McCain Letter Demanded 2006 Action on Fannie and Freddie - HUMAN EVENTS »
Posted By Klarissa 8 months, 3 weeks ago in Political NewsSen. John McCain's 2006 demand for regulatory action on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have prevented current financial crisis, as HUMAN EVENTS learned from the letter shown in full text below.
McCain's letter -- signed by nineteen other senators -- said that it was " ...vitally important that Congress take the necessary steps to ensure that [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac]...operate in a safe and sound manner.[and]..More importantly, Congress must ensure that the American taxpayer is protected in the event that either...should fail."
Sen. Obama did not sign the letter, nor did any other Democrat.
Read Full Story at humanevents.com »
2334 Views Share Story 36 Comments Report
Submitted By:
Klarissa
California, UC Berkeley grad. Ex-PTA president. Eat your dessert first, life is uncertain. Bridge player, water colorist, web master. Old lady.
Don't ask to ...
Who Also Submitted:
Other Related Articles:
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 132 (view all)
-
-
-
59%
Goppy8 months, 3 weeks ago
Klarissa!
Reply
What are you talking about?!?!
It's a proven fact that our troops support Barack Obama.
Do you think our troops would do that if Democrats didn't put our nation first ?
Actually ... it seems patently obvious that YOU are the one who don't put our nation first.
You and your daughter, redtomato ... have been waging a war against truth, honesty, and righteousness with every hate-filled story you promote.
Our troops have donated to Barack Obama at a rate of 6 to 1 compared to John McCain.
In fact, our troops donate to RON PAUL over John McCain!!!
Why do you think that is, Klarissa?
Because John McCain has fought against the interests of veterans for many, many years.
Even recently ... he voted against expanding education benefits for our American soldiers returning from Iraq.
Democrats fought for this expansion for our soldiers because our current President ... ... ... who YOU support ... ... ... is so dangerous and incompetent, he's forced our troops to remain in Iraq for numerous rotations ... thereby causing many to lose their jobs.
In this video ... there's a number of veterans ... and a number of Right Wing Leaning Americans who POINT OUT how John McCain has been such a thorn in their side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM1xqqTX_g
In addition to fighting against our troops ... Johnny has been the ROOT CAUSE of our current economic crisis ... going back to his accepting bribes from Charles Keating ... when the deregulation of the banking industry first occurred.
John is up to his armpits in this economic mess.
And for you to say otherwise ... to support a man who does not have the support of our troops ... ... ... well it only proves that you have made the conscious decision to put our nation LAST ... behind your precious Neo-Conservative Ideology .... with it's Welfare for the Wealthy and Subsidies for Massive Military Contractors.
You know ... it's really sad the way you have become so full of propaganda ... just like redtomato and nixie.
What a trio.
Agents of Disinformation x three.
.. -
85%
Tcaros8 months, 3 weeks ago
Hmmmm.... Who is William Frist?
Reply
It is addressed to William Harrison Frist, M.D. was a Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. He served as Senate majority leader from 2003 to 2007.
He was the SENATE majority leader and a Republican. Did he act on it?
(this is why McCain is not trumpeting this letter- it was addressed to Frist) -
88%
earthlingerer8 months, 3 weeks ago
It's wonderful how little a letter says about a bill...
Reply
That bill called for the abolishment of the Federal Housing Finance Board, an entity "created in 1932 to improve the supply of funds to local lenders that, in turn, finance loans for home mortgages."
" The Finance Board ensures that the FHLBanks, which are privately capitalized, government-sponsored enterprises, operate in a safe and sound manner, carry out their housing and community development finance mission, and remain adequately capitalized and able to raise funds in the capital markets."
And... "The Finance Board is an independent regulatory agency of the executive branch of the U.S. Government, with a five-member board. Four board members are appointed by the President for seven-year terms, and the fifth member is the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or the secretary's designee."
Do you really think the president would sign a bill and fire his friends? Cause if you do, your as stupid as this half-of-the-story submission.
