By Senator Kit Bond

Wednesday, I joined 73 of my colleagues in the Senate in passing a bill to protect workers and families in my home state of Missouri and across the nation. Our action was critical to keep the financial crisis from spreading from Wall Street to Main Street.

I have heard from folks in Missouri who are angry about this financial emergency. I share their anger over having to use tax dollars to address this crisis. But, I also know the cost of inaction – a severe recession that puts all families and workers in jeopardy. We are already seeing the impact of the credit crunch on Main Street America. Small businesses are unable to get funding to meet payroll, States and localities are struggling to obtain financing for critical road and building projects, senior citizens are seeing their retirement savings fall in value, and students cannot obtain loans for tuition. Read more…

Related:

The St. Louis Post Dispatch brought you this story last Saturday: Bond tried to oust regulator during Fannie Mae probe.

Readers of the Missouri Political News Service were aware of this development almost a month ago when we brought you this excerpt from another blog:

MOPNS (9/11/08)

Slade Smith’s Blog: Fannie & Freddie: let the fingerpointing begin!

Fannie Mae tried to steamroll its underpowered regulator all along the way. At one point, Fannie Mae instigated a retailatory HUD investigation against the OFHEO regulators who were looking into their accounting fraud in order to undermine the credibility of the regulator. They had one of their lobbyists draft a letter for Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo) to send to HUD and request the investigation. Bond sent the letter on to HUD under his own name, made public statements directed at getting the lead regulator sacked, and was rewarded for his efforts with tidy campaign contributions from Mr. Raines and other Fannie Mae execs. Read more…

Investers Business Daily: Freddie, Fannie Were Big Campaign Donors

Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) may not have managed their mortgage investments wisely, but the loan-funding giants used a savvy strategy of campaign contributions, based on an Investor’s Business Daily analysis

Senators on a key appropriations panel received $167,000, with Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., reaping $64,000.

“We raise all the money we are permitted . . . so that we can get our message out and so our candidates can compete with all the funds raised by the opposition,” read a statement by Bond’s office. Read more…

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