Republican senators lashed out at the Fed's "white paper" on housing, which suggested other officials should consider giving failed mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a bigger role in turning the market around. ...

... "I believe that it is important to the interests of the Federal Reserve, including the independence of monetary policy, that the Fed refrain from providing any hint of activism regarding what are clearly fiscal policy choices," said Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. ...

... Sen. Bob Corker, a member of the Banking Committee, directed his criticism at William Dudley, the influential president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, for his suggestion that principal write-downs be considered for distressed borrowers. ...