House Republicans Hand Warren Buffett Big Win On Expensive Loans To The Poor

[RiverLover]

House Republicans Hand Warren Buffett Big Win On Expensive Loans To The Poor
4/14/15



WASHINGTON -- House Republicans approved a set of lucrative perks for Warren Buffett on Tuesday, passing legislation to help his mobile home empire secure government protections on high-interest loans to poor people.

Buffett, the world's third-richest man, is by far the biggest operator in the mobile home industry. His Clayton Homes company sells more mobile homes, also known as "manufactured housing," than any other company. The two largest mobile home lenders are both Buffett companies -- Vanderbilt Mortgage and 21st Mortgage and Finance.

The industry targets the poor. More than 84 percent of the industry's customers earn less than the median household income.

The Buffett enterprises have faced allegations of predatory lending and collection practices, most recently detailed this month in an investigation by the Seattle Times and the Center for Public Integrity. Nevertheless, Buffett's empire has had great success pressuring Congress to let it charge very high interest rates on mobile home loans while still qualifying for government protections from predatory lending lawsuits.

The GOP bill that passed on Tuesday would allow companies to charge very high interest rates on mobile home loans -- up to about 14 percent in the current market -- while still getting the benefit of the doubt in court for predatory lending cases. High-interest borrowers would lose key consumer protections, like mandatory housing counseling, and be exposed to a host of other predatory lending terms, including penalties that prevent homeowners from refinancing into less expensive loans. The bill also would allow mobile home salespeople to receive kickbacks for steering customers into high-cost loans....

...The bill passed by a margin of 262 to 162. Only one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a frequent opponent of favors for financial firms, voted against it.

A total of 22 Democrats supported the bill, including Reps. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), John Carney (D-Del.), William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), John Delaney (D-Md.), Gwen Graham (D-Fla.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), David Scott (D-Ga.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

Republicans shot down an amendment proposed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) that would bar any lender that had "been found to have engaged in unfair, deceptive, predatory, or abusive lending practices, or convicted of mortgage fraud" from taking advantage of the bill.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/14/manufactured-housing-republicans_n_7065810.html

So much for Buffett being one of the "good" billionaires.