Guess who says Obama has no plan? Harry Reid, That’s Who…

Well, McCain had a plan in 2006. He was co-sponsor of Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005. On May 25, 2006 McCain said the following (which can be found at page S5217 of the Congressional Record. Note that Franklin Raines was known as a problem them.

Mr. MCCAIN. 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.

Go see the bill at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190

Good job!

ddstrain – that was great. Thanks for the post. You have been a valuable asset to our group.

badlybehaved – we may just need ddstrain as our campaign advisor!