In Financial Food Chains, Little Guys Can’t Win

In my humble opinion, Ben Stein has always been an arrogant heartless smartaleck who delighted in humiliating people. Who knew that he actually considered himself a little guy? Who knew that he was able to succinctly lay out the path that led us here?

The one fact he omitted, that brings everything into perspective, is that the value of the entire global economy, according to Wikipedia, is around $65 trillion dollars. This amount is roughly equivalent to the amount of debt held in credit-swaps, or what he calls credit-default swaps. So for every monetary action of the global market, there is a derivative ready to nullify it. Warren Buffett was right: derivatives were the “weapons of financial mass destruction.”

So, what Congress and Bush actually want us to do is to give the speculators money to support their derivatives market.

It’s called, in the vernacular, a Ponzi Scheme. Oh so recently, most of the major global banks claimed to have settled with the investors in a similar Ponzi Scheme. This Scheme was worth a measly $330 Billion. Investors were deceived into thinking that auction-rate securities were equivalent to money market accounts. The banks caved under threat of criminal fraud charges. No bailout for the boys on this one. They have to cough up the money from their profits. Which is what should happen in the larger case as well. Let them fail. It’s all a derivative-backed illusion. Show us the little man behind the curtain right now. Like Stein says, what else did the great swamis Paulson and Bernanke miss?

~Deb

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/business/28every.html?th&emc=th

September 28, 2008

Everybody’s Business
In Financial Food Chains, Little Guys Can’t Win

By BEN STEIN

IMAGINE, if you will, that a man who had much to do with creating the present credit crisis now says he is the man to fix this giant problem, and that his work is so important that he will need a trillion dollars or so of your money. Then add that this man thinks he is so indispensable that he wants Congress to forbid any judicial or administrative questioning of anything he does with your dollars. You might think of a latter-day Lenin or Fidel Castro, but you would be far afield.

Instead, you should be thinking of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the rapidly disintegrating United States of America, right here and now. But I am getting ahead of myself. First, I am furious at what the traders, speculators, hedge funds and the government have done to everyone who is saving and investing for retirement and future security. Millions of us did nothing wrong, according to the accepted wisdom of the age. We saved. We put a large part of our money into the stock market, as we were urged to do. Because the market wasn’t at ridiculously high levels, it seemed prudent to invest in broad indexes, foreign indexes and small- and large-cap indexes.Now we have had the rug pulled out from under us. Our retirements have been put into severe jeopardy. The “earnings” part of those price-to-earnings ratios turns out to have been fiction for some financial companies, which normally account for a big part of total corporate earnings. In fact, earnings of giant finance players were often wildly negative, creating a situation rarely seen since the Great Depression, when the aggregate earnings of the Dow 30 were negative.

The current negativity occurred because of wild, casino-type operations of big finance players, creating liabilities way beyond anything we could have reasonably expected. This looks a lot like theft on a spectacular scale — of our wallets, our peace of mind, our futures. Second, according to what I hear from my betters in the world of finance, the most serious problems are not with the bundles of subprime mortgages themselves — a large but not lethal quantum as far as I can tell — but with derivatives contracts tied to subprime and other dicey debt.

These contracts are superficially an attempt to “insure” against risks of default, hence the name “credit-default swaps.” In fact, they are an immense wager — which anyone with lots of money or borrowing ability can enter — about how mortgage-backed bonds, leveraged loan bonds, student loan bonds, credit card bonds and the like will perform. These wagers entail amounts many times larger than the total of subprime loans. In fact, there are roughly $62 trillion in credit-default swap derivatives out there, compared with about $1 trillion of subprime mortgages. These derivatives are “weapons of financial mass destruction,” in the prophetic words of Warren E. Buffett. (Apparently believing that the worst is over, at least for one big investment bank, Mr. Buffett is now investing in Goldman Sachs.)

The swaps market has been unregulated. It has been just a lot of people making bets with one another. Some of them made incredibly fortunate payoff wagers against the mortgage bonds, using credit-default swaps as their wagering vehicle. I am not sure who the big winners are, but they are out there, and the gains were big enough to cripple the part of Wall Street on the losing side of the bets. Almost no one (except Mr. Buffett) saw this coming, at least not on this scale. But let’s get back to the man of the hour. Why didn’t Mr. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, see it? He was once the head of Goldman Sachs, an immense player in the swaps world. Didn’t people at Treasury have a clue? If they didn’t, what was going on in their heads? If they did, why didn’t they do something about it a year ago, when saving the world would have been a lot cheaper? If Mr. Paulson and Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, didn’t see this train coming, what else have they missed? What other freight train is barreling down the track at us?

