the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Josh Gottheimer has picked up the support of another special interest looking to scam the US taxpayer out of more money. Gottheimer and his “Bailout Nation” are getting help from the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund which is looking to spend $1.3 million supporting Gottheimer, including $146,000 for online ads, $529,000 for mailings and $590,000 for TV ads .
Congressmen Scott Garrett in an effort to end bank bailouts crossed the Realtors group by pushing a bill in 2013 that would have scaled back the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed agencies that buy mortgages from lenders.
The bill, known as the PATH Act, (Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners), would have ended the government guarantee that stands behind mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie and Freddie and relieve taxpayers of the burden of among other things of bailing out subprime mortgages issued by banks.
In 2013 Garret called the PATH Act a bill that would create a sustainable housing finance system, saying, “Approximately five years ago our nation was hit with an unprecedented financial crisis. Today, I am pleased to be introducing legislation that continues the process of addressing the core cause of it—the government’s misguided efforts at allocating mortgage credit through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“The federal government’s domination of the housing finance market has left taxpayers on the hook for $5.1 trillion in mortgage guarantees. The PATH Act finally takes control away from Washington bureaucrats and allows the American people the freedom to have more choices in determining which mortgage best suits their needs.
“The PATH Act will finally end the largest bailout in history and will put our country back on a path to a sustainable housing finance market that benefits both taxpayers and homebuyers. I urge its swift passage by Congress and look forward to it being signed by the President.”
