Gramm Lobbied to Help Banks and Predatory Lenders at the Expense of Homeowners
Gramm, Named Vice Chairman of UBS Bank, Has Lobbied For UBS Since 2004. In 2002, former Senator Phil Gramm was named vice chairman of UBS Warburg; since 2004 Gramm has served as a lobbyist for UBS, representing the Swiss bank"s interests on Capitol Hill. Since Gramm began lobbying, UBS has spent $3,110,000 on its lobbying expenses. [3]
While Shaping McCain Economic Policy, Phil Gramm Simultaneously Lobbying Congress on Mortgage Crisis for Swiss Bank UBS. Phil Gramm, vice chairman of Swiss-based UBS and McCain campaign general co-chair and advisor "was being paid by a Swiss bank to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain about his economic policy, federal records show." Gramm, who was reported to have been advising McCain on economic policy back in October 2006, "had input on McCain"s March 26 policy speech about the mortgage crisis" which "recommended further deregulation of the banking industry as his response" to the ensuing mortgage meltdown. [4]
In 2007, Gramm Lobbied Against (Failed) Measure That Would Have Helped Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure. Federal lobbying disclosure forms "filed by the giant Swiss bank UBS, list McCain"s campaign co-chair, former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, as a lobbyist dealing specifically with legislation regarding the mortgage crisis as recently as Dec. 31, 2007." According to UBS"s 2007 year-end report, Gramm "was lobbying the Senate in the second half of 2007 regarding the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act." The legislation which would have allowed "bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgage terms for Americans facing foreclosure so they could repay their loans and keep their homes" was vehemently opposed by the banking industry and eventually failed. [5]
Gramm Also Involved in Pressing Congress to Roll Back State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws. "According to federal lobbying disclosure records, [Phil] Gramm lobbied Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department about banking and mortgage issues in 2005 and 2006. During those years, the mortgage industry pressed Congress to roll back strong state rules that sought to stem the rise of predatory tactics used by lenders and brokers to place homeowners in high-cost mortgages." Read more...
http://my.democrats.org/page/content/wiki/gramm/
Gramm's wife worked for ENRON while the big rip-off was going on.
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