How a Bill is Passed

With this new stimulus bill, you might be asking yourself how it is passed. I am sure we all saw this as children.




"When a bill is being voted upon in either house of Congress, a majority of Yes votes out of all the votes being cast is required to pass the bill. The bill must be passed in identical form by a majority in each house, and then it is sent to the President. If he signs the bill, it will become a law. If he exercises his right to veto the bill, he will refuse to sign it, give his reasons, and send it back to the house in which it was first introduced. Congress has the power to override a Presidential veto if they can muster a 2/3 vote in each house, but this is extremely hard to do. "

Foreign Countries who own our Mortgage Backed Securities

Thanks to a reader of this blog and the New York Times. These are not treasury bonds that everyone talks about China owning (they own much more in billions of dollars).

It also says "About one-fifth of securities issued by Fannie, Freddie and a handful of much smaller quasi-governmental agencies, some $1.5 trillion worth, were held by foreign investors at the end of March" (Timmons 2008).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/business/21bank.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=countries%20mortgages%20July%2021,%202008&st=cse