Thursday, September 25, 2008

Because it bears repeating, In light of Barney's RUBBLE

JOHN MCCAIN SPEECH ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE IN 2006 FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005

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.

Quick Info S. 190 [109th]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 Last Action: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Status: Dead

WHO KILLED IT? DEMOCRATS(most specifically Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Barry Obama.--so how are they qualified to be the very folks working on it now?)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's the height of irony and insanity that Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama even have a seat at the table in this discussion. Foxes guarding the henhouse.

The Bulletproof Monk said...

What disturbed me more was Frank's comments regarding McCain. That somehow, his input wasn't needed.
This after Frank, Obama and Dodd ignored the perils in order to fatten their own bank accounts when they voted down McCain's plea 3 years ago. We might not be faced with this problem today if they'd have looked after the American People's interest instead of their own. Last time I checked, McCain was a sitting Senator with an obligation to the Country. So is Obama, so why would Obama "sit this one out" in order to keep pushing his campaign when the Country needs him in his role as a Senator???

The Bulletproof Monk said...

Alas, footage from that era actually shows Barney Frank saying that he didn't see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as being in trouble.
McCain led the curve then (while Frank was in denial) with Greenspan backing him on his desire to jerk Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac down a notch back in 2005...and he leads it now while Barney Frank stonewalls to try to pass this off as socialistic entitlement.

The Bulletproof Monk said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgctSIL8Lhs

Anonymous said...

We all have to get the word out, that is for sure. It's like the country is in a state of hypnosis that Obama is getting a bump in the polls from the crisis.