NLPC Blasts Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for Lavishing Contributions on Jesse Jackson as Companies Near Collapse

(FALLS CHURCH, Va., July 14, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/) - The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) today criticized the managements of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) for their recent sponsorship of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Annual Conference. The event took place June 28 through July 2 in Chicago. It is Jesse Jackson's main fundraising event of the year.

According to the conference program, Freddie Mac was a "Platinum Sponsor," a designation costing $150,000, and Fannie Mae was a "Diamond Sponsor," a designation costing $100,000.

Fannie and Freddie are so-called Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) that own and guarantee mortgage securities. Shares of each are down approximately 85% in the last year. On Saturday, the Treasury announced it would offer a line of credit to help ensure the survival of each company.