All of this would be bad enough. But by far the most terrifying item I read in my morning paper last week was this: Mr. Paulson demanded that Congress forbid judicial review of his decisions on use of the money in the mortgage bailout. This would amount to an abrogation of the Constitution. Not only would his decisions be sacrosanct and above the law, but so would the actions of his pals in the banking world in connection with this bailout. The people whose conduct got us into this catastrophe have not only taken our money, hopes and peace of mind, but they apparently also want a trillion or so more dollars to put into their Wall Street Buddy System Fund. This may be the most dangerous attack on the law in my lifetime. What anarchists even dared consider this plan? Thank heaven that minds more devoted to the Constitution on Capitol Hill are questioning this shocking request. By the way, if we are actually thinking about tossing the Constitution out the window, why not simply annul these credit-default swap contracts? With that done, the incomprehensibly large liability of the banks would cease, and we wouldn’t need this staggering bailout. Shouldn’t we consider making the speculators pay some of the price?

WE have survived housing-price corrections before. Why is this one causing so much anguish? It must be the side bets, the credit-default swap bets, multiplying the effect of the housing downturn many times over. Maybe we should just get rid of these exotic bets and start again without them. “Insurance” on market moves is always a bad idea, because it does not tamp down market disruptions but instead greatly magnifies them — as in the disastrous effect of “portfolio insurance” in the 1987 crash. Then there was Mr. Paulson’s insistence that there be no compensation caps for executives of companies being bailed out by the factory workers, the farmers, the schoolteachers and the medical doctors. He told a skeptical Congress on Tuesday that if these caps were put into place, bank executives simply wouldn’t participate in the bailout or sell us suckers their debts. Fine with me.

If the banks are in good enough shape so that petulant executives can simply opt out rather than live on a few million a year, maybe we don’t need the bailout at all. Maybe we would be better off if those executives simply bailed out and were replaced by people with more sense and more patriotism. One final little thought bubbles into my mind: Maybe the bailout should not be of the banks at all, but of homeowners themselves. Maybe if we make the government the buyer of last resort of homes, we will stabilize the markets, stabilize the debt associated with the markets and take the gain out of the credit-default swaps for the speculators. Yes, price would be a huge issue, but so it is for Mr. Paulson’s plan for buying debt from banks. Why not? We do it for farmers. Why not for the individual homeowner? Oh, right. Because Treasury secretaries don’t know any of those people. Ben Stein is a lawyer, writer, actor and economist. E-mail: ebiz@nytimes.com.

The End Of American Capitalism?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100903425.html

The End Of American Capitalism?

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 10, 2008; A01

 

The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is claiming another casualty: American-style capitalism.

Since the 1930s, U.S. banks were the flagships of American economic might, and emulation by other nations of the fiercely free-market financial system in the United States was expected and encouraged. But the market turmoil that is draining the nation’s wealth and has upended Wall Street now threatens to put the banks at the heart of the U.S. financial system at least partly in the hands of the government.

The Bush administration is considering a partial nationalization of some banks, buying up a portion of their shares to shore them up and restore confidence as part of the $700 billion government bailout. The notion of government ownership in the financial sector, even as a minority stakeholder, goes against what market purists say they see as the foundation of the American system.

Yet the administration may feel it has no choice. Credit, the lifeblood of capitalism, ceased to flow. An economy based on the free market cannot function that way.

The government’s about-face goes beyond the banking industry. It is reasserting itself in the lives of citizens in ways that were unthinkable in the era of market-knows-best thinking. With the recent takeovers of major lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the bailout of AIG, the U.S. government is now effectively responsible for providing home mortgages and life insurance to tens of millions of Americans. Many economists are asking whether it remains a free market if the government is so deeply enmeshed in the financial system.

Read further…

Rich Nations Pushing for Coordination in Rescue

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/business/11global.html?th&emc=th

Now, WHY can’t the richest nations backstop the banking industry?  Who do they think is gonna do it for them?  On the other hand, look what they did to the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Maybe we shouldn’t let them fix it.  Let the world’s POOREST nations fix it, eh?~ Ed.

WASHINGTON — The United States and six other nations that are among the world’s richest agreed on Friday to a coordinated plan to rescue the financial industry, but fell short of offering concrete steps to backstop bank lending on a day when fear tightened its grip on investors from Wall Street to Hong Kong.

Tom Davis Gives Up

Following the news that Democrats may enter the New Year with 60 Senators, I found this article.  Tom Davis, Republican Congressman from Virginia, is not running for reelection. Here he explains why. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/magazine/05Davis-t.html?_r=3&ref=magazine&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

No more. The revolution is over, the thrill is gone and the Republican brand under President Bush has, in Davis’s view, been so tarnished that, as he likes to say, “if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf.” These will be Davis’s last few weeks in Congress. He decided against re-election, disaffected by the partisanship, by a process he calls broken, by a party he considers hijacked by social conservatives. “We’re just not getting much done,” he said.

