Unconscionable use of taxpayer dollars. We've GOT to throw these bums OUT!! Check out especially the ones in RED! Guess I'll go back to paying for everything with cash or check.

The Ten Most Controversial Provisions of the Housing Bill
by Donny Shaw

Congress has officially cleaned its hands of the landmark Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and sent it to President Bush for his signature. The bill is about 694 pages long, but you don’t need to read any of it to find out about the parts you’ll probably hate the most. Here are my picks for the bill’s ten most controversial and suspect provisions:

1. Fannie and Freddie Bailout – The bill gives broad new authority to the Treasury Department to spend a limitless amount of taxpayer money in order to safeguard government-sponsored enterprises Fanie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bailout’s Estimated to cost $25 billion in over the next two years, but there’s no way to predict the future and estimates on this are really just wild guesses. Peter Orszag, Congressional Budget Office director, admits the actual cost is uncertain and could be as much as $100 billion.

2. Mortgage Bailout – The Federal Housing Administration will have new authority to buy up to $300 billion in at-risk mortgages and refinance them at more affordable, fixed rate mortgages. The potential problem here is that homeowners that use the program could then default on their new government-backed mortgages, which would put taxpayers on the hook. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the total cost to the government for this program to be about $2.7 billion, but again, this is a wild guess and it could easily end up costing a lot more.

3. Fannie and Freddie Lobbying – Okay, this isn’t something in the bill; it’s something that isnt’t in it, but probably should be. Even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be taking in huge amounts of taxpayer money, they won’t be banned from lobbying and other political activities. In a press release, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said, “Currently, the Department of Treasury cannot retain high-powered lobbyists or make political contributions to candidates, and the same rules should apply to Fannie and Freddie. If we plan to use taxpayer dollars to buy shares of these troubled companies, they should be treated like other federal entities. Any legislation exposing taxpayers to this risk should include a serious debate on long-term reforms, and a ban on lobbying must be included.â€