Even if it seems like ancient history, and a story most Americans would like to forget, it's worth keeping an eye on how the financial bailout funded by U.S. taxpayers is working out. News reports noted that the TARP — Troubled Asset Relief Program — officially ended Sunday.

Since the $700 billion bailout measure was passed, most major banks have repaid their bailout funds, and other major recipients, including General Motors, are making plans to sell stock or otherwise repay the U.S. Treasury. Official estimates now say total TARP costs might be $50 billion or less.

Last week, it was reported that American International Group (AIG) had worked out a plan with the U.S. government to repay taxpayers for its federal bailout funds by converting preferred shares of stock to common stock that can later be sold to investors. It's remarkable to hear such a plan because AIG was seen as the poster boy of the TARP bailout, which was begun under President George W. Bush and continued under President Barack Obama.

While it's encouraging to see signs of hope that most recipients of TARP money will repay the government, there is another, less-encouraging story involving a separate taxpayer-funded bailout. And that's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-backed — and, now, government-owned — mortgage giants.

As recently as June, the Congressional Budget Office was predicting that taxpayers would be hit with $389 billion in bailout costs — costs that wouldn't be repaid.

During the height of the bailout, AIG was the story that aggravated taxpayers most, because some of its bailout money went to Wall Street investment banks that had insurance contracts on risky investments with AIG. It also irked taxpayers that multimillion-dollar bonuses were paid by the company — paid even as it used taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.

But AIG appears to be recovering from its near-death experience and is plotting a course that will see taxpayers' money returned. That's not the story with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The two mortgage giants enjoyed government support and were directed to pursue a congressional directive of maximizing homeownership. Unfortunately, this extended into the subprime area where many borrowers were incapable of repaying their home loans. Fannie and Freddie bought up risky mortgages from banks around the country, supplying those banks with additional money so they could turn around and sell more risky home loans.

Over time, Fannie and Freddie became the dumping ground where banks unloaded their shakiest loans.

Taxpayers should continue to press Congress for a full accounting of how Fannie and Freddie ended up in such a mess, including the role congressional leaders played in pushing Fannie and Freddie into the riskiest lending areas.

When the Bush administration was pushing to reform Fannie and Freddie over concerns they were getting too involved in risky loans, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., famously said, "These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis."

Frank went on to say that he wanted "to roll the dice a little bit more" by encouraging Fannie and Freddie to make loans to questionable borrowers in the interest of increasing homeownership, particularly in low-income areas.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who is facing an ethics inquiry in Congress, joined Frank in supporting the risky moves by Fannie and Freddie, saying of the Bush administration reform proposals, "We were trying to fix something that wasn't broke."

Clearly, Frank and Waters were wrong — very wrong. But so were a lot of other people when it came to seeing the housing bubble.

Still, the bailout costs of the government-run agencies cannot be overlooked, and the role of congressional leaders in the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be widely understood and never forgotten. The current cost to taxpayers stands at about $150 billion, and conservative estimates predict $400 billion, with worst-case scenarios approaching $1 trillion.

AIG's story is a good one. The story of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a bad one, and one that Congress would prefer most people not know. That should not be allowed to happen.