Politics, Culture, and Other Wastes of Time: I made Rolling Stone, but not the cover (from Cong. Brad Miller)

Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC), who represents my district, is not running for president though he almost ran against Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) whose term ends next year. I am a great admirer of Cong. Miller, and I hope he continues to be my congressman for many years to come.

Dear Friend,

I made Rolling Stone, but since I wasn't actually on the cover (Bruce Springsteen was), I just bought one copy for my mother.

Bush's Lap Dogs

The article is about how inspectors general (IGs) appointed in the Bush Administration have worked to protect the Bush Administration from embarrassment, rather than acting as the independent watchdogs that they're supposed to be. It's a criticism I've made for some time, and I proposed a couple of amendments to make it harder to hire political operatives as IGs.

For a baby boomer, being interviewed by the Rolling Stone is way cooler than being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post.

But most of the coverage in the last couple of weeks has been about the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Negotiations continue over the bill that I introduced with Linda Sanchez to allow bankruptcy courts to modify mortgages. Somehow I thought the mortgage industry would acknowledge some responsibility for the problem, and make constructive proposals to help families avoid losing their homes to foreclosure.

I've been disappointed so far:

Banks Fear Democrat Bids To Aid Mortgage Borrowers

A second hearing on the bill in the Judiciary Committee resulted in this national AP article:

House Panel May Vote on Bankruptcy Bill

A tentative committee vote, later postponed, resulted in this AP article:

Banks Fight Home Loan Bankruptcy

The legislation got a favorable mention in The Nation:

The Coming Foreclosure Tsunami

The Nation editorial also ran as an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, and perhaps elsewhere.

We've offered analysis by prominent economists--like the chief economist for Moody's-to show that similar legislation in the past didn't cause even a hiccup in the mortgage market, and that the bill would probably help half a million or so families avoid foreclosure. The opponents of the bill are lobbyists with expertise in neither economics nor law, but with experience as political operatives. They say that interest rates might go up as much as two percent if we passed the legislation, without a shred of evidence-and almost all Republicans and some Democrats nod gravely.

The level of debate is getting embarrassing.

And in the last couple of weeks the predatory mortgage lending legislation that I introduced along with Mel Watt and Barney Frank passed by a vote of 291 to 127. Here's the AP article:

Mortgage Lending Bill Facing foes in Congress White House, Opponents in Senate Critical of House Version

The bill remains a work in progress, and I'll fight to make it better for consumers. Remedies for consumers under the bill are very, very modest, but not to hear Republicans tell it.

The opposition of most Republicans in Congress, the Bush Administration, and much of the financial services industry may make for tough sledding, as the AP article says. On the other hand, the foreclosure crisis will grow worse and worse right through the election, and that may focus the mind of those whose names will be on the ballot next year:

Housing a Prime Issue for US Elections in 2008

(Easybourse apparently is an English-language business news publication for people living in France. I suspect that's a pretty small demographic.)

I hope you have much to be thankful for this year. I know that I do.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Brad