16/democrats-blocked-financial-reforms-that-mccain-and-gop-proposed-in-2005/
Here's more proof and specifically that McCain was one of the Senators that was leading an attempt to reform the banks. There is also a quote from McCain showing his support:
McCain warned Congress about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2005
Quote:
When people talk about Media Bias, this is exactly what they are talking about. John McCain has always been a reformer. Love him or hate him, whether he is stabbing his own Republican brothers in the back or standing by George Bush, he isn’t a partisan and he thinks for himself.
In 2005, John McCain was warning us about a mess that we find ourselves in now. This is an incredible statement, read what McCain said back then. It’s as if he saw the future, but not only did no one listen, it was Democrats that struck down this bill.
[John McCain quote]
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.
I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation. [end McCain's quote]
...Read the above comments and then tell me McCain isn’t a reformer. What’s more incredible is that not one news outlet is covering this story. Not a single one, not even Fox and Drudge. [end quote from lifeofrubin.com]
It was McCain and the Republicans that tried to prevent this huge mess with the banks three years ago. Dems killed it so why should the Republicans have continued to try and produce a meaningful bill?
GSE reform bill clears Senate Committee along party-line vote. (Business Alert)
Quote:
The Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (S. 190) would create and establish the Federal Housing Finance Agency as an independent agency. The legislation would give the new agency broad power to issue regulations and guide-lines, strong authority to better define and enforce charter acts, and flexible authority to set capital requirements over Fannie and Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
Throughout the bill's mark-up in committee, members from both parties repeatedly expressed how "close" each side was in its desire to move the bill. However, the devil in the details was Fannie and Freddie's $1.5 trillion mortgage portfolio investment holdings.
The Republican-backed measure would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell portfolio assets unrelated to their mortgage securities businesses. A Democratic alternative would have permitted the regulator to reduce the GSEs' portfolio without requiring such cuts
In opposing portfolio caps, Democrats expressed concern that such restrictions would harm Fannie and Freddie's ability to ensure the mortgage market liquidity needed to foster affordable housing... [end quote]
last quote from: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4747361/GSE-reform-bill-clears-Senate.html
McCain is one of the top leaders in the reforming of banks. He was a co-sponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Reform Act of 2005 that the Democrats killed:
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 -
Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.
Sponsor Sen. Charles Hagel [R, NE] and 3 Co-Sponsors:
- Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R, NC]
- Sen. John McCain [R, AZ]
- Sen. John Sununu [R, NH]
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/109-s190/show
Here is a summary of the bill McCain co-sponsored in 2005:
S. 190 [109th]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005
Quote:
The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service, a well-respected nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress. GovTrack did not write and has no control over these summaries.
1/26/2005--Introduced.
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting.
Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation. Transfers the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation.
Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements.
Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance [end quote from govtrack.us]
McCain's attempt to fix Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac in 2005; Update: Obama can't get AIG right
By Ed Morrissey
9-17-08
Quote:
With the financial sector in turmoil today, the media and the politicians have started throwing around blame with the same recklessness as lenders threw around credit to create the problem. Politically, the pertinent question is this: Which candidate foresaw the credit crisis and tried to do something about it? As it turns out, John McCain did — and partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending three years ago, after an attempt by the Bush administration died in Congress two years earlier. McCain spoke forcefully on May 25, 2006, on behalf of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (via Beltway Snark):
[I posted the McCain's speech referred to here above]
In this speech, McCain managed to predict the entire collapse that has forced the government to eat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with Bear Stearns and AIG. He hammers the falsification of financial records to benefit executives, including Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson, both of whom have worked as advisers to Barack Obama this year. McCain also noted the power of their lobbying efforts to forestall oversight over their business practices. He finishes with the warning that proved all too prescient over the past few days and weeks...
Barack Obama’s statement on the American International Group (AIG) bailout:
“The fact that we have reached a point where the Federal Reserve felt it had to take this unprecedented step with the American Insurance Group is the final verdict on the failed economic philosophy of the last eight years. While we do not know all the details of this arrangement, the Fed must ensure that the plan protects the families that count on insurance. It should bolster our economy’s ability to create good-paying jobs and help working Americans pay their bills and save their money. It must not bail out the shareholders or management of AIG.
“This crisis serves as a stark reminder of the failures of crony capitalism and an economic philosophy that sees any regulation at all as unwise and unnecessary. It’s a philosophy that lets Washington lobbyists shred consumer protections and distort our economy so it works for the special interests instead of working people; a philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to the rest.
“Instead, the pain has trickled up – from the struggles of Main Street all the way up to the crises on Wall Street.
“Despite his eleventh hour conversion to the language of reform, Senator McCain has subscribed to this philosophy for twenty-six years in Washington and the events of this week have rendered it a colossal failure. It is time for a new economic strategy, guided by the principle that America prospers when all Americans prosper, where common-sense rules of the road ensure that competition is fair, open, and honest. That is the strategy I will pursue as President, and I will bring the change we need to restore confidence in our financial markets and strength to our economy,” said Barack Obama.
