GOP Candidates Spar on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (ContributorNetwork)

American taxpayers have contributed more than $183 billion to bailout mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the years following the housing collapse, according to CNN. Given this considerable burden, the Republican presidential candidates were asked if they played any role in aiding these two firms and how they plan on helping distressed homeowners.

Here is what they said, according to the Florida GOP debate transcript provided by the Council on Foreign Relations:

* Rick Santorum: "There were several of us in the United States Senate back in 2005 and 2006 who saw the problem with Freddie and Fannie, and tried to move forth with a bill. We voted a bill out of committee to try ? to constrain Fannie and Freddie, and there were a lot of people out there fighting that, including Harry Reid and his minions. I signed a letter ? that said ? if we don`t constrain these two behemoths from continuing to underwrite this subprime mortgage problem, then we`re going to have a collapse. The problem now is, what are you going to do about it? And what I've said is ? let capitalism work. Allow these banks to realize their losses. And create an opportunity for folks who have houses to realize their losses and at least help them out."

* Ron Paul: "Everybody now admits in Washington interest rates were kept too low, too long. ? They kept interest rates especially low with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and there was a line of credit there, and it was a guarantee. As a matter of fact, I had introduced legislation 10 years before the bubble burst to eliminate that line of credit. But then the Community Reinvestment Act added more fuel to it, forcing banks to make loans that are risky loans. ? The consequences were anticipated. It was all government manufactured. ? The best thing you can do is get out of the way, because you want the prices to come down so that people will start buying them again, but politicians can't allow that to happen. Our policies in Washington still has been to try to stimulate houses and keep prices up."

* Mitt Romney: "Mr. Speaker ? you said you were paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac as an historian. They don`t pay people $25,000 a month for six years as historians. ? This contract proves that you were not an historian. You were a consultant. ? And you were hired by the chief lobbyist of Freddie Mac, not the CEO, not the head of public affairs. You also spoke publicly in favor of these government-sponsored entities at a very time when Freddie Mac was getting America in a position where we would have had a massive housing collapse. ? You could have spoken out in a way to say these guys are wrong, this needs to end. But instead, you were being paid by them. You were making over $1 million at the same time people in Florida were being hurt by millions of dollars."

* Newt Gingrich: "I have never done any lobbying. Congressman J.C. Watts, who for seven years was the head of the Freddie Mac Watch Committee, said flatly he has never been approached by me. The fact is that Congressman Rick Lazio, who is chairman of the Housing Subcommittee, said he has never been approached by me. And the only report in the newspaper was "The New York Times" in July of 2008, which said I told the House Republicans they should vote no, not give Freddie Mac any money, because it needed to be reformed."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10882649_gop_candidates_spar_on_freddie_mac_and_fannie_mae

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