House Financial Services Committee hearing, Sept. 10, 2003. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.):
"I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis. That is, in my view, the two government sponsored enterprises we are talking about here, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not in a crisis. . . . I do not think at this point there is a problem with a threat to the Treasury. . . . I believe that we, as the Federal Government, have probably done too little rather than too much to push them to meet the goals of affordable housing and to set reasonable goals."
"These two entities - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - are not facing any kind of financial crisis. . . . The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."
I worry, frankly, that there's a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios. .
What They Said About Fan and Fred - WSJ.com
"The Fannie Mae Dice Roll Continues". The Wall Street Journal. 11 November 2009
"I do think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision]. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing." —Representative Barney Frank, September 25, 2003
Fannie and Freddie Waste Taxpayer Money - WSJ.com
In 2004 he said “I believe that we, as the federal government, have probably done too little rather than too much to push them to meet the goals of affordable housing.”
“Homes that are occupied may see ebb and flow of price at a certain percentage level, but you're not going to see the collapse that you see when people talk about a bubble. So those of us on our committee will continue to push for home ownership.” - Barney Frank June 27, 2005
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