Rep. Pence (R,Ind) enlightens us as to why this bill just plain sucks. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll add to the sections he’s pointing out.

From CNS News - Pence Calls on Conservatives to Oppose Bailout That ‘Nationalizes’ Bad Mortgages

Section 109 of the proposed law is entitled “Mortgage Mitigation Efforts.” Section 110 is entitled “Assistance to Homeowners.” They address what the Treasury Department and other federal agencies must do about the mortgages that will be among the assets the government buys from financial institutions with the $700 billion in bailout money authorized by the bill.

The actual text of the proposed law says: “To the extent that the Federal property manager holds, owns, or controls mortgages, mortgage backed securities, and other assets secured by residential real estate, including multi-family housing, the Federal property manager shall implement a plan that seeks to maximize assistance for homeowners and use its authority to encourage the servicers of the underlying mortgages, and considering net present value to the taxpayer, to take advantage of the HOPE for Homeowners Program under section 257 of the National Housing Act or other available programs to minimize foreclosures.”

House Republican Leader, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Republican Whip, Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., speak to reporters after a lengthy House Republican conference meeting regarding legislation on the financial crisis Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
“In the case of a residential mortgage loan,” the proposed law continues, “modifications made … may include: (A) reduction in interest rates; (B) reduction of loan principal; and (C) other similar modifications.”

It’s nice to know that people who purchased homes without a downpayment, without an income qualification will be given a write down on their mortgages and interest. This is insane.

People should also look to Section 103 which was mentioned by Glenn Beck this morning. It’s a doozy!

It’s innocuously called: Sec.103.Considerations (bottom of page 12).

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration—
(1)protecting the interests of taxpayers by maximizing overall returns and minimizing the impact on the national debt;
(2)providing stability and preventing disruption to financial markets in order to limit the impact on the economy and protect American jobs, savings and retirement security;
(3)the need to help families keep their homes and to stabilize communities;
(4)in determining whether to engage in a direct purchase from an individual financial institution in determining whether the purchase represents the most efficient use of funds under this Act;
(5)ensuring that all financial institutions are eligible to participate in the program, without discrimination based on size, geography, form of organization, or the size, type, and number of assets eligible for purchase under this Act;
skip to……
(8)protecting the retirement security of Americans by purchasing troubled assets held by or on behalf of an eligible retirement plan described in clause…….

Now what does this all mean? It means we the American taxpayer could be bailing out cities, counties, states, unions for losses to retirement investments! I’m wondering why I should be responsible for bailing out these groups when no one is going to recoup my 401k losses which have been affected by the downturn in the markets!

Tip of the iceberg!

2008 Election, Bailout details, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008,