Another aide sat down and told him there would be three more votes. “They’re all yes votes,” the aide said.

Davis laughed. “Let me make up my own mind!” he said in mock protest. Gesturing to me, he said, “I’ve just been telling this guy I’m an independent agent!”

You First!

Bumbling Dept. of Justice may cause mistrial in Stevens case

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/stevens.trial/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

“But Stevens’ defense attorneys said prosecutors waited till Wednesday night to turn over crucial FBI notes on Allen. Those indicate that Allen believed that, had Stevens received invoices from the foreman or others for the Veco work, Stevens would have paid them.”

 

Snip:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Government prosecutors in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens waited until Wednesday night to give the defense documents that could help the senator’s case, drawing a stern rebuke from the trial judge.

Sen. Ted Stevens did not disclose to the U.S. Senate work done on his Alaska home, prosecutors say.

A hearing set for 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday could result in the dismissal of charges against the Senate’s longest serving Republican in the first week of his corruption trial.

Stevens has pleaded not guilty to a seven-count indictment for filing false statements on mandatory financial disclosure forms.

Prosecutors say the annual forms should have included hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from Bill Allen, founder of the Veco Corp. — an oil field contractor and at that time Alaska’s biggest employer.

Although the company was not known for residential construction, former employees have testified Allen and top aides directly asked them to work on Stevens’ home in Girdwood, a ski town outside Anchorage, Alaska.

Allen himself is the government’s star witness, and has been on the stand since Tuesday.

But Stevens’ defense attorneys said prosecutors waited till Wednesday night to turn over crucial FBI notes on Allen. Those indicate that Allen believed that, had Stevens received invoices from the foreman or others for the Veco work, Stevens would have paid them.

Allen has testified he did not bill Stevens for some of the work.

The notes from the investigator indicate Allen did not fully bill for Veco’s work because he felt the costs were higher than they need to be, and “partly because he did not want the defendant to have to pay.”

On Wednesday, Allen acknowledged in testimony he failed to ask Stevens to pay for some work simply “because I like Ted.”

Russ Feingold’s Comment on Bailout Legislation

“I will oppose the Wall Street bailout plan because though well intentioned, and certainly much improved over the administration’s original proposal, it remains deeply flawed. It fails to offset the cost of the plan, leaving taxpayers to bear the burden of serious lapses of judgment by private financial institutions, their regulators, and the enablers in Washington who paved the way for this catastrophe by removing the safeguards that had protected consumers and the economy since the great depression. The bailout legislation also fails to reform the flawed regulatory structure that permitted this crisis to arise in the first place. And it doesn’t do enough to address the root cause of the credit market collapse, namely the housing crisis. Taxpayers deserve a plan that puts their concerns ahead of those who got us into this mess.”
-Senator Russ Feingold, October 1, 2008

Not Again! Republicans Were Top Fannie Mac PAC Recipients

Stories floating around cyberspace after the market meltdown claimed that the Republicans were not to blame for the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac liquidity crisis.  Rather, it was the Evil “Democrat Party.”  Evidence?  Christopher Dodd and Barack Obama were the top recipients of contributions from Fannie Mae.

Well, that just is not true!  The list starts with Roy Blunt, Congressman (R-MO), who received nearly $100,000 from the Fannie Mae Political Action Committee (PAC).  Second is Robert F. Bennett, Senator (R-UT), third, Spencer Bachus, Congresscritter (R-AL).  Harry Reid is the first Democrat on the list at Number 6. 

Why is my list different from others?  I copied and pasted the data, and re-sorted it according to the dollars received from the PAC, rather than the dollars received from employees of Fannie Mae.  I think it is safe to say that most Americans have not made a political contribution, and do not know that one must list her employer on the form that accompanies those contributions.  I think that it is also safe to say that employees of a corporation that has a quasi-governmental function might be more on the liberal side of the political equation.  Therefore, the total contributions from employees gave the data its Democratic tilt.

The biggest “Losers”?  A mixed list including Reps, Dems, and the marvelous Bernie Sanders.

So, obviously, Republican spin doctors took advantage of this information gap to make claims of Democratic culpability in the FMae/FMac crisis.  Shame Shame Shame.  Is this any way for the party that claims to hold the moral high road to act?

The original data, found at Open Secrets, is found here. 

My data, which is identical to theirs, but sorted differently, follows.

