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$300 billion mortgage bailout steams ahead in Senate, 83-9 (Roll call voted added)

By Michelle Malkin  •  June 24, 2008 12:12 PM

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Ethics, schmethics. Despite the cloud over Countrywide pals Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, the latest mortgage bailout boondoggle has cleared another congressional hurdle. The Senate voted 83-9 to move forward on Dodd’s housing aid bill. Final vote is scheduled for later today. We’ll see if the White House upholds its veto threat.

Meanwhile, Politico asks Senate members to show them their loans. Check out the results here.

It’s so, so tough to be a U.S. Senator, isn’t it?

Sniff.

***

Update: Here’s the cloture motion roll call vote. Look who’s AWOL again…

doddroll.jpg

Update: Just received from Sen. John Cornyn’s office:

As part of a continued effort to strengthen public disclosure and increase transparency in Congress, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, announced today that he and Senate Ethics Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Ca., have introduced an amendment to the housing reform bill, currently under consideration in the Senate, which would require Members of Congress to disclose residential mortgages as a liability on their financial disclosure reports. In addition to Sens. Cornyn and Boxer, the amendment is cosponsored by Senators Mark Pryor, Ken Salazar, Pat Roberts, and Johnny Isakson, who together compromise the full Senate Ethics Committee.

Currently, there is an exception to the disclosure requirement for residential mortgages. The Cornyn amendment provides that this exception will no longer apply to Members of Congress.

“Accountability in government is only an empty promise without transparency and disclosure. The more information that we can put in the hands of citizens and journalists, the stronger our democracy will be, particularly as we take the necessary steps to rebuild the confidence of the American people in their government,” Sen. Cornyn said today. “This amendment would close an unwarranted loophole and provide citizens and journalists with more complete information on financial disclosure forms. I appreciate the bipartisan support this amendment has received and I am hopeful it will be included in the housing reform bill.”

Chairman Boxer said, “Ethics in government is something that needs to be revisited continually. This update will help make our disclosure rules stronger, and I believe it is an important step forward.”

Under the Cornyn amendment, Members of Congress will have to make a “full and complete” disclosure of residential mortgages. This will require Senators to disclose the date that the mortgage was entered, the range of the amount, the interest rate, the term, and the name and address of the creditor. It will take effect as Members of Congress file their financial disclosure forms next year.

Posted in: Subprime crisis

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Comment pages: « 1 [2]

  1. #101
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:05 pm, khan said:

    #98:

    Good for them.

  2. #102
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pm, okiedokie said:

    What the Hell? Neither of my Senators voted? (OK) I can understand the rest of the abstaining losers, but Coburn & Inhofe abstained?

  3. #103
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pm, Little Ma said:

    #96, Jet Jaguar,

    You beat me to it! LOL Guess I shouldn’t have spent so much time reading all the comments.

    Are you a proofreader? I used to be one.

  4. #104
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:30 pm, WarTip said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pm, DesertLover said:

    Actually, mathematically speaking, figuring an estimated 300 million people in the United States of America, this means that every man, woman and child gets the privilege of contributing 100,000 dollars to our representative reprehensible government.

    Do you think every person in the US will pay their fair share or will the burden be placed on the unwitting and unwilling American taxpaying citizen?

  5. #105
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:36 pm, TheOtherSide said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:30 pm, WarTip said:
    Actually, mathematically speaking, figuring an estimated 300 million people in the United States of America, this means that every man, woman and child gets the privilege of contributing 100,000 dollars

    Actually, mathematically speaking, it would $1000 per person.

  6. #106
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:55 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 1:20 pm, DesertLover said:
    just kidding … we all know it is 1$ but I had to get some levity into these threads today … nothing but slurs everywhere today …

    Gotcha …

    Ha! Don’t try to bail now,I’m not buying it. You f’d up and the only way you can save face is if you confess to being the product of the public school system. 8>)

  7. #107
    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:57 pm, Jet Jaguar said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pm, Little Ma said:

    #96, Jet Jaguar,

    You beat me to it! LOL Guess I shouldn’t have spent so much time reading all the comments.

    Are you a proofreader? I used to be one.

    Little Ma, I saw no one had mentioned it, yet, so I jumped on it. I do proofread quite a bit (avionics software requirements, design, and code).

  8. #108
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:01 pm, MrOlympia said:

    I’m only 51. I was really hoping to live out my life here in the United States in a manner similar to my parents. They were hard working professional people that lived the American dream. They pretty much lived by the Golden Rule and had no bias against other human beings. They gladly paid their taxes and abided by the law. They have both now passed away while this was still a great country.

    I really don’t think this will happen for me. We are headed to socialism and the downfall of the once great United States of America. History will show that LIBERALISM sucked the very life out of our country. It is happening right now and we don’t have long.

    The rest of the world smells weakness. We will be unable to wage war until its too late. Hell, how can we wage war when we won’t have any oil or gas to fly our planes, run our tanks, fly our helicopters, or power our ships. The strategic reserve only lasts so long. T

    SORRY FOLKS……..WE ARE TOAST. The worst case scenario is starting to play out. Its only a matter of time and the clock has been ticking as Iran, Russia, China, S Korea, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and others laugh at us. John McCain might slow it a little, but Obamessiah will hasten it forthwith!

