Kanjorski’s greed at the heart of financial collapse

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HAZLETON – As financial markets struggle through the collapse of more and more banks and investment groups, Congressman Paul Kanjorski bears much of the responsibility for that collapse.

Let’s check the facts:

Paul Kanjorski is chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises. Housing lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are government-sponsored enterprises – and therefore directly under Kanjorski’s supervision. Kanjorski is tasked with the congressional oversight of the mortgage, banking and insurance industries. But Kanjorski has taken more than $2.7 million in campaign contributions from the subprime mortgage, banking and insurance industries and Realtors – all areas he is supposed to regulate – since 1989. (www.opensecrets.org)

For example, Kanjorski has taken more than $65,000 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the fifth-highest total on the list of campaign contribution recipients. (www.opensecrets.org)

Compare recent financial collapses with Paul Kanjorski’s contributor list – the names are identical: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and New Century Financial, to name a few.

Under his watch, Kanjorski saw one of the worst financial collapses in this country's history. What did he do to stop it? Nothing. In fact, he kept taking their campaign contributions. He even introduced legislation that would have made the subprime mortgage situation worse – the Ney-Kanjorski bill, which would have rolled back consumer protection against subprime mortgages. Shamefully, Kanjorski and Ney – who served time in jail for taking money, gifts, and favors in return for official actions – introduced their anti-consumer legislation just days after taking thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from New Century Financial, the second-largest subprime mortgage lender in the country, and the same day Kanjorski received thousands of dollars from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The Ney-Kanjorski bill was quickly condemned by consumer advocacy and civil rights groups because it undermined existing state laws against abusive lending practices. New Century Financial collapsed in Spring 2007 “amid soaring loan defaults and an announcement of accounting errors for all of 2006” and confirmation the Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation. (sources: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1295; Center for Responsive Politics; The Orange County Register)

Now, because of Kanjorski’s lack of oversight and gross negligence, the taxpayers have to bail out Kanjorski donors at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the tune of at least $200 billion. Kanjorski takes their money and allows them to ruin our nation's financial stability, then he asks us to bail out his buddies.

And how is he rewarded?  One of the Washington, D.C., special interests that benefited the most from the subprime scandal – the National Association of Realtors – is now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to hide Kanjorski’s failed and corrupt record. (The Hill, Sept. 11, 2008)

“Stock markets are plunging and financial institutions are collapsing, and it’s Paul Kanjorski’s fault,” said Hazleton Mayor and 11th Congressional District candidate Lou Barletta. “He was greedy and accepted contributions from the institutions he was supposed to regulate and monitor. Now, the hardworking taxpayers of the 11th District and the United States have to pay the price. Mr. Kanjorski’s greed destroyed the American dream for millions of people. Mr. Kanjorski sold us out and got us into this mess, but now he claims to be coming to our rescue. If he had done his job in the first place and held proper oversight of these institutions and industries, we might not be in this situation. Once again, he put his own personal interests ahead of his constituents, and once again, we’re forced to pay for Mr. Kanjorski’s personal blunder.”

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