Mortgages: No Ethical Lapse On Capitol Hill
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The Senate Ethics Committee has found that neither Sen. Thomas Dodd (D-CT) nor Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) broke any ethical standards on the basis of mortgages received from Countrywide.
After going through 18,000 pages of documentation, the Committee concluded that the rates and terms received by the senators where generally available to the public — precisely what we said before the decision was published.
This is hardly a remarkable finding. Why it would take a year to consider and 18,000 pages of documentation to come to an obvious conclusion shows why good people do not want to enter politics.
But, the good news is that there may be new ethical standards introduced on Capitol Hill which would force elected officials to disclose their real estate financing. This would be positive for two reasons: First, it would deter sweetheart deals not available to you or I. Second, it would reduce the power of mortgage lenders to influence Capitol Hill.
The standard, of course, should also be extended to congressional spouses, children and parents as well as Capitol Hill employees — just to be sure….
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