Fannie Mae Preferred S (FNMAS)

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December 3, 2012, 5:55 AM

Fannie Mae, Can You Spare a Dime?


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U.S. taxpayers are still on the hook for $137 billion used to bail out Fannie Mae FNMA -0.73% and Freddie Mac FMCC -1.69%. But with the mortgage giants now posting profits, some in Congress see them as piggy banks.

The House of Representatives Friday passed a bill to allow foreign students graduating from a U.S. university with degrees in science and technology to obtain green cards. While the bill isn’t likely to get far, one aspect has rankled some groups.

Namely, parts of it would be funded using an increase in the fee Fannie and Freddie charge to guarantee mortgages. This wouldn’t be the first time Congress used the “G-fees” as a revenue source. In late 2011 the fees were raised to help pay for the payroll tax cut extension.

Washington, it seems, can get blood out of a stone.

– David Reilly