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Did Bank of America write the Dodd bailout bill?

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Those following the progress of the Dodd-Shelby mortgage rescue plan in the Senate might want to check out two solid pieces of enterprising reporting on the bill this weekend.

First, the Examiner’s Tim Carney reports that the bailout section of the Dodd-Shelby bill is, in the words a lobbyist, ‘exactly what Bank of America and Countrywide wanted.’

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Is there a connection between Bank of America and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.)? There is. Carney: ‘Bank of America’s political action committee (PAC) has donated $20,000 to Dodd since he became chairman of the banking panel 17 months ago. From January 2007 to March 2008, Bank of America employees have donated at least $50,400 to Dodd’s campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.’

National Review’s the Corner follows up, citing an internal Bank of America document:

‘National Review Online has obtained an internal Bank of America ‘discussion document’ (PDF here) on the subject of the FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008, a.k.a. the Dodd-Shelby mortgage-lender bailout bill .... This discussion document (dated March 11, 2008) would appear to support the contention that BofA essentially wrote the bailout section of the bill.

Faithful readers of the blog will remember that Bank of America has been pushing hard for a big federal intervention for months. This was from a New York Times story on BofA’s lobbying efforts back in February:‘Bank of America suggested creating a Federal Homeowner Preservation Corporation that would buy up billions of dollars in troubled mortgages at a deep discount, forgive debt above the current market value of the homes and use federal loan guarantees to refinance the borrowers at lower rates. ‘We believe that any intervention by the federal government will be acceptable only if it is not perceived as a bailout of the bond market,’ the financial institution noted. In practice, taxpayers would almost certainly view such a move as a bailout.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Hat tips: Mr. Mortgage, The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter and MN via e-mail.

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