  9. #109
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:03 pm, WarTip said:

    I sit corrected as well. I should have used my keypad rather than my mouse. Still, I think I can find something better to do with my thousand bucks than give it to the government to hand over to someone else.

    Also, what would be your opinion on who exactly will pay? Do you think this will come equally from everybody or from each according to their ability? I could not help but notice you did not correct me there. I would like to be proven wrong however.

  10. #110
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:11 pm, smfoushee said:

    Cornyn ticks me off with this, and I’m a big supporter of his. No one should receive a nickel from the people of this country - in the form of tax dollars - over mortgages they should NEVER have taken out in the first place. You make your bed, you sleep in it. I had to borrow money from my grand father to help cover the costs to get a fixed rate on our first house years ago because I knew a variable rate would have killed me by now.

    Stupidity should never be rewarded.

  11. #111
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:13 pm, WarTip said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:11 pm, smfoushee said: Stupidity should never be rewarded.

    Oh sure it should … as well as illegal activity such as coming into the country illegally.

    It is right next to the “Wall of Separation” in our Constitution.

    /sarc

  12. #112
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:19 pm, TheOtherSide said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:03 pm, WarTip said:

    Also, what would be your opinion on who exactly will pay?

    Given our governmental debt…China!

  13. #113
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:20 pm, Christian Soldier said:

    LOTES anyone…

    LOTS of……………………..
    RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRssss voted for it….

    I wonder how many of them were a LOTE?

  14. #114
    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:59 pm, mngirl said:

    The amendment by Cornyn should be called the Dodd/Conradwide amendment.

  15. #115
    On June 24th, 2008 at 9:10 pm, cyrebus said:

    Why are Senators allowed to NOT vote? If they miss three votes they should be fired! :P

  16. #116
    On June 24th, 2008 at 9:13 pm, havok said:

    Well I may be laid off pretty soon. So instead of finding new work I will just kick back and forward my mortgage payments to the new lightgivers.

    Somehow I feel relaxed now…my house if being paid for and my directv has more channels than ever.

    Sad…

  17. #117
    On June 24th, 2008 at 9:16 pm, swmbo said:

    Hey Post #2

    COMIC GOLD !!

  18. #118
    On June 24th, 2008 at 11:13 pm, F15mech said:

    I just closed on my first home on Fri.

    It is nice to know that my 3 extra years living in an apartment, during a real estate bubble, while paying off my debts was for nothing.

    Someone pass me a beer.

    Rather then hard work etc, I am going to stay in my new home, and hope the government bails me out.

  19. #119
    On June 24th, 2008 at 11:15 pm, WarTip said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 8:19 pm, TheOtherSide said: Given our governmental debt…China!

    China may buy the debts but we as Americans will most certainly pay the price. Read that however you want but it should be frightening no matter what.

  20. #120
    On June 24th, 2008 at 11:25 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    As least my ONE Senator, Kyl (R) Arizona voted nay. Nine percent is about all we can expect I guess. Glad to see Obama and McCain earned their $160,000 a year plus perks doing nothing particulary useful.

  21. #121
    On June 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm, WarTip said:

    On June 24th, 2008 at 11:25 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said: Glad to see Obama and McCain earned their $160,000 a year plus perks doing nothing particulary useful.

    Not to mention all the paid time off while they run for yet another public office. Who’s minding the store? They don’t mind?

  22. #122
    On June 25th, 2008 at 12:33 am, marsouin said:

    Wow, it’s great to see that my money and rights take a backseat to special interests in the US Senate. After all, those poor Senators evidently see their job security is more important than mine.

  23. #123
    On June 25th, 2008 at 1:53 am, fred5676 said:

    Sent today:

    Dear Senator Ensign,

    THANK YOU for voting against Sen. Dodd’s payback to Countrywide for the sweetheart deal he was given.

    I expect you to give holy hell to Sen. Dodd and Sen. Conrad - please show them this email.

    They are nothing but pigs at the trough of government corruption and special interests.

    THANK YOU again for your principled stand against this abomination of a bill, and standing tall for honest and responsible American citizen taxpayers (like me!!)

    Sincerely,

    fred

  24. #124
    On June 25th, 2008 at 11:30 am, okiedokie said:

    Called today and learned that Coburn & Inhofe were both late for the vote because the plane they were on was delayed. They both were going to vote against it. Two more voices wouldn’t have made a difference, but at least I know that they both aren’t stark raving lunatics.

  25. #125
    On June 26th, 2008 at 7:05 pm, 24Klady said:

    If you think this is the biggest bailout, think GM (today finally getting flushed after laying in the toilet for years) - the gubbmint of the people for the people will never let them go completely under…then, AmericanThinker.com is reporting that Barack Obama’s Senate bill #2433 will probably come up for vote after the July 4th recess. The House H.R.1302 was overwhelmingly approved. This is his idea of feeding the world at the American taxpayer’s expense. America’s promise is “slip sliding away” folks.

  26. #126
    On June 26th, 2008 at 7:09 pm, 24Klady said:

    Forgot to add: Senate bill #2433 will authorize the United Nations as the official overseer of the project. Why McCain has not used this issue against Obama leaves me speechless - unless he agrees with it’s premise and would vote for it? We’re talking a trillion dollars my fellow taxpayers.

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