Redstate

Posted at 8:51am on Apr. 3, 2008 Mortgage Relief: Senate Republicans Blink

An FHA Expansion coming?

By blackhedd

Following up my story here on the movement in the Senate Banking Committee to come up with mortgage-relief (read, bailout) legislation: the Republicans blinked.

Under what appears to have been pressure from Republican leadership, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking minority member on the banking panel, made a deal with Senator Dodd of Connecticut to accept preliminary steps in the direction of a legislated mortgage bailout.

Much more…

Posted in bailout | Dodd | Economy | FHA | mortgage | New Deal | senate | Shelby — Comments (20)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 7:03am on Apr. 2, 2008 Congress Considers A Mortgage Bailout

The Scene Shifts to Washington

By blackhedd

As I told you yesterday (here), the Federal Reserve's aggressive measures to stabilize the financial system appear to be paying off, at least in the near term.

But the scene is shifting to Washington, as Capitol Hill Democrats hurriedly consider a home-mortgage bailout, perhaps by expanding the mandate of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

As I wrote here, there are very good reasons to oppose a straightforward bailout, in which taxpayer funds would provide relief to people who are either unable or unwilling to stay current on their mortgage payments. If you agree with me, today would be a very good day to call your Senator and tell him or her about it. Particularly members of the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. (The ranking Republican is Shelby of Alabama.)

And Mr. Dodd spoke in the Senate on this subject yesterday (prepared text here).

I warned you that this was coming. What Senator Dodd said, in essence, is this: "the Administration [sic] just spent $30 billion in taxpayer money to bail out Bear Stearns. We're gonna kick their butts for doing that, starting tomorrow. But now that we saved Wall Street's bacon, we have to do the same thing for homeowners."

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Posted in Christopher Dodd | Economy | federal reserve | FHA | Mortgage Bailout | Senate Banking Committee — Comments (53)/ Email this page » / Read More »