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Obama latest senator named in alleged sweetheart home loans

Just a few weeks ago, it was discovered that Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad received sweetheart mortgage deals from Countrywide.

Today, the Washington Post is reporting that Sen. Barack Obama also received a sweetheart deal, this time from Northern Trust, for his Chicago home.

The Post reports:

Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.

The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a “super super jumbo.” Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.

Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama’s rate could have saved him more than $300 per month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on a $300 billion mortgage bailout following its July 4 recess. This equates to $1,000 for every U.S. man, woman and child, in taxpayer giveaways for subprime lenders who made bad decisions.

AFF vehemently opposes any form of taxpayer bailout for the mortgage industry, especially with the recent revelation that U.S. senators - who ultimately decide the bill’s fate - may have received special deals from the lenders they seek to bail out.

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AFF Launches Phone Calls Urging a Stop to the Mortgage Bailout

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Contact: Tim Albrecht (515) 720-5250 or TAlbrecht@AmericanFutureFund.com

Des Moines, IA – The American Future Fund (AFF) today launched tens of thousands of phone calls into Connecticut, urging residents to call on Sen. Christopher Dodd to stop the $300 billion mortgage bailout bill that currently sits in the U.S. Senate (full script below.)

Dodd, who this month came under fire when it was revealed that he saved $75,000 on two mortgages in a sweetheart deal from Countrywide, is tasked with overseeing the mortgage industry as chair of the Senate Banking Committee.

“We are pleased the Senate has stalled on this bill, as more information into Senator Dodd’s mortgages comes to light,” said AFF Communications Director Tim Albrecht. “Passing a massive bailout for subprime lenders, while Dodd is being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee, is bad public policy.”

The Senate recently broke for its Fourth of July recess without acting on the $300 billion bailout.

“We hope Dodd’s home-state residents will contact him during the break and let him know the bailout is wrong,” said Albrecht. “AFF vehemently opposes any mortgage bailout.”

The script of the call is as follows:

“Hi, this is Bob with the American Future Fund. Senator Chris Dodd was recently in the news because he saved $75,000 on two mortgages in a sweetheart deal from Countrywide. Now, he oversees the mortgage industry in the Senate, and is pushing a bill to give subprime lenders $300 billion in taxpayer money. You heard right – that’s $1,000 for every man, woman and child in Connecticut. Call Chris Dodd at 202-224-3121 and tell him to stop the mortgage bailout. Because you shouldn’t be on the hook because greedy lenders got carried away. For more information call 515-720-5250.”

# # #

© American Future Fund, 2008

AFF: Inaction Shows Misplaced Priorities

(DES MOINES) — American Future Fund (AFF) today expressed disappointment with the Senate’s unwillingness to pass FISA prior to its July 4 recess.

 

AFF President Nicole Schlinger said, “We are disappointed that the FISA legislation remains on the backburner and urge the Senate to delay their recess until it is passed. This bill has been in consideration since February, and to ignore the public’s protection while they argue over bailing out subprime lenders shows misplaced priorities.”

 

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Mortgage Bailout and FISA are Delayed

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/housing-bill-fisa-delayed-until-after-july-recess-2008-06-26.html

 

The Senate hit impasses over legislation aimed at helping struggling homeowners and a rewrite of spying laws, forcing Democratic leaders to push back consideration of those measures until next month.

 

Leaders had hoped to finish both measures this week, in addition to an emergency war-spending bill and a Medicare bill, before lawmakers return home by week’s end. Both bills have wide support, but in each case, individual senators have refused to let the measures speed through the chamber. As a result, they were forced to lower the bar for this week’s action.

 

Democrats also threatened to keep the Senate in session through the weekend if Republicans didn’t agree to move quickly with the Medicare bill.

 

Objections by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) will push back an overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) until after lawmakers return in July, Democratic leaders said Thursday. Feingold is strongly opposed to language that would likely give telephone companies that participated in warrantless surveillance retroactive immunity from lawsuits.

 

“It doesn’t look like it,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of taking up the FISA bill this week. “Sen. Feingold wants additional time and would like to postpone it until after the Fourth of July.”

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AFF Releases “Sweetheart Deal”

Des Moines, IA – American Future Fund (AFF) today released the exclusive new web video, “Sweetheart Deal,” which examines the questionable mortgage practices of Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), and his cozy relationship with Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.

 

The ad can be viewed here:  http://www.youtube.com/americanfuturefund

 

“As questions continue to circle around Senator Dodd and his relationship with Mozilo, AFF believes no action should be taken on the mortgage bailout bill,” said AFF President Nicole Schlinger. “Congress should not make a practice of bailing out private industries that may have directly assisted the senators who oversee them.”

  Read the full article