Good Riddance to Barney Frank; Maxine Waters Next for Fannie, Freddie

Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank, isn't shedding any tears over the announced retirement of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.

Barney Frank spent much of his career expanding the powers of and defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which have been involved in multibillion-dollar scandals that helped enrich their corporate leaders, inflate a housing bubble until it burst, and spark the financial crisis," said Steve Stanek, Heartland's research fellow for budget and tax policy.

"Even after watching Fannie and Freddie pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines because of their corrupt practices, Frank left them untouched in the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill that was supposed to address the causes of the financial crisis.

Frank has been shameless in using Fannie and Freddie as social engineering and income redistribution tools. Unfortunately, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who apparently will fill his slot as ranking member, has shown herself to be every bit as shameless," Stanek said.