Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as the Senator from Connecticut indicated-- and I appreciate his kind remarks--we have had several votes on the GSE issue. Remarkably, this Senate continues to refuse to deal with Fannie and Freddie, the core issue of the problem on the bill we are debating. Fannie and Freddie are nowhere to be seen in the legislation. Recognizing that the Senate has refused in its votes to allow us to try to focus on Fannie and Freddie, which are the biggest bailouts of all-- in fact, the bailouts of Fannie and Freddie are more in volume and cost to the taxpayers than all other bailouts combined--this amendment simply says: Let's be honest with the American taxpayer and at least put the debt that Fannie and Freddie are now becoming responsible for on our calculations of the national debt. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said: After the U.S. government assumed control in 2008 of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--two federally chartered institutions that provide credit guarantees for almost half of the outstanding residential mortgages in the U.S.--the Congressional Budget Office concluded that the institutions had effectively become government entities whose operations should be included in the federal budget.…”