Thread: Obama Pick Raked in Big Bucks from Housing Industry

Obama Pick Raked in Big Bucks from Housing Industry

Rep. Melvin Watt / AP

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff

May 2, 2013 10:01 am

Rep. Melvin Watt (D., N.C), President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has received $1.2 million from Super PACs in the housing industry and financial marketplace over the course of his political career.

These donations make up more than 20 percent of the money raised by Watt.

Roll Call reports:

Since 1991, Watt has raised $5.4 million for his campaigns, including $3.7 million from PACs. He has received the most PAC funds, over $1 million, from the finance/insurance sector. He has also received $998,321 from labor union PACs. Although he is in a safe seat and does not need large amounts of campaign funds, his PAC receipts do show he has regular contact with those special interest groups doing business as usual in Washington, D.C.

Watt has received $1,069,768 from PACs in the finance/insurance industry from 1991-2012. A sampling includes: $75,000 from the American Bankers Association BankPAC; $53,500 from Bank of America Corp. Federal PAC; $10,500 from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America PAC; $10,000 from Washington Mutual PAC; $7,500 from the Federal National Mortgage Association PAC; $5,000 from Countrywide Financial Corporation PAC; and $3,000 from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation PAC; among many others.

Watt has received $128,450 from PACs in the housing/real estate industry, including $57,500 from the National Association of Realtors PAC, and $19,000 from the Build PAC of the National Association of Home Builders.

Watt was also caught up in an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation for attending a fundraiser held in his honor by some of these same donors.

http://freebeacon.com/obama-pick-rak...sing-industry/

Obama Nominates Ethics Enemy To Regulate Fannie And Freddie

President Obama announces Rep. Melvin Watt as nominee for the FHFA / AP

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff

May 1, 2013 4:59 pm

President Barack Obama nominated Democratic Rep. Melvin Watt (N.C.) to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday.

The agency oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the country’s 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.

The longtime North Carolina representative is a curious nomination to head the regulatory agency.

Watt came under investigation of the Office of Congressional Ethics over a fundraising incident in 2009.

Watt, along with seven other lawmakers, was being investigated for attending a campaign fundraising event held in Watt’s honor just days before the House voted to rewrite legislation regarding federal financial regulation. Present at the event were financial institutions such as Bank of America, KPMG, Ameriprise Financial, and Goldman Sachs.

Watt withdrew an amendment from the legislation that focused on whether auto loans ought to be included in the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency two days after the event. Without the amendment, franchised auto dealers would have fallen out of the regulatory agency’s reach.

The ethics office did not formally charge Watt or any of the lawmakers, but that did not stop Watt from holding a grudge against it.

Watt proposed in July 2011 that Congress slash funding for the Office of Congressional Ethics by 40 percent.

Watt argued in a letter regarding his proposed cuts that the ethics office was a redundancy due to the existence of the House Ethics Committee. Watt also took issue with the office’s authority to “review information that is clearly privileged under the precedents of the House.”

Obama’s nomination is also being attacked from the left, which argues that Watt being in bed with large commercial banks is a serious problem for someone nominated to head a major regulatory agency.

http://freebeacon.com/obama-nominate...e-and-freddie/