Lobbyists Win Again In Securing Tax Break For Home Builders

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/economy/15gret.html?_r=1
The New York Times's Gretchen Morgenson points out that lobbyists have won another victory that will lead to billions in taxpayer dollars being handed over to firms that helped spur the economic crisis.

The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which President Obama just signed into law, contains "a tax break that lets big companies offset losses incurred in 2008 and 2009 against profits booked as far back as 2004," Morgenson reports. (Read the full story here.)

The administration estimates that the tax breaks will be worth some $33 billion, and home builders -- who analysts say were key players in the financial crisis by building and financing too many homes -- stand to benefit enormously.

One of the more shocking elements of Morgenson's piece is just how large a rate of return these home builders got for the money they spent on lobbying for this tax break:

Securing this tax break was a top priority for home builders, lobbying records show. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that through Oct. 26 of this year, home builders paid $6 million to their lobbyists. Last year, the industry spent $8.2 million lobbying...

...Among individual companies, Lennar spent $240,000 lobbying while companies affiliated with Hovnanian Enterprises spent $222,000. Pulte Homes spent $210,000 this year.

That's some return on investment. After spending its $210,000, Pulte will receive $450 million in refunds. And Hovnanian, after spending its $222,000, will get as much as $275 million.


Even as unemployment continues to rise and the Obama administration's foreclosure plan appears to be failing, Congress and the White House are signing off on tax breaks that reward those who are partly responsible for our financial predicament.

Ex-NYC top cop Kerik pleads guilty

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33655845/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the White House and tax crimes in a deal that could send him to prison for about 2 1/2 years.

The nominee to run Homeland Security also admits lying to the White House

Kerik, who was police commissioner when New York was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, won glowing reviews for his leadership. He eventually was nominated for the Homeland Security post in 2004 but withdrew as corruption allegations mounted. The lies to the White House occurred during that vetting process.

"Guilty," he said eight times in a firm voice as he appeared in the suburban courtroom.

Budget Monitor Says G.O.P. Bill Leaves Many Uninsured

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/budget-monitor-questions-impact-of-gop-health-bill/
Finally, the GOP has a bill.

But let's not celebrate just yet.

The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would have little impact in extending health benefits to the roughly 30 million uninsured Americans, but would reduce average insurance premium costs for people who have coverage.

The bill would do little to change the status quo, but would reduce future federal deficits by $68 billion over 10 years, compared to a reduction of $104 billion by the House Democrats’ legislation.

The nonpartisan budget office predicted savings reflected in the Republican plan would amount to $41 billion over 10 years as a result of provisions to limit costs related to medical malpractice lawsuits.

On the Take: How much were Senators paid for yesterday's health care vote?

On average, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee who voted FOR a public option to be included in the health care overhaul took home $3 million given to them by insurance companies and other health care industry lobbyists.

Those handful of Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who voted AGAINST the public option took home more than $10 million.

Now, we're just talking about those members on the committee. Money given to the entire Senate and House of Representatives isn't included in this amount.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus alone got about $1.8 million in campaign contributions from health care lobbyists, according to a report released by The Sunlight Foundation. The foundation is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to make the workings of government more transparent.

You can use the report below to compare how much money members of the Senate Finance Committee got from unions, which favor a public option, versus the amount of money they received from insurance companies and other industry lobbyists.

Just in case you wanted to know what members are on the take - and how much money was stuffed into their pockets - see the chart below. Using campaign finance disclosure forms that members of Congress are required by law to submit, the Sunlight Foundation compiled this report. The info is straight from the horses' mouths, so to speak.

Go ahead, take a look for yourself, and make up your own mind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name	Party	Labor Contributions (2005-2010)	Health Contributions (2005-2010)	Ratio (Health:Labor)	Rockefeller Amendment	Schumer Amendment
Mike Crapo	R	$2,000	$243,226	121.6:1	N	N
Jon Kyl	R	$13,000	$1,188,238	91.4:1	N	N
Chuck Grassley	R	$11,500	$651,627	56.7:1	N	N
Jim Bunning	R	$2,500	$112,650	45.1:1	N	N
John Cornyn	R	$27,250	$1,226,469	44.6:1	N	N
John Ensign	R	$12,000	$521,575	43.5:1	N	N
Orrin Hatch	R	$31,100	$1,020,334	32.8:1	N	N
Pat Roberts	R	$12,000	$343,849	28.7:1	N	N
Blanche Lincoln	D	$36,100	$641,004	17.8:1	N	N
Mike Enzi	R	$26,500	$423,749	16.0:1	N	N
Maria Cantwell	D	$22,500	$353,342	15.7:1	Y	Y
Ron Wyden	D	$39,000	$370,175	9.5:1	Y	Y
Max Baucus	D	$207,925	$1,763,799	8.5:1	N	N
Olympia Snowe	R	$103,750	$367,549	3.5:1	N	N
Kent Conrad	D	$253,750	$652,178	2.6:1	N	N
Debbie Stabenow	D	$284,125	$737,243	2.6:1	Y	Y
Bill Nelson	D	$241,890	$613,594	2.5:1	N	Y
Jay Rockefeller	D	$240,800	$605,400	2.5:1	Y	Y
Chuck Schumer	D	$140,500	$298,650	2.1:1	Y	Y
John Kerry	D	$103,248	$188,558	1.8:1	Y	Y
Jeff Bingaman	D	$229,500	$366,414	1.6:1	Y	Y
Tom Carper	D	$180,010	$287,406	1.6:1	N	Y
Robert Menendez	D	$400,100	$603,343	1.5:1	Y	Y

