July 23 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation designed to shore up confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and stem the record surge in mortgage foreclosures, sending the bill to the Senate.House members voted 272-152 in favor of the measure, which lawmakers and administration officials expect will be passed in the Senate and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The bill gives Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson power to inject capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and provides for a federal agency to insure refinanced home loans.

Bloomberg

I’m not surprised this passed.  I expected it to.  This is an election year and God forbid the Republicans would show a unified front against reckless spending.  Then again, they were in charge of the most reckless spending in history so what was I thinking.  My anger is directed toward Bush who was set to veto this and has now changed his mind.  Of course, I should have expected this as well.  It’s another facet of his “compassionate conservatism” which has been such a big hit that over 70% of the American people thinks he sucks as a President, Yours Truly included.

This bill goes way farther than just bailing out homeowners.  The real infuriating part is that it bails out a few failed CEOs who will continue to make their millions as well as the suits on Wall Street, courtesy of you and me who are just barely getting by.

The Congressional Budget Office says this plan will cost $25 Billion.  A press release this afternoon from Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) has the figure set at $5 trillion over the long term.