Apparently US Senators like to be re-elected. That could explain why the housing bill that would provide help to so many struggling homeowners is enjoying such strong bi-partisan support in the senate despite grousing from the White House. Of course President Bush could hardly get more unpopular so fighting against helping homeowners doesn’t change his status much; but his fellow republicans in the senate are realizing that unless they do something to help their struggling homeowner constituents their days in the senate will be short. There was a pretty good piece at Housing Wire on the bi-partisan support the legislation still enjoys. Here is an excerpt:
Various media reports have suggested in recent days that both the threat of veto, as well as questions about Democratic ties to Countrywide, have weakened support for the housing bill. The Senate’s own actions, however, are proving that bipartisan support for the housing proposal remains surprisingly strong.
Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Jim Bunning (R-KY) had put to the floor Thursday a motion to recommit the housing bill; the motion would have effectively killed the bill, by pushing it back to the Banking Committee chaired by Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT). …
“As a member of the Banking Committee I also think we need to take a closer look at exactly who benefits form this bill and by how much,” Bunning said in a statement Thursday.
Yet the Senate quashed the move by a massive 70-11 margin in a floor vote anyway.
The attempt to recommit the bill wasn’t the only attempt made Thursday by Republicans to kill the housing proposal — the Senate also shot down two Republican-proposed amendments to the bill that also would have effectively killed it. One had sought to remove the $300 billion FHA expansion from the bill, while another proposed yanking the affordable housing fund that is the backbone for funding the proposed FHA expansion.
The two measures failed by amazingly wide margins of 69-21 and 77-11, respectively — evidence of surprisingly strong bipartisan support for the election-year housing bill. The margins are large enough, as well, to suggest that Congress may overrule any veto by President Bush.