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Washington, DC - House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement today in response to accusations from a White House spokesperson that Congress has been reluctant to move forward on GSE legislation for many years:
“The truth is when President Bush took office, and the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, he did not make any progress on comprehensive legislation to reform the regulation of the Government Sponsored Enterprises. It was not until 2005, when the House, on a bipartisan basis, and over the President’s objections finally passed a reform bill. It died in the Senate in part because the White House’s failure to make it a priority.
“In 2006, when the Democrats regained control of Congress, House Democrats made it one of our highest priorities, and passed a bill in May 2007. Finally, a full year later, as the financial crisis worsened, the Senate passed and the President signed GSE reform.
“It is unfortunate that ideologues in the White House who opposed common sense regulation did not join Congress early enough to help prevent the financial firestorm that now threatens the entire economy.”
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