Sorry to burn you down and out McCain fools AGAIN! -
0%
hyperbola8 months, 3 weeks ago
Well, here is Klarissa onceagain trying to bamboozle Americans with an article from the anti-american, israel-first zioncon rag Human thinker. Come off it Klarissa. Why would any patriotic American listen to those whose first loyalty is not to America. You are in over your head and do not even understand how you are fleeced.
Reply
Anti-democratic nature of US capitalism is being exposed
Bretton Woods was the system of global financial management set up at the end of the second World War to ensure the interests of capital did not smother wider social concerns in post-war democracies. It was hated by the US neoliberals - the very people who created the banking crisis.
...The immediate origins of the current meltdown lie in the collapse of the housing bubble supervised by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, which sustained the struggling economy through the Bush years by debt-based consumer spending along with borrowing from abroad. But the roots are deeper. In part they lie in the triumph of financial liberalisation in the past 30 years - that is, freeing the markets as much as possible from government regulation.
...A study by international economists Winfried Ruigrok and Rob van Tulder 15 years ago found that at least 20 companies in the Fortune 100 would not have survived if they had not been saved by their respective governments, and that many of the rest gained substantially by demanding that governments "socialise their losses," as in today's taxpayer-financed bailout. Such government intervention "has been the rule rather than the exception over the past two centuries", they conclude.
... The financial market "underprices risk" and is "systematically inefficient", as economists John Eatwell and Lance Taylor wrote a decade ago, warning of the extreme dangers of financial liberalisation and reviewing the substantial costs already incurred - and proposing solutions, which have been ignored. One factor is failure to calculate the costs to those who do not participate in transactions. These "externalities" can be huge. Ignoring systemic risk leads to more risk-taking than would take place in an efficient economy, even by the narrowest measures.
In a functioning democratic society, a political campaign would address such fundamental issues, looking into root causes and cures, and proposing the means by which people suffering the consequences can take effective control.
http://www.propeller.com/story/2008/10/12/anti-dem...
-
-
redtomatoComment removed: User banned.23 Replies
-
redtomatoComment removed: User banned.
-
redtomatoComment removed: User banned.19 Replies
-
58%
Wolfie20078 months, 3 weeks ago
Well, well, well now we have in writing signed by nineteen other senators, McCain did try to stop the liberal democrats from sacking and looting Fannie and Freddie. We also have on tape the liberal democrats from the House telling everyone how Franklin Raines was doing a really good job over at Fannie Mae. Who are you going to believe? :)
Reply-
60%
earthlingerer8 months, 3 weeks ago
McCain and his crooked buddies wanted to abolish the Federal Housing Finance Board with that bill.
Reply
It's a regulatory agency (yeah, we know how McCain and his best friend Keating hate bank regulation) that oversees member banks to make sure that these privately capitalized banks keep lending, and stay in the black.
Keep howling at the moon wolfie, it's near full tonight, I can see by your post...
-
-
56%
nostalgia8 months, 3 weeks ago
Blame Fannie Mae and Congress For the Credit Mess
Reply
Many monumental errors and misjudgments contributed to the acute financial turmoil in which we now find ourselves. Nevertheless, the vast accumulation of toxic mortgage debt that poisoned the global financial system was driven by the aggressive buying of subprime and Alt-A mortgages, and mortgage-backed securities, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The poor choices of these two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) -- and their sponsors in Washington -- are largely to blame for our current mess.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212948811465427...
This article explains a great deal-
78%
rimbaud8 months, 3 weeks ago
There was no quick money to be made in the stocks so Wall Street started packaging "mortgage-backed securities" to sell, guranteed by "credit default swaps". The first problem was the mortgages were no good and the second was they had no capital to back the "credit default swaps" guaranteeing the bad mortgages. This was just bad accounting or bad risk-taking by the Wall Street investment houses.
Reply
-
-
-
-
53%
Goppy8 months, 3 weeks ago
Actually ... what is so surprising is the Right Wing Media's fascination with all things McCain / Palin.
Reply
In fact ... Mainstream Media is pushing this Creationist Bigot down our national throats in what can only be described as a repulsive, abusive manner.
