WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today expressed disappointment in the administration's failure to address reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the budget proposal they released.

 "It is hugely disappointing that the administration did not follow through on their commitment to address reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the budget proposal they released yesterday," said Corker. "In a January 11 letter to Secretary Geithner I asked about the federal government's honest obligations regarding Fannie and Freddie, the future of these agencies, and the landscape for our mortgage markets as we work our way out from the last few years of excess. I hope he will soon address my concerns. 

 "Throughout the debate on regulatory reform, the future of the mortgage markets in the United States has been off the table as we waited for the administration's proposal.  They were a large part of the problem in the financial crisis and should be a part of any comprehensive reform." 

In January, Corker wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about Treasury's decision to remove the $200 billion per enterprise cap ($400 billion total) on government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which, in effect, provides a blank check for the amount of "credit" that will be made available to the two mortgage giants. Corker went on to express concern about the lack of understanding and transparency around this arrangement and asked Geithner to respond to a series of questions about the action. In particular, Corker expressed his strong belief that the liabilities of these two firms be reflected on the balance sheet of the U.S. Treasury.

In his January 11 letter to Sec. Geithner, Corker states:

... read the rest of the story by Subscribing now.