 

Name	Office	State	Party	Grand Total	Pacs	Ind
Blunt, Roy	H	MO	R	96950.00	78500.00	18450.00
Bennett, Robert F	S	UT	R	107999.00	71499.00	36500.00
Bachus, Spencer	H	AL	R	103300.00	70500.00	32800.00
Bond, Christopher S ‘Kit’	S	MO	R	95400.00	64000.00	31400.00
Reid, Harry	S	NV	D	77000.00	60500.00	16500.00
Boehner, John	H	OH	R	67750.00	60500.00	7250.00
Kanjorski, Paul E	H	PA	D	96000.00	57500.00	38500.00
Reynolds, Tom	H	NY	R	62200.00	53000.00	9200.00
Hoyer, Steny H	H	MD	D	55500.00	51500.00	4000.00
Dodd, Christopher J	S	CT	D	165400.00	48500.00	116900.00
Pelosi, Nancy	H	CA	D	56250.00	47000.00	9250.00
Cantor, Eric	H	VA	R	48500.00	46500.00	2000.00
Pryce, Deborah	H	OH	R	55500.00	45000.00	10500.00
Reed, Jack	S	RI	D	78250.00	43500.00	34750.00
Crapo, Mike	S	ID	R	47250.00	40500.00	6750.00
McConnell, Mitch	S	KY	R	41000.00	40000.00	1000.00
Isakson, Johnny	S	GA	R	49200.00	35500.00	13700.00
Bean, Melissa	H	IL	D	41249.00	34999.00	6250.00
Tiberi, Patrick J	H	OH	R	35700.00	32600.00	3100.00
Stabenow, Debbie	S	MI	D	33450.00	32000.00	1450.00
Miller, Gary	H	CA	R	38000.00	31500.00	6500.00
Carper, Tom	S	DE	D	55889.00	31350.00	24539.00
Menendez, Robert	S	NJ	D	31250.00	30500.00	750.00
Dorgan, Byron L	S	ND	D	38750.00	30500.00	8250.00
Frank, Barney	H	MA	D	42350.00	30500.00	11850.00
Bunning, Jim	S	KY	R	33802.00	29650.00	4152.00
Renzi, Rick	H	AZ	R	28250.00	28000.00	250.00
Enzi, Mike	S	WY	R	31000.00	27500.00	3500.00
Clyburn, James E	H	SC	D	29750.00	26000.00	3750.00
McCrery, Jim	H	LA	R	29000.00	26000.00	3000.00
Moore, Dennis	H	KS	D	26550.00	25500.00	1050.00
Crowley, Joseph	H	NY	D	29700.00	25500.00	4200.00
Sessions, Pete	H	TX	R	29472.00	24000.00	5472.00
Matheson, Jim	H	UT	D	24500.00	24000.00	500.00
Murray, Patty	S	WA	D	30000.00	23000.00	7000.00
Shelby, Richard C	S	AL	R	80000.00	23000.00	57000.00
Chambliss, Saxby	S	GA	R	33250.00	22500.00	10750.00
Conrad, Kent	S	ND	D	64491.00	22000.00	42491.00
Brown-Waite, Ginny	H	FL	R	21000.00	21000.00	0.00
Rogers, Mike	H	MI	R	22750.00	21000.00	1750.00
Baucus, Max	S	MT	D	27500.00	21000.00	6500.00
Baca, Joe	H	CA	D	20500.00	20200.00	300.00
Smith, Gordon H	S	OR	R	22000.00	20000.00	2000.00
Johnson, Tim	S	SD	D	61000.00	20000.00	41000.00
Alexander, Lamar	S	TN	R	20500.00	20000.00	500.00
Neugebauer, Randy	H	TX	R	20000.00	20000.00	0.00
Landrieu, Mary L	S	LA	D	30600.00	20000.00	10600.00
Hooley, Darlene	H	OR	D	28750.00	19500.00	9250.00
Davis, Geoff	H	KY	R	21000.00	19500.00	1500.00
Nelson, Ben	S	NE	D	20000.00	19000.00	1000.00
Roberts, Pat	S	KS	R	18000.00	18000.00	0.00
LaTourette, Steven C	H	OH	R	17500.00	17500.00	0.00
Spratt, John M Jr	H	SC	D	21500.00	17000.00	4500.00
Salazar, Ken	S	CO	D	19900.00	17000.00	2900.00
Velazquez, Nydia M	H	NY	D	20750.00	16750.00	4000.00
Gerlach, Jim	H	PA	R	17750.00	16500.00	1250.00
Miller, Brad	H	NC	D	18000.00	16500.00	1500.00
Mikulski, Barbara A	S	MD	D	21750.00	16500.00	5250.00
Bayh, Evan	S	IN	D	41100.00	16500.00	24600.00
Maloney, Carolyn B	H	NY	D	39750.00	16500.00	23250.00
Emanuel, Rahm	H	IL	D	51750.00	16000.00	35750.00
Putnam, Adam H	H	FL	R	15500.00	15500.00	0.00
Biggert, Judy	H	IL	R	17750.00	15500.00	2250.00
Craig, Larry	S	ID	R	18000.00	15000.00	3000.00
Brown, Sherrod	S	OH	D	15000.00	15000.00	0.00
Waters, Maxine	H	CA	D	17800.00	15000.00	2800.00
Rangel, Charles B	H	NY	D	38000.00	14750.00	23250.00
Grassley, Chuck	S	IA	R	16500.00	14500.00	2000.00
Brownback, Sam	S	KS	R	17300.00	14250.00	3050.00
Durbin, Dick	S	IL	D	23750.00	14000.00	9750.00
