Dear Erick, President Obama has once again betrayed his promises to end Big Bank favoritism by nominating Rep. Mel Watt (NC-12), who ought to be called the representative from Bank of America, to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). This agency is charged with overseeing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Campaign for Liberty members should be all-too familiar with Rep. Watt. In the 111th Congress, C4L defeated an attempt to gut Audit the Fed in the House Financial Services Committee. The Representative who proposed it? Mel Watt. Watt later would go on to serve on the conference committee that prevented a thorough audit of the Fed from being reattached to the Dodd/Frank “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” after the Senate had substituted their language in place of Congressman Ron Paul’s version. While Mel Watt is an enemy of transparent government and an ardent defender of the Federal Reserve, that’s far from his worst offenses. In 2002, Watt helped spur on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s risky lending practices that helped lead to the subprime mortgage crisis and that eventually crippled the economy in the fall of 2008. One program in particular encouraged home ownership among welfare recipients by allowing residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, to purchase a home with a down payment of as little as $1,000 of their own money – with the City subsidizing the rest of the 3% down payment. It’s no surprise, then, that CNN listed Charlotte among the top five worst hit cities for foreclosures during the housing crisis. If confirmed, Watt would oversee the very agencies he made engage in such risky lending practices that inflated the housing bubble. As if ignorant of Watt’s actions and blind to their consequences, President Obama said when announcing Watt’s nomination, “Mel has led efforts to rein in unscrupulous mortgage lenders. He’s helped protect consumers from the kind of reckless risk-taking that led to the financial crisis in the first place. And he’s fought to give more Americans in low-income neighborhoods access to affordable housing.” This is the political equivalent of naming a convicted arsonist Fire Marshal. Among Watt’s biggest donors, you’ll find Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and the National Association of Realtors, which also makes this nomination particularly troubling. If confirmed, Mel Watt would be the banker’s best friend. There are numerous other criticisms: Cato’s Mark Calabria, a former Senate Banking Committee staffer, argued Watt doesn’t meet the legally defined “qualifications” for the position. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s John Berlau has asserted that Watt’s opposition to Audit the Fed and his support for SOPA shows he opposes transparency and lacks a fundamental respect for Americans’ privacy - two basic qualifications any government appointee should meet. When you look at the complete picture of who Rep. Mel Watt is, an ideological partisan who’s in the pocket of Bank of America and other major investment banks, there are more than enough reasons to scuttle this nomination. Campaign for Liberty strongly opposes the nomination of Mel Watt to head up the FHFA, as he is clearly unfit to serve. Stay tuned to CampaignForLiberty.org for more information as Watt’s nomination proceeds to consideration in the Senate Banking Committee. For now, please call your senators at 202-224-3121 and urge them to place a hold on Mel Watt’s nomination to head the FHFA. We’ll be in touch soon as this nomination begins to move. In Liberty, Tim Shoemaker Director of Legislation P.S. President Obama has picked Rep. Mel Watt (NC-12) to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), an agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). When you look at the complete picture of who Rep. Mel Watt is, an ideological partisan who’s in the pocket of Bank of America and other major investment banks, there are more than enough reasons to scuttle this nomination. If you’re able, after you’ve contacted your senators in opposition to this nomination, please chip in $10 to help Campaign for Liberty gear up for this fight. |
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