February 1, 2010

WASHINGTON -Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus issued the following statement regarding the President's budget.

"The proposal to spend almost $4 trillion is hardly a plan to get spending under control. The American people simply cannot afford a second straight budget that spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. While the President talked about fiscal discipline over the weekend, he has proposed the largest budget in history. We need to go through the budget line by line keeping the interest of taxpayers first.

"Unfortunately, the budget is silent on a plan for the GSEs. It is irresponsible for the Administration to give Fannie and Freddie a blank check and offer no strategy for reforming the GSEs. Fannie and Freddie were at the epicenter of the economic melt-down and have already cost American taxpayers over $110 billion. Americans deserve an exit strategy, and the Administration has yet to provide them with one.

"It is past time for the Administration to reveal its long-term plans for Fannie and Freddie.

"I am also troubled that the Administration chose to exclude the on-going cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from its budget. The Administration is hiding the real cost of the GSEs' conservatorship from taxpayers. The Administration must bring the GSEs on budget in order to allow for a full accounting of the amount of the GSEs' bailout."