As we have seen, McCain has been talking reform for three years, with no assist from Barack Obama. And McCain at least knows the correct name of the company that got its bailout last night from the federal government. Is Team Obama so incompetent that they couldn’t check the name before issuing the statement. [end quote from hotair.com]
With all this information about how McCain co-sponsored a reform bill in 2005, it appears he is ideally suited to help us out of our disastrous financial troubles and reform the banks; especially as president.
Obama is near top of the list on money actually coming into his pockets from Freddie and Fannie. This information along with very interesting remarks about Obama is in the following transcript from a Fox News cable report and the video of it is directly below:
Quote:
HEATHER NAUERT: Barack Obama attacking John McCain once again on the economy and the market turmoil today. Our John Gibson has new information on the Democratic presidential nominee and the mortgage mess for us now. What have you got John?
JOHN GIBSON: Alright Heather. Lehman Brothers’ collapse is traced back to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two big mortgage banks that got a federal bailout a few weeks ago. Freddie and Fannie used huge lobbying budgets and political contributions to keep regulators off their backs. A group called the center for responsive politics keeps track of which politicians get Fannie and Freddie political contributions. The top three U.S. Senators getting big Fannie and Freddie political bucks were democrats and number two is Senator Barack Obama.
Now, remember, he has only been in the Senate four years but still managed to grab the number two spot ahead of John Kerry, decades in the senate, and Chris Dodd who is chairman of the senate banking committee. Fannie and Freddie have been creations of the congressional democrats and the Clinton white house, designed to make mortgages available to more people, and as it turned out, some people who couldn’t afford them. Fannie and Freddie have also been places for big Washington democrats to go to work in the semi-private sector and pocket millions. The Clinton administration’s white house budget director Franklin Raines ran Fannie and collected 50 million dollars. Jamie Gurilli, Clinton Justice Apartment Official, worked for Fannie and took home 26 million dollars. Big Democrat Jim Johnson, recently on Obama’s VP search committee has hauled in millions from his Fannie Mae C.E.O. job.
Now remember, Obama’s ads and stump speeches attack McCain and republican policies for the current financial turmoil. It is demonstrably not Republican policy and worse, it appears the man attacking McCain, Senator Obama, was at the head of the line when the piggy’s lined up at the Fannie and Freddie trough for campaign bucks. Senator Barack Obama, number two on the Fannie/Freddie list of favored politicians after just four short years in the senate. Next time you see that ad, you might notice he fails to mention that part of the Fannie and Freddie problem. Heather.
NAUERT: Wow, that’s quite a report, begs the question — where is John McCain on this?
GIBSON: John McCain is a measly $20,000 after over 20 years so he really doesn’t even come close in the political contribution department. [end quote]
This is the video for the above transcript.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-_HlpZ8azA
Barney Frank is a Democrat and is a major influence on Obama. Here is considerable criticism of Frank from two big news organizations, and I've highlighted the info about Richard Baker's reform attempt in 2000 in bold:
Barney Frank 'fesses up on financial crisis
by Sam Dealey
9-23-08
Quote:
Over the past few weeks I've been skeptical of claims by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, that he's been a consistent and leading voice for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored home-lending giants whose fall is the immediate cause of the current financial turmoil. The Massachusetts Democrat and I went at it here and here and here. Now, finally, Frank acknowledges that he dismissed ample warnings about Fannie and Freddie shenanigans five years ago.
Here's an exchange with CNN's John Roberts yesterday:
ROBERTS: Congressman, you know, a lot—big question that people asking is, how do we get to this point here. And minority leader John Boehner there in the House has pointed fingers at Senator Chris Dodd and you four years ago opposing reform of entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Wall Street Journal says in the year 2000 when Representative Richard Baker [R, LA] proposed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform you dismissed it. New York Times reports that an administration proposal in 2003 to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was met by response from you where you said, "I do not believe that we're facing any kind of crisis." Were you responsible for the delay—
FRANK: Of course not. Can I make a point here?
ROBERTS: Yes.
FRANK: In 2000 and 2003, who was in control of Congress? The Republicans—Mr. Boehner. The Democrats were in the minority. And yes, I did not think we were facing a crisis in 2003. But that didn't mean we didn't have to have reforms. Here's the deal. ...
Frank then goes on to his now standard lament that a Republican-controlled Congress failed to produce reform and that it was only under his Democratic stewardship that the siblings were reined in. Leaving aside that the 2007 reforms were hardly the stuff that was needed, Frank shows uncharacteristic modesty. While the White House was unable to push through meaningful reforms five years ago, that's in good part because Frank did his best to thwart them... [end quote - usnews.com]
Here is a link to an extensive interview with Richard Baker about Fannie and Freddie in the year 2000 called "Q&A with Rep. Richard Baker, R-LA" by Julie Kosterlitz on 5-12-00:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20080512_2948.php
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They all really need to be killed. We need to start over and cease all foreign entanglements. This country is broken and I am going to fix it by any means necessary. If you think that Washington cannot be destroyed in one night, you are wrong. If you pay taxes, you are a sucker. They cannot arrest everyone.
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Posted by joseph33
on 2008-09-25 00:28:43
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| Views: 155
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