** Both Senators Chuck Schumer and Jay Rockefeller each introduced public option plans. Both were voted down by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

The Money Trail: Martinez follows other lawmakers straight to K Street

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27560.html
It used to be that lawmakers were coy about any ideas they had about heading for K Street, waiting until their terms ended before announcing they were beginning a more lucrative career.

But in recent years, members of Congress planning to become lobbyists have not been able to wait. In fact, when Florida Republican Mel Martinez this week accepted a position with the mega-lobbying and law firm DLA Piper — less than two weeks after resigning from the Senate — it brought to five the number of former lawmakers since 2007 who have abandoned their constituents midterm and almost immediately resurfaced with lobbying firms, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

“This used to be considered unacceptable, but it really is a growing phenomenon,” said Meredith McGehee, who lobbies for stricter lobbying and ethics regulations for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “The reality is that the money has gotten so big and so tempting these days, that I think a lot of these members are saying, ‘I don’t think I’ll go back into political office, first of all, and, the money is just too big to turn down.’”

Student Loan Reform Is Needed Now

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-claflin21-2009sep21,0,793358.story
Here is an issue near and dear to my heart right now...
----------------------------

Students face enough of a financial challenge without lining bank executives' pockets. Congress, please take student loans from private banks and shift them to the existing government program.

GOP gets big bump of donors in August

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-09-24-party-money_N.htm
WASHINGTON — Despite being in the minority in Congress, Republican campaign committees outraised Democrats by $1.7 million in August as they have aggressively collected political cash amid the rancorous debate over health care.
Republicans also held an edge over Democrats in the amount of money available, when counting debts, as both parties set the stage for the 2010 elections, in which more than three dozen competitive House and Senate seats are at stake.

The GOP spike is a departure. In each of the past four years, the party in power — whether Democrat or Republican — raised more than the minority's fundraising committees in August, a USA TODAY review of campaign records shows.

"Republicans have been able to tap into some of the anger against Democrats in power and translate that into fundraising," said Nathan Gonzales of The Rothenberg Political Report. "There are a lot of Republicans who wish the election were this November, not November 2010, because they feel like the momentum is on their side now."

In the Senate, where Republicans are far outnumbered, their fundraising committee collected $3.1 million last month, compared to $2.2 million by the Democratic committee. It was the second month in a row that the Senate GOP committee outperformed Democrats — bringing its fundraising total for the year to $26.5 million, just $1 million less than the Democrats.

Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the committee has attracted more than 70,000 first-time donors this year as voters grew alarmed by President Obama's policies. "There are a lot of independents who may have voted for Obama who are now saying, 'This type of big government spending is not what we signed up for,' " he said.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) also had a fundraising bump in August, bringing in $1 million more than the Democratic National Committee. Only the House Democratic committee outraised the Republicans in August — by $200,000.

August a $3 Million Month for DCCC, NRCC

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003206342
Positioning for the 2010 Elections...

The National Republican Congressional Committee took in $3.1 million, raising more from individual donors than the DCCC — but significantly less from its much smaller membership.

The DCCC, which will be defending its 256-178 edge in the House in the November 2010 elections, has raised significantly more than the NRCC this year, $37.4 million to $23.8 million, and has more than twice as much money in the bank, $10.7 million to $4.2 million.

Marissa Mayer, an executive at Google, was one of four individuals who gave the DCCC $30,400 last month. That is the maximum annual contribution allowed under the law.

Phil Ruffin, a Las Vegas casino owner, was one of two donors who gave $30,400 to the NRCC last month.

Rush vs. Beck

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27282.html
Two conservative heavyweights battle it out for the title of King Con.

Federal Reserve Mulls Its Role One Year After Crisis

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112767144
A stronger Fed?

Obama To Push for Financial System Overhaul Next Week

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000003200826
Is this dude trying to do too much at one time or what?

Rumsfeld 2.3 Trillion Dollars missing Pentagon 1 DAY b4/9-11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo

New Disclosures Show Joe Wilson Deep in Debt

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/notepad/2009/09/debtburdened-joe-wilson-amends.html
This is what happens when you make yourself the news...

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is heavily leveraged and his debts may even exceed his assets, according to an amended financial disclosure form for 2008 that for the first time reveals hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously unreported loans from federal credit unions and banks.