Davis, Tom	H	VA	R	75499.00	13999.00	61500.00
Scott, David	H	GA	D	17000.00	13500.00	3500.00
Burr, Richard	S	NC	R	14250.00	13500.00	750.00
Feeney, Tom	H	FL	R	14750.00	13500.00	1250.00
Lynch, Stephen F	H	MA	D	22500.00	13500.00	9000.00
Meeks, Gregory W	H	NY	D	14000.00	13500.00	500.00
Watt, Melvin L	H	NC	D	17250.00	13000.00	4250.00
Hinojosa, Ruben	H	TX	D	14500.00	13000.00	1500.00
Barrett, Gresham	H	SC	R	17250.00	13000.00	4250.00
Sherman, Brad	H	CA	D	18000.00	12500.00	5500.00
Hatch, Orrin G	S	UT	R	18250.00	12500.00	5750.00
McHenry, Patrick	H	NC	R	12500.00	12500.00	0.00
Cornyn, John	S	TX	R	14000.00	12000.00	2000.00
Collins, Susan M	S	ME	R	13000.00	12000.00	1000.00
Coleman, Norm	S	MN	R	24690.00	12000.00	12690.00
Nunes, Devin Gerald	H	CA	R	12000.00	12000.00	0.00
Davis, Artur	H	AL	D	11750.00	11500.00	250.00
Lieberman, Joe	S	CT	I	28250.00	11500.00	16750.00
Doolittle, John T	H	CA	R	11500.00	11500.00	0.00
Lee, Barbara	H	CA	D	11250.00	11000.00	250.00
Mahoney, Tim	H	FL	D	11000.00	11000.00	0.00
Klein, Ron	H	FL	D	11000.00	11000.00	0.00
Van Hollen, Chris	H	MD	D	30700.00	11000.00	19700.00
Israel, Steve	H	NY	D	12050.00	10000.00	2050.00
Cummings, Elijah E	H	MD	D	16700.00	10000.00	6700.00
Schultz, Debbie Wasserman	H	FL	D	10750.00	9750.00	1000.00
Barrasso, John A	S	WY	R	9500.00	9500.00	0.00
Pryor, Mark	S	AR	D	11650.00	9500.00	2150.00
Drake, Thelma	H	VA	R	9000.00	9000.00	0.00
Nelson, Bill	S	FL	D	9500.00	9000.00	500.00
Napolitano, Grace	H	CA	D	9300.00	8500.00	800.00
Clay, William L Jr	H	MO	D	10250.00	8500.00	1750.00
Roskam, Peter	H	IL	R	11650.00	8500.00	3150.00
Jefferson, William J	H	LA	D	19250.00	8500.00	10750.00
Martinez, Mel	S	FL	R	11750.00	8500.00	3250.00
Jackson, Jesse Jr	H	IL	D	14000.00	8000.00	6000.00
Melancon, Charles J	H	LA	D	8000.00	8000.00	0.00
Byrd, Robert C	S	WV	D	18500.00	8000.00	10500.00
Clinton, Hillary	S	NY	D	76050.00	8000.00	68050.00
Larson, John B	H	CT	D	8000.00	8000.00	0.00
Moore, Gwen	H	WI	D	8250.00	8000.00	250.00
Capito, Shelley Moore	H	WV	R	14250.00	8000.00	6250.00
Fossella, Vito	H	NY	R	10750.00	7500.00	3250.00
Marchant, Kenny Ewell	H	TX	R	7000.00	7000.00	0.00
Domenici, Pete V	S	NM	R	16226.00	7000.00	9226.00
Cleaver, Emanuel	H	MO	D	7000.00	7000.00	0.00
Lewis, Jerry	H	CA	R	8000.00	7000.00	1000.00
Castle, Michael N	H	DE	R	9200.00	7000.00	2200.00
Dreier, David	H	CA	R	9000.00	7000.00	2000.00
Cramer, Bud	H	AL	D	7500.00	7000.00	500.00
Dingell, John D	H	MI	D	10000.00	7000.00	3000.00
Wilson, Charlie	H	OH	D	7250.00	7000.00	250.00
Becerra, Xavier	H	CA	D	8000.00	7000.00	1000.00
Harkin, Tom	S	IA	D	11450.00	6900.00	4550.00
Tiahrt, Todd	H	KS	R	6500.00	6500.00	0.00
Solis, Hilda L	H	CA	D	6800.00	6500.00	300.00
Bachmann, Michele Marie	H	MN	R	8850.00	6500.00	2350.00
Meek, Kendrick B	H	FL	D	7250.00	6500.00	750.00
Obama, Barack	S	IL	D	126349.00	6000.00	120349.00
Casey, Bob	S	PA	D	7000.00	6000.00	1000.00
Whitfield, Ed	H	KY	R	6000.00	6000.00	0.00
Thompson, Bennie G	H	MS	D	7000.00	6000.00	1000.00
Marshall, Jim	H	GA0	D	6000.00	6000.00	0.00
Heller, Dean	H	NV	R	6000.00	6000.00	0.00
Ensign, John	S	NV	R	7300.00	6000.00	1300.00
Boyd, Allen	H	FL	D	6000.00	5500.00	500.00
Lincoln, Blanche	S	AR	D	10000.00	5500.00	4500.00
Slaughter, Louise M	H	NY	D	5500.00	5500.00	0.00
Payne, Donald M	H	NJ	D	10100.00	5500.00	4600.00
McCarthy, Carolyn	H	NY	D	5500.00	5500.00	0.00
Gonzalez, Charlie A	H	TX	D	8500.00	5000.00	3500.00
Pearce, Steve	H	NM	R	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Rockefeller, Jay	S	WV	D	22250.00	5000.00	17250.00
