Payday Pundit

The Center for Responsible Lending is in the news again.  This time the Wall Street Journal has singled the group out, along with ACORN.

The WSJ urges scrutiny of the “affordable housing allocations” section of Chris Dodd’s mortgage bailout legislation, stating that Chris Dodd and Barney Frank have, “written the bill to steer the cash toward some of their favorite political allies.”

According to the report, political activist groups like the Center for Responsible Lending,through their Center for Community Self-Help, could be eligible for a portion of the more than $600 million that could result from the bill.

From the article:

As the Senate prepares to vote on its mortgage bailout this week, one part of Banking Chairman Chris Dodd’s bill deserves more scrutiny. It’s a section called “affordable housing allocations,” and while it sounds innocuous, in practice it amounts to a new tax to create a permanent subsidy for state governments and political activists.

 Like the bailout that has already passed the House, the Senate bill features a special new tax on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We have long urged reform of the two mortgage giants, which operate with an implicit government guarantee and therefore a license to endanger the taxpayer if they take on too much risk. The shares of both plunged yesterday to new lows based on their credit risks. But as a price for allowing more oversight of the two companies, Mr. Dodd and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank want to cut their allies in on even more of the action.