WASHINGTON,
October 21, 2010
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Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises for the House Financial Services Committee, today issued the following statement after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could more than double in size during the next three years:
“Taken together, Fannie and Freddie were the single, biggest driving force behind the financial collapse. And yet, the federal government continues to prop them up with one blank check after another. No matter what the final cost, the bailout of Fannie and Freddie will be by far the most expensive component of the federal government’s intervention into the financial system. At some point we have to say enough is enough, and push forward with a complete overhaul of the government-backed mortgage giants.
“The Obama Administration insists that it will release its overhaul proposal in January. While that’s a step in the right direction, the reality is that we should have taken care of this when we worked on financial reform in Congress. The fact that the White House and Democrats in Congress continue to ignore this problem is an insult to the American taxpayers.”
The FHFA said that Fannie and Freddie will need at least another $73 billion and as much as $215 billion from the American taxpayers to meet their financial obligations over the next three years.
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