Walberg Weekly Wrap-Up: Fannie and Freddie Executives Should Not Receive Golden Parachute Severance Packages, Pelosi Keeps Blocking Energy Vote"

Op-Ed

WALBERG WEEKLY WRAP-UP: Fannie and Freddie Executives Should Not Receive Golden Parachute Severance Packages, Pelosi Keeps Blocking Energy Vote"

Fannie and Freddie Executives Should Not Receive Golden Parachute Severance Packages

Across the nation, families are having a hard time paying for gas, school bills and groceries. Here in south-central Michigan, many families are also struggling to pay off mortgage bills.

These tough economic times are why, a few weeks back, I voted against a bill that put taxpayers on the line for $300 billion in speculative securities and provided full government (read: taxpayer) backing for the scandal-ridden Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending institutions, with no promises from these institutions that they will clean up their acts. Regrettably, the House and Senate passed this bill and President Bush signed it in to law.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac represent the worst of Washington corruption, and over the last ten years, together they have paid over $170 million in lobbying fees to gain power and influence. This close relationship they have developed with Congress allowed the lenders to frequently circumvent the law without proper oversight.

For example, Fannie Mae's former CEO made over $12 million a year and received a seven percent pay raise last year while the company had $2.1 billion in losses and its shares fell 33 percent. In the past, top executive salaries were boosted as these institutions used Enron-like accounting techniques to make earnings look $5 billion larger than they actually were. American taxpayers should be alarmed that the recklessness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been rewarded by our President and Congress through this bailout bill.

This week Iowa Congressman Steve King and I introduced legislation to prevent the former executives and directors of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from receiving Golden Parachute severance pay. The executives were removed from their positions due to poor management this past weekend, when the U.S. Treasury Department took control of the two government-sponsored entities.

According to recent news reports, Daniel Mudd, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, could receive more than $9 million in combined severance pay and former Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron may collect as much as $14.1 million. These CEO's should not receive another dime from taxpayers.

Hard-working taxpayers are already being forced to pay for the mistakes of the scandal-ridden Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending institutions, and the last thing we need to do is reward the individuals who oversaw the corruption and failure of these organizations. Taxpayers should not reward these failed managers for their mistakes.

Pelosi Keeps Blocking Energy Vote

Right now there are only a dozen working days left in 2008 for this Democratic Congress to act on comprehensive energy legislation. The floor schedule set by House Leadership this week was once again devoid of any vote on comprehensive energy legislation, much less a vote on the "all of the above" energy reforms Americans want. Instead, members of the House were forced to make grueling decisions on how to vote on the Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008 and participated in impassioned debates over designating the United States courthouse located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, as the "Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse." All kidding aside, the American people continue to pay high prices at the pump and it is shameful that Speaker Pelosi refuses to act.

Because of this failure of leadership, I stayed on the House floor on Friday with my gas can and shared stories from my constituents about how high gas prices have affected prices at the pump. It appears that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic allies will soon try to pass yet another energy plan that fails to produce any new American energy.

According to CongressDailyAM, a newspaper that reports on Congress, "several Democrats who have qualms said privately they recognized the bill has no chance of getting enacted and are simply seeking the best outcome they can get in an election year."

I think that quote perfectly sums up what this Pelosi-led Congress has done all year and continues to do. Instead of working on a real energy plan, this Congress would rather pass a bill that maximizes political gains for a political party. We need to put aside partisan posturing and open the house chamber to a real debate on America's energy future.

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