Mainstream Media thinks Americans are so stupid, we will forget the past 8 years of ideologically driven incompetence ... a destruction perpetrated upon our nation that is so complete ... it rivals the destruction visited upon our nation by terrorists.
Why doesn't MSM ever talk about John McCain's adultery?
John McCain was a FLAGRANT adulterer ... if a Democrat had behaved like John McCain ... that's ALL MSM would talk about for month upon month.
All of you on this thread KNOW this is true.
John McCain is an ADULTERER. Get it? Like Bill Clinton. Like Newt Gingrich.
Oh .. .. .. I forgot ... MSM didn't talk about Newt Gingrich's adultery either ... even though this was a juicy story ... ... ... considering he was cheating on his wife with a younger woman ... while simultaneously ripping into Bill Clinton for HIS adultery.)
LIBERAL BIAS?
YOU ARE JOKING ... AND AMERICA IS SUFFERING.
And what about the story that Veterans DO NOT support John McCain?
If Mainstream Media is so biased to the left ... why does MSM REFUSE to do stories about John McCain's character when there are so many fellow veterans who are SCREAMING that Johnny Shapeshifter is erratic, a hothead, and a phony.
Like this guy ... who went to the Naval Academy with John.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLWEDMLmjKk
Look, the only people connected to the military that support John McCain are those who work for the Military Contractor Establishment ... because they are positively SALIVATING at the thought that John will keep us bogged down in Iraq for ONE HUNDRED YEARS.
Only self serving people ... with their own peculiar ideologies support John McCain ... NOT Patriotic Americans who LOVE this nation.
It truly makes me sick.
-
-
73%
tchef8 months, 3 weeks ago
This letter was too little too late. By 2006 most of the damage had been done. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn't sell people the mortgages either. It was the Mortgage companies. Fannie and Freddie only bought up the mortgages after they had been sold. President Bush needed the housing boom to continue as long as possible to keep the economy up. It was the only thing holding it up. The Republicans where not going to do anything to stop it because it would have made the crash come sooner and they would have lost bigger in the elections.
Reply-
70%
rimbaud8 months, 3 weeks ago
A lot of mortgage brokers got rich on commissions in just a few years. Hopefully the found a safer place than Wall Steet to invest their gains.
Reply -
0%
Endoscopy8 months, 3 weeks ago
5chef
Reply
You ignore that in 2003 and 2005 the Republicans tried to pass legislation. What did the Democrats do? The following link is in their won words in late 2004.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs -
0%
GLee8 months, 3 weeks ago
You might want to check with Bill Clinton and Janet Reno concerning who and how these mortgages were 'force fed'. You missed some facts along the way.
Reply
-
-
64%
jordan118 months, 3 weeks ago
Sub prime mortgages were being written eight years before McCain magically saw a problem. And as he voted FOR the deregulation that allowed it all to happen without oversight, you'll understand why I'm not impressed that he spoke up, a day late and a dollar short. He learned nothing from the S & L deregulation scandal, and voted for more of the same. The man has no common sense.
Reply -
90%
Tcaros8 months, 3 weeks ago
Did you conservatives bother to read who this addressed to?
Reply
NO.
Hmmmm.... Who is William Frist?
It is addressed to William Harrison Frist, M.D. who was a Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. Also, he served as Senate majority leader from 2003 to 2007.
He was the SENATE majority leader and a Republican. Did he act on it?
You just cooked your own party.-
43%
lovemylibs8 months, 3 weeks ago
Shhh, Tcaros. We liberals shouldn't be talking about cooked parties in relation to this letter and the proposed bill it represents.
Reply
http://getsgreased.blogspot.com/2008/09/s-190-fede...
Read up on our beloved democratic process.
-
-
-
-
70%
mmrhe8 months, 3 weeks ago
The NeoCon Mantra: Anything Good= They Did It... Everthing Bad= God Damned Dems.
Reply
Where does the buck stop people??? -
50%
Klarissa8 months, 3 weeks ago
Obama's letter, March 2007
Reply
Note - it is not signed:
March 2007
Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,
There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.
We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.
And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly.
