In 2003, Treasury Secretary John Snow told Congress...

This is from Bloomberg:

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- In October 2003, Treasury Secretary John Snow told Congress ``we need to be on guard'' against the ``perception'' that the U.S. government stood behind the stocks and bonds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This week his successor, Henry Paulson, has seen a plan to make such a guarantee explicit to the brink of passage, getting a presidential veto threat withdrawn and reversing years of Republican-led efforts to unhook the companies' fortunes from the government's finances.

It's actually passed now, but it's interesting to see how things can change in a matter of a few years...