WASHINGTON, DC —Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), America's largest taxpayer watchdog group, today railed against Fannie Mae for using its massive implied taxpayer subsidies to fund outrageous perks for its employees.

Fannie Mae, a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) that recently made Working Mother magazine’s list of the 100 best companies for working families, provides its 4,000-plus employees with such taxpayer-subsidized perks as an on-site dry cleaner, chefs standing by to prepare dinners and school lunches for employees to take home, and an on-site concierge.  Fannie Mae employees are also given up to ten hours paid time off per month to volunteer, and, after only three months of employment, are eligible for 100 percent forgivable loans for housing down payments or closing costs.

"Fannie Mae has an unfair advantage over the 99 other "best" family companies.  It is able to indulge its employees with these overblown luxuries only because of the billions of dollars in government subsidies it receives,” said CAGW President Thomas Schatz.

Fannie Mae is one of three congressionally-chartered housing GSEs, unique entities that enjoy a raft of generous government-conferred benefits, such as state and local tax exemption, multi-billion dollar lines of credit with the U.S. Treasury, and an implied government guarantee on their securities, which permit them to realize outsized profits.

"Every year, Fannie Mae is exempt from paying hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes, money that could be used to fund police, roads, and local public schools, issues very high on the list of concerns of working mothers.  We are encouraged that Congress is beginning to exercise its oversight over Fannie Mae and demand accountability for their practices," Schatz concluded.

Mr. Schatz will participate in Tuesday's “GSE Roundtable” organized by Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-LA), sponsor of H.R. 3703, “The Housing Finance Regulatory Improvement Act.”   The  event, to be held on Tuesday, September 12, will bring together representatives of the housing GSEs, regulators, industry groups and taxpayer advocates to discuss the future role of the GSEs.  CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.