This press release from my Congressman, Paul Ryan, on House passage of H.R. 3221, the Fannie/Freddie bailout bill came into the mailbox a couple hours ago. Quoting Ryan from the press release:
My top priority is to protect the taxpayers, not the shareholders. Our current policy toward Fannie and Freddie is not only dysfunctional and rife with bad incentives, but it also has potentially disastrous consequences for taxpayers. This bailout plan aggravates the fundamental problem that led us here: Fannie and Freddie remain for-profit corporations but still enjoy a Federal guarantee at the taxpayers’ expense against any risk of loss. To force Americans already struggling to make ends meet to take on this risk is a dangerous precedent.
Congress has tuned out the voice of the taxpayer with today’s bailout bill. Since my first years in Congress, I have called for reforms in Congressional oversight of these mortgage giants, so that we could have avoided the current situation. We need to inject some commonsense into this debate, rather than set ourselves up for more taxpayer-funded bailouts in the future.
There are several other links of Ryan’s previous comments on this included in the linked press release:
– Ryan on the House floor (Windows Media video)
– Op-ed by Ryan and Rep. Jeb Hensarling at Politico.com on how to solve the Fannie/Freddie crisis
– The House Budget Committee (Republican Caucus) analysis of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac.
– Ryan’s long history on GSE’s (dating back to 2000
It is good to know that Ryan and Hensarling aren’t alone. Michelle Malkin has Sen. Jim DeMint’s comments.
We note that once again, Common Sense and George Bush are on entirely different planets.
And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can somehow find $250,000 to “donate” to The Reverend Jackson.