Mr. Shays,

I am deeply disappointed in your decision to vote in favor of bailing out Wall Street and troubled banks. I am disappointed because not only did the measure you supported not do anything to address the root causes of the problem, but it included language to perpetuate and even worsen those problems.

There are two words that brought us to the crisis we face today. Affordable Housing. The federal government, beginning in the Carter administration with the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act, sought to use the housing mortgage industry as a welfare program. The push to write loans for less qualified borrowers was intensified during the Clinton Administration to the point of legal action preventing business expansion of banks that did not meet CRA standards. Business decisions were no longer made based on standard of loaning money to those from whom banks could have a reasonable expectation of repayment.

The Government Sponsored Enterprises of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were tasked with buying and securitizing these sub-prime mortgages, and the standards of loans they would buy were pushed lower and lower. Free from risk banks made increasing numbers of marginal and simply bad loans to unqualified buyers. The securitized loans found a ready market on Wall Street with their implied Federal guarantee.

But the problem is, that all of this "affordable housing" turned out to be not so affordable for the people who took out the loans.

Congressman, any tax dollars spent mitigating the damages of these failed policies that does nothing to address the laws and regulations that lead to this crisis  will be money wasted. I urge to vote against any legislation that does not address the problems inherent in the Community Reinvestment Act, and that does not completely and permanently divorce Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the federal government.

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