Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that someone has been missing from this debate. It is the forgotten man or woman--the everyday taxpayer--who is being asked to carry a risk that those in the private sector will not. In 2008, we learned a tough lesson about privatizing profits and socializing losses. During the good times, many in Congress cheered on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and their shareholders prospered while executives made millions; but when the good times ended, the taxpayers were forced to bail out Fannie and Freddie to the tune of $187 billion. The Federal Government is today the guarantor of more than $3 trillion in loans backed by numerous agencies. This level of taxpayer leverage is not sustainable, and we must begin to identify parts of the portfolio that can be transitioned away from taxpayers. Given that 98 percent of our exports are made without the Export- Import Bank, the Bank is one agency that is suitable for transition over time to the private sector. However, in the immediate future, Congress must act to protect taxpayers. For example, in this reauthorization, Congress could insist that these loans be fully collateralized, just as is the practice in the private sector. Congress could also require exporters, which profit from the Bank's lending to foreign purchasers of their products, to guarantee the repayment of all or of even a fraction of these loans.…”