Senate Bill S-190, Introduced 1/26/2005 To Prevent Financial Problems (patriot, democrat, Dodd)

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by Miborn

Lets remember this Bill!

Politically, the pertinent question is this:

Which candidate foresaw the credit crisis and tried to do something about it?

As it turns out, John McCain did — and partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending three years ago, after an attempt by the Bush administration died in Congress two years earlier.

McCain spoke forcefully on May 25, 2006

Yes! - McCain's exact words when urging his fellow elected officials to pass the bill...

"If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole."

And that is exactly what has happened.

Now, ask yourself, what was Obama's attempt to head off the impending $1.8 Trillion toxic mortgage debt meltdown? You know, the one American taxpayers are going to have to pay for?

...<crickets chirping>

[rightofcenter]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

FACTS:

1) Republicans held the majority in Congress when this bill was introduced.

2)The bill was an attempt to privatize regulatory agencies. Hence, Democratic resistance to it. Hence, even Republicans voting against it.

3) The bill did nothing to address fraud and tighten oversight. Hence, Democratic resistance to it. Hence, even Republicans voting against it.

Text from the bill itself:

"Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements."

Nice try, though.

Apparently none of this matters - and either does

1) Latest Major Action: 7/28/2005 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Last Action: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Status: Dead - Chairman Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)

I guess you don't really have to do anything to get credit if you are a republican.

[smd1998]

Wonder if Obama sponsored any bills like this?

Wonder if he has the foresight to know this was coming like McCain did.

And we all know the dems blocked any rep bill that had legs that would give the rep party credit. Of course putting us citizens last.

Dems will simply not work with anything that is the right thing to do.

They have had 2 years to adress this problem and have done nothing but go on 2 - 5 week paid vacations on us.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by SGrey

Politifact now has an interesting assessment of McCain's involvement with that bill and his warnings on Freddie & Fannie. PolitiFact | McCain's 'warning' on Fannie & Freddie

They rank him as barely true on the F&F stuff.

To quote George Tenet ... slam dunk.

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by SGrey

Politifact now has an interesting assessment of McCain's involvement with that bill and his warnings on Freddie & Fannie. PolitiFact | McCain's 'warning' on Fannie & Freddie

They rank him as barely true on the F&F stuff.

Thanks very much for posting this. I find the closing paragraph a perfect summation of his behavior two years ago:
"We give McCain some credit for weighing in on problems surrounding Fannie Mae, even though he got involved after a comprehensive government report issued a loud alarm to anyone watching. However, his attempts to depict those efforts as some sort of early warning that could have lessened the current credit crisis just don't wash. All McCain was talking about then was the potential fallout of accounting troubles in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He didn't say anything about a freewheeling climate among creditors that had major financial institutions becoming badly leveraged on bad loans. We rule his claim Barely True."

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by smd1998

Wonder if Obama sponsored any bills like this?

Wonder if he has the foresight to know this was coming like McCain did.

And we all know the dems blocked any rep bill that had legs that would give the rep party credit. Of course putting us citizens last.

Dems will simply not work with anything that is the right thing to do.

They have had 2 years to adress this problem and have done nothing but go on 2 - 5 week paid vacations on us.

Yawn.
Sen. McCain was reacting then as now. He made lots of noise after the barn door was opened and all the cows got out, just like he is now.
Keep saying the dems 'had two years and did nothing' and I'll keep saying the Republicans had SIX years and did nothing. Which is the bigger number?????

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by rightofcenter

Apparently none of this matters - and either does

1) Latest Major Action: 7/28/2005 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Last Action: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Status: Dead - Chairman Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)

I guess you don't really have to do anything to get credit if you are a republican.

No, barely breathing appears to be enough.

[Thunderstorm Patriot]

What is so disturbing to me is the lack of understanding of both history and how our government works displayed by many folks here. S.190 was introduced in the 109th Congress. During the first six years of the Bush administration the Democrats routinely blocked legislation from coming to the floor for votes by using the filibuster. At one point there was a highly publicized showdown between the parties over the refusal to allow Bush appointed judges from getting a floor vote for confirmation. The rules of the Senate also apply to committees. In other words it is possible for a bill to be filibustered in committee as well as on the senate floor itself.

S.190 is one of the bills that was filibustered by the Democrats in committee in 2005. That means that it needed 60% support to get out of committee for a floor vote. During the 109th Congress the members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs were:


Democrats:
• Paul S. Sarbanes (Md.), Ranking Member
• Christopher Dodd (Conn.)
• Tim Johnson (S.D.)
• Jack Reed (R.I.)
• Chuck Schumer (N.Y.)
• Evan Bayh (Ind.)
• Thomas R. Carper (Del.)
• Debbie Stabenow (Mich.)
• Robert Menendez (N.J.)


Republicans:
• Richard Shelby (Ala.), Chairman
• Robert Bennett (Utah)
• Wayne Allard (Colo.)
• Mike Enzi (Wyo.)
• Chuck Hagel (Neb.)
• Rick Santorum (Pa.)
• Jim Bunning (Ky.)
• Mike Crapo (Idaho)
• John E. Sununu (N.H.)
• Elizabeth Dole (N.C.)
• Mel Martinez (Fla.)


As you can see there are 20 members on the committee. There were eleven Republicans and nine Democrats at the time. Since the vote was strictly along party lines they could not generate the 12 votes required for the bill to pass out of committee. One of the Democrats would have had to break ranks and none did.

[dugdogmaster]

^And that's a slam dunk Dodd......Ha!

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

This was a bill to address the regulation of secondary mortgage market enterprises, and for other purposes.

With the financial sector in turmoil today, the media and the politicians have started throwing around blame with the same recklessness as lenders threw around credit to create the problem. Politically, the pertinent question is this: Which candidate foresaw the credit crisis and tried to do something about it? As it turns out, John McCain did — and partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending three years ago, after an attempt by the Bush administration died in Congress two years earlier. McCain spoke forcefully on May 25, 2006


Hot Air » Blog Archive » McCain’s attempt to fix Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac in 2005; Update: Obama can’t get AIG right


Here is a copy of the bill itself, introduced by Chuck Hagel in cosponsored by John McCain, Elizabeth Dole, and John Sununu:

Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)


McCain's specific comments, on May 25, 2006:

Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.

GovTrack: Senate Record: FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM... (109-s20060525-16)


And lastly, this article about Frank Raines, in July 2008:

In the four years since he stepped down as Fannie Mae's chief executive under the shadow of a $6.3 billion accounting scandal, Franklin D. Raines has been quietly constructing a new life for himself. He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case's D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters...When Daniel H. Mudd stepped in to succeed Raines after his ouster, Mudd promised a House committee that the days "of arrogant, defiant, 'my way' Fannie Mae" would end. Congress has recently moved forward on legislation that would create stronger federal oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.



On the Outside Now, Watching Fannie Falter - washingtonpost.com

Thanks for the great post!!!! These are facts!!!

Too bad the Dem. were not awake at the time.