In September 2003, Frank, then the ranking Democrat on the Republican-led Financial Services Committee, opposed a Bush administration proposal for transferring oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to a new agency that would be created within the Treasury Department. The proposal reflected the administration's belief that Congress "neither has the tools, nor the stature" for adequate oversight. Frank stated, "These two entities...are not facing any kind of financial crisis.... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts best epitomizes the cynical ruthlessness that hides behind their lofty rhetoric.
Having been a key figure in promoting the risky mortgage lending practices imposed by the federal government on lenders, and on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy these risky mortgages from the lenders, Frank blamed the resulting collapse of financial markets and the economy on everybody except Barney Frank.
From Paul Shanklin Parody Czar for The Rush Limbaugh Show. See more of Shanklin Prody at http://www.paulshanklin.com/
