The U.S. Senate today approved an amendment offered by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) prohibiting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives from receiving future multi-million dollar bonuses as long as the government-backed mortgage companies remain in federal conservatorship. It was recently reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency approved $12.8 million in bonuses to ten top Fannie and Freddie executives.
“Today’s vote in the Senate to stop high-paid executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from receiving huge multi-million dollar bonuses is a good first step in finally confronting the challenge we face with these ‘government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs), which played a large role in causing the housing crisis in this country,” said Senator John McCain. “Since they were placed in conservatorship in 2008, Fannie and Freddie have taken the American taxpayer for nearly $170 billion in bailouts and recently requested $13.8 billion more. The American taxpayer has been the victim of outright corruption and blatant abuse at the hands of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for decades – it must stop. It is time to enact fundamental GSE reform, and take Fannie and Freddie off the permanent taxpayer bailout list, returning them to the competitive marketplace before they go from ‘too big to fail’ to ‘too late to fix.’ The American people deserve no less.”
“It’s about time that the Senate passed this responsible legislation to make sure the mortgage giants can’t give out excessive, million dollar bonuses while they are being propped up by taxpayer money,” said Senator Jay Rockefeller. “The American people deserve better, particularly as too many families are struggling just to get by. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be more responsible with taxpayers’ money, and this legislation should help make that happen.”
Co-sponsors of the amendment are Senators Mike Johanns (R-NE), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Thune (R-SD), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dean Heller (R-NV), Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
