Republicans not sold on this mortgage rescue plan
Several lawmakers see the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as too much government. The White House is working to turn them around.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, increasingly the point man for the Bush administration as it struggles to steady the economy, made an emergency trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday seeking to quell a rebellion among conservatives over the plan to shore up struggling mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The conservative backlash to a plan that 48 hours earlier had seemed likely to win quick congressional approval suggested that, no matter what the political risks, there was an ideological point beyond which at least some Republicans would not go in approving government intervention in the economy.
"At a minimum, we need to slow this down," said Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), speaking for what appeared to be a significant number of Republicans. "Nobody knows what this unrestricted bailout . . . of Fannie and Freddie will cost."
It was an embarrassing challenge to President Bush's authority, especially since it was the second time in a week that Republicans said "no" to the president. On Tuesday, Republicans in both chambers joined Democrats in an overwhelming same-day override of a Medicare bill that Bush vetoed.
Norman J. Ornstein, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute on the relationship between the legislative and executive branches, said that when it came to economic rescue plans, "we're having a tug of war that to some degree involves ideology versus pragmatism."
The main reason is that many members of Congress, including all members of the House, are running for reelection in November, with many Republicans representing carefully drawn districts of conservative voters.
Large numbers of these voters think investors and borrowers got into trouble through greed or misjudgments and should bear the consequences themselves.
In a recent Los Angeles Times poll, 43% of Republicans supported the plan to bolster Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary and 49% opposed such aid.
Among Democrats, 66% supported the rescue bill and 22% did not.
As for Bush -- he's a lame duck with abysmal public approval.
"Members know that he isn't running and they are," Ornstein said.
Paulson headed to Capitol Hill late in the workday to huddle with Republican lawmakers in a basement conference room.
He emerged with expressions of optimism, but no deal.
"The key thing is getting this done quickly, and I think it will be," Paulson said.
