Congresswoman Kay Granger
Sometimes Washingtons logic does not make a whole lot of sense. On Christmas Eve while most of us were home with our families the Treasury Department was figuring out new ways to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
First they authorized bonuses for the top executives. Second they doubled the amount of money the federal government can give the two companies from $100 billion each to $200 billion each. It makes you wonder why do Fannie and Freddie need billions more of your money when most other bailed out firms are repaying their debts to taxpayers?
When Congress originally authorized the Treasury to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae the bailout came in the form of the taxpayer purchase of preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are required to receive quarterly dividends from the two companies.
Because Freddie and Fannie continue to lose billions of dollars the only way they are able to pay the dividend is by borrowing more money from taxpayers. This is what happens when Washington thinks it knows best.
