Fannie, Freddie spent $200M to buy political influence

If you want to know how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have survived scandal and crisis, consider this: Over the past decade, they have spent nearly $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions.

But the political tentacles of the mortgage giants extend far beyond their checkbooks.

The two government-chartered companies run a highly sophisticated lobbying operation, with deep-pocketed lobbyists in Washington and scores of local Fannie- and Freddie-sponsored homeowner groups ready to pressure lawmakers back home.

What a freaking scam Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are. They’ve got lobbyists just dishing out money to both parties. Check out these numbers:

At least 20 McCain fundraisers have lobbied on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, netting at least $12.3 million in fees over the past nine years.

So far this election cycle, Freddie Mac’s political action committee and employees have contributed $555,567 to Senate and House candidates, and Fannie Mae’s PAC and employees have given more than $1.1 million.

In total, the two companies have spent $170 million on lobbying over the past decade, although they have scaled back in recent years. Last year, they paid $14.1 million in lobbying fees, a significant decrease from a high of more than $26 million in 2004.

Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson stepped down from his campaign post in June. His resignation came in the wake of charges that he collected more then $7 million in home loans at special, below-average rates. Johnson headed Fannie Mae from 1991 to 1998, leaving with a $21 million payout. Even after he left, Fannie continued to pay him an annual fee of at least $300,000 a year for consulting services and a $71,000 monthly pension. From 2001 to 2005, Fannie also paid for Johnson’s support staff, communications services and provided him a car and driver.

Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee almost half of the country’s $12 trillion in mortgage debt.

Both lenders have consistently beaten back congressional efforts to increase oversight, even after a major accounting scandal in 2003 resulted in a $400 million fine for Fannie.

Read the full story.

Read this report on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They’ve enjoyed huge subsidies from the federal government, but those benefits translate into only a tiny drop in the mortgage rates paid by home buyers from MSNBC

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