Camp, Dave	H	MI	R	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Cole, Tom	H	OK	R	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Wicker, Roger	S	MS	R	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Pomeroy, Earl	H	ND	D	6750.00	5000.00	1750.00
Hodes, Paul W	H	NH	D	5450.00	5000.00	450.00
Capuano, Michael E	H	MA	D	6000.00	5000.00	1000.00
Boren, Dan	H	OK	D	5250.00	5000.00	250.00
Perlmutter, Edwin G	H	CO	D	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Boxer, Barbara	S	CA	D	12750.00	5000.00	7750.00
Roybal-Allard, Lucille	H	CA	D	9800.00	5000.00	4800.00
Cubin, Barbara	H	WY	R	7500.00	5000.00	2500.00
Knollenberg, Joe	H	MI	R	8250.00	5000.00	3250.00
Davis, Lincoln	H	TN	D	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Hill, Baron	H	IN	D	5000.00	5000.00	0.00
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie	H	SD	D	16200.00	4500.00	11700.00
Pastor, Ed	H	AZ	D	8100.00	4500.00	3600.00
Salazar, John	H	CO	D	4250.00	4000.00	250.00
Cardoza, Dennis	H	CA	D	4000.00	4000.00	0.00
Murphy, Chris	H	CT	D	4000.00	4000.00	0.00
Gordon, Bart	H	TN	D	6750.00	4000.00	2750.00
Ackerman, Gary	H	NY	D	5000.00	4000.00	1000.00
Snowe, Olympia J	S	ME	R	5000.00	4000.00	1000.00
Lewis, John	H	GA	D	8500.00	4000.00	4500.00
Green, Al	H	TX	D	4000.00	4000.00	0.00
Honda, Mike	H	CA	D	4750.00	4000.00	750.00
Carson, Andre	H	IN	D	4250.00	4000.00	250.00
Royce, Ed	H	CA	R	28600.00	4000.00	24600.00
English, Phil	H	PA	R	4000.00	4000.00	0.00
Price, Tom	H	GA	R	3500.00	3500.00	0.00
Donnelly, Joe	H	IN	D	3500.00	3500.00	0.00
Wexler, Robert	H	FL	D	3500.00	3500.00	0.00
Tester, Jon	S	MT	D	4000.00	3500.00	500.00
Tanner, John	H	TN	D	4250.00	3500.00	750.00
Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks	H	MI	D	4000.00	3250.00	750.00
Diaz-Balart, Lincoln	H	FL	R	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Norton, Eleanor Holmes	D	DC	D	8000.00	3000.00	5000.00
Rodriguez, Ciro D	H	TX	D	3750.00	3000.00	750.00
Sanchez, Loretta	H	CA	D	4250.00	3000.00	1250.00
McCarthy, Kevin	H	CA	R	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Stevens, Ted	S	AK	R	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Ross, Mike	H	AR	D	5550.00	3000.00	2550.00
Chabot, Steve	H	OH	R	4750.00	3000.00	1750.00
Levin, Carl	S	MI	D	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Kennedy, Edward M	S	MA	D	10500.00	3000.00	7500.00
Bingaman, Jeff	S	NM	D	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Souder, Mark E	H	IN	R	3000.00	3000.00	0.00
Ellison, Keith	H	MN	D	2500.00	2500.00	0.00
Gutierrez, Luis V	H	IL	D	3250.00	2500.00	750.00
McCaskill, Claire	S	MO	D	2500.00	2500.00	0.00
Udall, Mark	H	CO	D	3000.00	2500.00	500.00
Childers, Travis W	H	MS	D	2500.00	2500.00	0.00
Ryan, Paul	H	WI	R	3250.00	2500.00	750.00
Schmidt, Jean	H	OH	R	3500.00	2500.00	1000.00
Leahy, Patrick	S	VT	D	7250.00	2500.00	4750.00
Matsui, Doris O	H	CA	D	3500.00	2500.00	1000.00
Price, David	H	NC	D	4550.00	2050.00	2500.00
Smith, Adam	H	WA	D	2250.00	2000.00	250.00
Cuellar, Henry	H	TX	D	2450.00	2000.00	450.00
Davis, Danny K	H	IL	D	4950.00	2000.00	2950.00
Reichert, Dave	H	WA	R	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Cannon, Chris	H	UT	R	2500.00	2000.00	500.00
Corker, Bob	S	TN	R	7750.00	2000.00	5750.00
Cochran, Thad	S	MS	R	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Kerry, John	S	MA	D	111000.00	2000.00	109000.00
Feinstein, Dianne	S	CA	D	15250.00	2000.00	13250.00
