Barney Frank: “First, there was allusion by the gentleman from Alabama to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, Fannie Mae and Freddie…”

“First, there was allusion by the gentleman from Alabama to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the bill we passed, which we did do some reforms in, we did say that they should in their secondary mortgage activity be supportive of people at 80 percent of median. We have given them the affordable housing goals, and people who understand this issue understand that there is a distinction, as the gentleman from Virginia understands. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have primarily and historically been aimed at helping people in the more moderate income range. We have actually lowered it to 80 percent of median. This gets to people much below that in general, which is why there is no overlap between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and this program. Secondly, to the gentleman's argument, what we want to do here is give as much flexibility as we can to the local communities. That is why, yes, we are not creating a Federal bureaucracy here.”