Wilson made headlines Wednesday night for yelling "Lie. You lie," at President Obama during an address to a joint session of Congress. Now, it turns out that the personal financial disclosure form Wilson filed with the House of Representatives in May was grossly inaccurate. (Turns out he really did lie.)

More @the link.

Is It Time for Rangel to Resign?

House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel has had a pretty good run.

First elected in 1971, the Democratic representative from New York rose from being a high school dropout to leading one of the most influential committees in Congress. He is one of a handful of members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have amassed power and influence that resulted last year in seeing one of its own catapulted to the White House.

As Ways and Means Chairman, Rangel is one of the highest ranking black members — and one of the most powerful members, period — in Congress. Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee in the House, and is in charge of all taxation, tariffs and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits and Medicare.

Rangel has been a role model and confidant for congressional staffers and members alike. But lately he has come under increasing pressure to resign.

For a second time, The Washington Post is calling for Rangel to step aside as Ways and Means chairman. Earlier, The Buffalo, N.Y. News called for Rangel to step down. Both editorials came on the heels of a recent disclosure that the chairman massively underreported
his assets.

It’s not the first time.

Last year, a House ethics panel looked into allegations Rangel paid below-market rents for four apartments in a Harlem high-rise as well as his use of congressional letterhead to contact potential donors to an educational center that bears his name. He also failed to report income from a Florida condominium, and failed to pay taxes on a house in the Dominican Republic.

Conservatives, of course, have been calling for Rangel’s head for a while now.

“The arrogant elitist Rep. Charlie Rangel ... has proven to epitome [sic] of a scumbag politician. This arrogant New York politician should be made the poster child for corrupt politicians and Americans need to demand he made a [sic] example of,” writes Gregory Dail in the Washington Examiner, who went on to label Rangel “Crooked Charlie.”

That might come off as more than a little harsh. But even some Democrats are quietly questioning whether Rangel, who has trouble paying his own taxes, should be in charge of overseeing tax laws for the rest of us.

Continued Here.

Goldman CEO Says Pay Backlash Is 'Appropriate'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/goldman-sachs-ceo-blankfe_0_n_281081.html
Tell us something we didn't know...

Blue Cross Blue Shield Execs Profited From Bogus Bonuses

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/blue-cross-blue-shield-ex_n_281282.html
You mean they used premium payments to cover bonuses and pay for a $35,000 retirement party? No wonder my Dad couldn't get the therapy he needed. Blue Cross used the money for other things...

Astonishing, but not really.

Time for Rangel to Go?

Should Charles Rangel, D-NY, step down or be removed from the House Ways and Means Chairmanship?

Yes, definitely. He's a tax cheat.

 

 3

No. Everybody else does it, why not him?

 

 0

Maybe, somebody is probably setting him up.

 

 0

It doesn't matter whether he stays or goes

 

 0

Buffalo News: Rangel should resign

The Buffalo News has had enough of Charlie Rangel, following the disclosure that the House Ways and Means Chairman massively underreported his assets.

It'll be interesting to see if other papers follow suit. If the Times eventually draws the same conclusion [which they aren't likely to do prior to the conclusion of the interminable Ethics Committee probe], look out.

It’s the same old story for Rangel, who last year reluctantly acknowledged what he described as an inadvertent failure to report $75,000 in rental income for a beachfront property in the Dominican Republic. Then, many critics—including this page—called on him to step down from his chairmanship, at least until his professed innocence could be established. He didn’t.

Now, it gets worse. Newly-filed disclosures show that Rangel failed to report at least half a million dollars in assets in 2007. They also show that his net worth is between $1 million and $2.5 million, or about twice what he claimed in 2008.

This would be cause for uproar over any elected official, but when that official heads Congress’ finance—and tax— committee, it is intolerable. Once could be a mistake; an unlikely one, to be sure, but it is possible. The odds of simple error fall to near zero when it happens twice, and when both times are in your financial favor. We’d feel better about it if he accidentally paid taxes on more than he is worth, rather than less.

This is no longer just a problem for Rangel. It’s a problem for Pelosi and all House Democrats, including Brian Higgins of Buffalo and Louise Slaughter of Fairport. It’s a management problem now because Rangel’s shortcomings can— and will—be used to undermine the Democratic majority’s claim to power. And why not? If Democrats are willing to put up with this kind of behavior from one of the chamber’s most powerful members, they will have asked for an Election Day spanking.

This is Pelosi’s sternest test. She should give Rangel a week to do the right thing and then, if he doesn’t, she must.

Rep. Rush Builds Church with Campaign Cash

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/notepad/2009/08/rep-rush-builds-church-with-ca.html
Over the past five years, Rep. Bobby L. Rush has spent more than a tenth of his campaign's receipts on the church he founded, a tidy tithe totaling $152,777.

It's an example of how the campaign finance system allows candidates and office-holders to redirect funds to institutions they care about.

Other lawmakers have influenced their communities -- and preserved their legacies -- by setting up tax-exempt nonprofits, often in the defense and technology industries, to take advantage of federal grant, contract and earmark opportunities.