Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are 79.9% owned by the Federal government and any debts they have should be included in the computation of the expanded national debt. I don't think mortgage-backed securities, however, should be included because they are primarily backed by real estate and any exposure by the gov't would be much less than the face values. Here are the numbers that should be included:
Fannie Mae: 9/30/09, $905B; 12/31/08, $928B, 12/31/07, $839B
Freddie Mac: 9/30/09, $856B; 12/31/08, $882B; 12/31/07, $768B
2007 Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: 1,607
2008 Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: 1,810
2009 Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: 1,738
There is an interview with former CBO director Peter Orszag on 9/9/08 where he says that the GSEs should be included in the budget.
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