60 Plus is up with new ads in five states that take the proposed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform bill to task. The ads point out one of the “reform’s” deepest flaws — that legislators are allowing a former Countrywide official to write the bill. The reform is being crafted by Democrat Sen. Tim Johnson (SD) and Republican Sen. Mike Crapo (ID).
Countrywide was once the nation’s largest mortgage lender, but its bad loans played a large role in the housing collapse. The federal government fined big banks billions for their misconduct, but now a couple of senators are putting big banks back in charge, according to the ads.
“We cannot afford to experiment with one-sixth of our economy, as the Johnson-Crapo legislation does, on the backs of average Americans including retirees and pensioners,” 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin said in a press release accompanying the ads. “Any reform or liquidation of Fannie and Freddie must respect the rule of law and protect taxpayers. This proposed legislation does the complete opposite by codifying the Obama Treasury Department’s abuse of property rights. Instead of giving more advantages to the big banks, the Senate banking Committee should craft reform that puts taxpayers and pensioners first.”
Martin also notes that the Johnson-Crapo legislation has Washington and big Wall Street banks working together to further their own interests, not the interests of citizens.
The Heritage Foundation took a look at the Johnson-Crapo bill and found serious problems with it, enough to call for its rejection.
60 Plus is a non-partisan seniors advocacy group that emphasizes free enterprise and less government.
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