How dare John Cornyn demand ethics and disclosure from sitting Senators?
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in Chris Dodd | Congress | Countrywide Financial | Culture of Corruption | Ethics | Ethics Reform | John Cornyn — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Texas Senate Ethics Committee ranking member John Cornyn (R-TX) will introduce an amendment to the controversial mortgage/lender bailout bill that would require Senators to list their residential mortgages as liabilities on their financial disclosure forms.
The amendment, which would take effect next year, would require Senators "to disclose the date the mortgage was acquired, the rough amount, the interest rate, the term and the name and address of the creditor."
According to Roll Call, the proposed amendment, which has reportedly garnered support from at least five other Ethics Committee members, "appears designed to address the fallout from the revelation that Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the housing bill’s sponsor, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) received favorable mortgages from Countrywide Financial."
As reported here before, Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, had suspicious dealings with Countrywide Financial, the mortgage lender Sen. Barack Obama -- for whom Dodd has been a pledged Superdelegate since February -- has been railing against on the campaign trail even while appointing another beneficiary of the organization to help vet his potential Vice Presidential candidates.
Despite his shady dealings and preferential treatment from the lender (or perhaps because of it), Dodd's name is on the landmark mortgage-bailout legislation now pending in the Senate, which will bail out Countrywide, among others, using an obscene amount of taxpayer dollars.
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How dare John Cornyn demand ethics and disclosure from sitting Senators? 12 Comments (0 topical, 12 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
But, does anyone have any info on McCain being sued by DNC for campaign finance violations? Some libs are talking about it and I want to find stories unrelated to DKos
Also, great story Jeff. This mortgage thing is a HUGE deal to me, but not too many people seem to feel the same?
MelZ
Can anyone help me find what Republicans crossed over to vote for this boondoggle? I need to see who I need to call and
"express myself".
Just heard there were only nine - NINE - votes against this
bill!!! It sure makes you question why a person works so
hard to pay their mortgage and buy flood and wind insurance, and then turn around and watch (and pay for)those who don't take any responsiblity constantly get bailed out.
For these people, both the lenders and the consumers, to get rewarded for bad decisions is the epitome of wasteful spending in what is already a culture of dependence.
Is the market not already correcting itself?
This bill absolutely makes me sick. I cannot believe that I have to bail these people out.
Just heard there were only nine - NINE - votes against this
bill!!! It sure makes you question why a person works so
hard to pay their mortgage and buy flood and wind insurance, and then turn around and watch (and pay for)those who don't take any responsiblity constantly get bailed out.
Ain't he just a toot? I bet Dodd and Conrad ain't feeling the love right about now.
Impeach the 5 usurpers
have been a cloture vote not a final bill vote.
Jindal in 2012!
Didn't hear that on the local radio station. I would hope our Republicans are not supporting this. Gives me time to make some phone calls and confirm where my congressmen are voting on this bill.
So far he's voted Present on a motion to send the bill back to committee and supported cloture for it.
Disappointing.
I was just going to ask if any of the directors/front pagers knew about this.
Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay's PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America's small businesses are breathtaking."
My first impression is that this the first step toward taxing internet purchases (for both sales and income taxes). Does any one know if there is anything to this, or just the ranting of some random concern group?
Have you added to the population of the McCain 2008 minicity yet today?
I drive a car powered by hydrogen - C8H18 to be exact.
But listening to foreign terrorists is a horrible violation of the privacy of American citizens.
I would love to vacation in the bizarro world that Democrats inhabit for just a minute.
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