Working together, the relevant private sector entities and regulators may be best positioned for quick and targeted responses to mitigate the danger. Rampant foreclosures are in nobody's interest, and I believe this is a case where all responsible industry players can share the objective of eliminating deceptive or abusive practices, preserving homeownership, and stabilizing housing markets.
The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators' Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:-
50%
Klarissa8 months, 3 weeks ago
* What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates.
Reply
* How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty.
* How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical.
* How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage.
* How to adopt principles of fair competition that promote affordability, transparency, non-discrimination, genuine consumer value, and competitive returns.
* How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.
Of course, the adoption of voluntary industry reforms will not preempt government action to crack down on predatory lending practices, or to style new restrictions on subprime lending or short- term post-purchase interventions in certain cases. My colleagues on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs have held important hearings on mortgage market turmoil and I expect the Committee will develop legislation.
Nevertheless, a consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.
[note:signature(s) unknown, purported to be from Barack Obama
-
-
43%
Klarissa8 months, 3 weeks ago
McCain's letter
Reply
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
May 5,2006
The Honorable William H. Frist, MD
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Richard C. Shelby
Chainnan, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majority Leader Frist and Chainnan Shelby,
We are concerned that if effective regulatory reforrn legislation for the housing-finance government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not enacted this year, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enonnous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
Therefore, we offer you our support in bringing the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Refonn Act (S. 190) to the floor and allowing the Senate to debate the merits of this bill, which was passed by the Senate Banking Committee.
Congress chartered Fannie and Freddie to provide access to home financing by maintaining liquidity in the secondary mortgage market.
Today, almost half of all mortgages in the U.S. are owned or guaranteed by these GSEs. They are mammoth financial institutions'with almost $1.5 Trillion of
debt outstanding between them. With the fiscal challenges facing us today (deficits, entitlements, pensions and flood insurance), Congress must ask itselfwho would actually pay this debt if Fannie or Freddie could not?
Substantial testimony calling for improved regulation of the GSEs has been provided to the Senate by the Treasury, Federal Reserve, HUD, GAO, CBO, and others. Congress has the opportunity to recommit itself to the housing mission of the GSEs while at the same time making sure the GSEs operate in a manner that does not expose our financial system, or taxpayers, to unnecessary risk. It is vitally important that Congress take the necessary steps to ensure that these institutions benefit from strong and independent regulatory supervision, operate in a safe and sound manner, and are primarily focused on their statutory mission. More importantly, Congress must ensure that the American taxpayer is protected in the event either GSE should fail.
We strongly support an effort to schedule floor time this year to debate GSE regulatory reform.
Sincerely,
[20 signers]
Reform act S. 190
The letter called for the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act, a bill that had been introduced on Jan. 26, 2005 by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), to be brought up for debate. About 20 days after he signed the letter, McCain became a co-sponsor of the bill.-
71%
earthlingerer8 months, 3 weeks ago
I've GOT to say this again!
Reply
It's wonderful how little a letter says about a bill...
That bill called for the abolishment of the Federal Housing Finance Board, an entity "created in 1932 to improve the supply of funds to local lenders that, in turn, finance loans for home mortgages."
" The Finance Board ensures that the FHLBanks, which are privately capitalized, government-sponsored enterprises, operate in a safe and sound manner, carry out their housing and community development finance mission, and remain adequately capitalized and able to raise funds in the capital markets."
And... "The Finance Board is an independent regulatory agency of the executive branch of the U.S. Government, with a five-member board. Four board members are appointed by the President for seven-year terms, and the fifth member is the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or the secretary's designee."
Do you really think the president would sign a bill and fire his friends? Cause if you do, your as stupid as this half-of-the-story submission.
Sorry to burn you down and out McCain fools AGAIN! -
0%
wtagg8 months, 3 weeks ago
Absolutely fantastic. So, what did the republicans do with this information during a period of control of the congress and admin? Surely, they recognized the problem and delivered a solution that the president signed.
Reply
They didn't? Why?
-
40%
saurabharya8 months, 3 weeks ago
democrats will lead no matter what.........happens or done by MacCain
Reply -
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.