Schwartz, Allyson	H	PA	D	3200.00	2000.00	1200.00
Hastings, Doc	H	WA	R	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Sires, Albio	H	NJ	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Sanchez, Linda	H	CA	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Porter, Jon	H	NV	R	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Olver, John W	H	MA	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Grijalva, Raul M	H	AZ	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Akaka, Daniel K	S	HI	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Butterfield, G K	H	NC	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Berkley, Shelley	H	NV	D	2750.00	2000.00	750.00
Keller, Ric	H	FL	R	2500.00	2000.00	500.00
Costa, Jim	H	CA	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Obey, David R	H	WI	D	4250.00	2000.00	2250.00
Murphy, Patrick J	H	PA	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
DeGette, Diana	H	CO	D	2500.00	2000.00	500.00
Foster, Bill	H	IL	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Reyes, Silvestre	H	TX	D	17550.00	2000.00	15550.00
Shays, Christopher	H	CT	R	2500.00	2000.00	500.00
Tauscher, Ellen	H	CA	D	2000.00	2000.00	0.00
Stearns, Cliff	H	FL	R	1850.00	1850.00	0.00
Klobuchar, Amy	S	MN	D	5650.00	1500.00	4150.00
Schumer, Charles E	S	NY	D	24250.00	1500.00	22750.00
Myrick, Sue	H	NC	R	3200.00	1500.00	1700.00
Hensarling, Jeb	H	TX	R	3250.00	1500.00	1750.00
Lucas, Frank D	H	OK	R	3000.00	1500.00	1500.00
Serrano, Jose E	H	NY	D	2500.00	1500.00	1000.00
Neal, Richard E	H	MA	D	1500.00	1500.00	0.00
Alexander, Rodney	H	LA	R	1250.00	1250.00	0.00
Hulshof, Kenny	H	MO	R	1700.00	1250.00	450.00
Moran, Jim	H	VA	D	10500.00	1250.00	9250.00
Michaud, Mike	H	ME	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Latham, Tom	H	IA	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Wolf, Frank R	H	VA	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Thompson, Mike	H	CA	D	10600.00	1000.00	9600.00
Diaz-Balart, Mario	H	FL	R	1450.00	1000.00	450.00
Schiff, Adam	H	CA	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Campbell, John	H	CA	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Boustany, Charles W Jr	H	LA	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Blackburn, Marsha	H	TN	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Berry, Marion	H	AR	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Whitehouse, Sheldon	S	RI	D	2000.00	1000.00	1000.00
Fattah, Chaka	H	PA	D	1500.00	1000.00	500.00
King, Pete	H	NY	R	16750.00	1000.00	15750.00
Ellsworth, Brad	H	IN	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
DeLauro, Rosa L	H	CT	D	1750.00	1000.00	750.00
Higgins, Brian M	H	NY	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Cazayoux, Donald J	H	LA	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Lugar, Richard G	S	IN	R	4500.00	1000.00	3500.00
Carnahan, Russ	H	MO	D	1250.00	1000.00	250.00
Johnson, Eddie Bernice	H	TX	D	2825.00	1000.00	1825.00
Boucher, Rick	H	VA	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Graves, Sam	H	MO	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
McNerney, Jerry	H	CA	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Boswell, Leonard L	H	IA	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Conaway, Mike	H	TX	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Space, Zachary T	H	OH	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Welch, Peter	H	VT	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Kaptur, Marcy	H	OH	D	4350.00	1000.00	3350.00
