Bush Signs “Housing” Bill
As expected, President Bush signed the “housing” bill which is really a huge bailout for banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday signed a massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners and stabilize financial markets.
Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, affixing his signature to the measure he once threatened to veto, in the Oval Office in the early morning hours. He was surrounded by top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Steve Preston.
Guess he didn’t want any TV news coverage of that event.
Democrats used the law to take advantage of a chance to increase the ceiling on the national debt.
| Go to Home - Most Recent PostsDemocratic leaders, recognizing that the measure could be one of the last items to become law during what’s left of their abbreviated election-year schedule, tacked on an $800 billion increase, to $10.6 trillion, in the statutory limit on the national debt.
Conservative Republicans were vehemently opposed to the bill, particularly the help for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Critics charge the companies enjoy lavish profits in good times and wield their outsized political clout to resist regulation while depending on the government to bail them out should they falter.