Russ Feingold: “I supported it because neither the current structure of Fannie and Freddie nor the billions of taxpayer dollars that the…”

“I supported it because neither the current structure of Fannie and Freddie nor the billions of taxpayer dollars that the Federal Government is using to prop up Fannie and Freddie are sustainable. Federal taxpayer support of Fannie and Freddie needs to end, and the McCain amendment would have provided a timetable for bringing that Federal support to an end. I was pleased that the Senate did adopt an amendment I supported, offered by Senator Merkley, to curb predatory lending practices throughout the Nation. These unconscionable predatory lending practices contributed to the subprime housing mess, and the Merkley amendment included commonsense provisions to address some of these practices.”