Incoming Banking Committee Chair Promises Home Buying, Mortgage Reforms
Can Chris Dodd (left) run for President of the United States at the same time he shepherds an ambitious Banking Committee agenda through a divided U.S. Senate that Democrats now control by the slimmest of margins?
And will he be comfortable taking campaign money from the banking, financial services and insurance interests that so badly need help from his committee, and from which he has taken millions of dollars over the years?
Sure, the Connecticut Democrat told the Hartford Courant Thursday as he presented his detailed 2007 agenda for the powerful Senate committee he will head, beginning next month.
Dodd has coveted the banking post for years; he has been a committee member for 25 years, and he finally became chairman when Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., retired. His record on the committee has been mixed.
“There are times he’s been an effective friend of the consumer on crucial issues, and at other times, he’s opposed some of the things that matter to us most,” said Travis Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America.
Dodd pledged Thursday to be a friend of the consumer, but also said he’s not hostile to business. He outlined three major thrusts of his plans in leading the committee:
1. Consumers. Dodd wants to simplify the home-buying process so consumers don’t have to wait until closing on their new home to know the terms of a home mortgage loan.
Although he provided no specifics, he said he will propose ways to keep people from losing their properties when the costs of home loans rise.
He also vowed to end the mortgage fraud and predatory lending practices “that strip equity out of consumers’ homes and leave them on the verge of default.”
Jordan Ash, director of the ACORN, a Minnesota-based consumer group, was encouraged by Dodd’s views, particularly about stopping such lending.
“The last time a Democrat was chairman of that committee made a world of difference,” Ash said. “We’re very excited about Dodd as the chairman.”
2. Credit cards. The senator wants to provide more scrutiny of how regulators, and those they regulate, deal with consumers and credit card debt. Plunkett called this initiative unusually promising, and he said a presidential bid could be a benefit.
3. Banks and regulatory agencies. The committee oversees the work of financial institution regulators, as well as the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department. Those who own homes, or are in the process of trying to, know how important these agencies are in ensuring fair mortgage rates and other consumer protections.