Ortiz, Solomon P	H	TX	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Webb, James	S	VA	D	11550.00	1000.00	10550.00
Mitchell, Harry E	H	AZ	D	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Thune, John	S	SD	R	11057.00	1000.00	10057.00
Calvert, Ken	H	CA	R	1000.00	1000.00	0.00
Duncan, John J Jr	H	TN	R	600.00	600.00	0.00
Linder, John	H	GA	R	1150.00	500.00	650.00
Cooper, Jim	H	TN	D	1000.00	500.00	500.00
Cardin, Ben	S	MD	D	5300.00	500.00	4800.00
Pascrell, Bill Jr	H	NJ	D	500.00	500.00	0.00
Bishop, Sanford D Jr	H	GA	D	500.00	500.00	0.00
Smith, Lamar	H	TX	R	500.00	500.00	0.00
Pickering, Charles “Chip” Jr	H	MS	R	500.00	500.00	0.00
Stark, Pete	H	CA	D	500.00	500.00	0.00
Skelton, Ike	H	MO	D	500.00	500.00	0.00
Specter, Arlen	S	PA	R	1100.00	350.00	750.00
Sanders, Bernie	S	VT	I	250.00	250.00	0.00
Coburn, Tom	S	OK	R	1250.00	0.00	1250.00
Lofgren, Zoe	H	CA	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Kennedy, Patrick J	H	RI	D	3250.00	0.00	3250.00
Lampson, Nick	H	TX	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Jackson Lee, Sheila	H	TX	D	8000.00	0.00	8000.00
Castor, Kathy	H	FL	D	500.00	0.00	500.00
Wyden, Ron	S	OR	D	3500.00	0.00	3500.00
Walberg, Tim	H	MI	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Sununu, John E	S	NH	R	14750.00	0.00	14750.00
Ferguson, Mike	H	NJ	R	2700.00	0.00	2700.00
Aderholt, Robert B	H	AL	R	250.00	0.00	250.00
Markey, Edward J	H	MA	D	2250.00	0.00	2250.00
Carney, Chris	H	PA	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Manzullo, Don	H	IL	R	250.00	0.00	250.00
Mack, Connie	H	FL	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Brown, Corrine	H	FL	D	450.00	0.00	450.00
Weldon, Dave	H	FL	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Wu, David	H	OR	D	500.00	0.00	500.00
Inslee, Jay R	H	WA	D	750.00	0.00	750.00
McCollum, Betty	H	MN	D	4350.00	0.00	4350.00
Regula, Ralph	H	OH	R	2000.00	0.00	2000.00
Rehberg, Denny	H	MT	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Dole, Elizabeth	S	NC	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Sarbanes, John	H	MD	D	500.00	0.00	500.00
Kucinich, Dennis J	H	OH	D	1349.00	0.00	1349.00
Smith, Chris	H	NJ	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Levin, Sander	H	MI	D	9800.00	0.00	9800.00
Sestak, Joe	H	PA	D	1150.00	0.00	1150.00
Musgrave, Marilyn	H	CO	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Dicks, Norm	H	WA	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Platts, Todd	H	PA	R	250.00	0.00	250.00
Warner, John W	S	VA	R	300.00	0.00	300.00
Towns, Edolphus	H	NY	D	1750.00	0.00	1750.00
Jones, Walter B Jr	H	NC	R	2750.00	0.00	2750.00
Oberstar, James L	H	MN	D	2500.00	0.00	2500.00
DeMint, James W	S	SC	R	250.00	0.00	250.00
Wilson, Heather A	H	NM	R	1250.00	0.00	1250.00
Graham, Lindsey	S	SC	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Terry, Lee	H	NE	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Moran, Jerry	H	KS	R	2000.00	0.00	2000.00
McCain, John	S	AZ	R	21550.00	0.00	21550.00
Turner, Michael R	H	OH	R	375.00	0.00	375.00
Hagel, Chuck	S	NE	R	4500.00	0.00	4500.00
Scott, Robert C	H	VA	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Andrews, Robert E	H	NJ	D	5000.00	0.00	5000.00
Bilbray, Brian P	H	CA	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Edwards, Donna	H	MD	D	500.00	0.00	500.00
Hinchey, Maurice	H	NY	D	500.00	0.00	500.00
Biden, Joseph R Jr	S	DE	D	3300.00	0.00	3300.00
Hobson, Dave	H	OH	R	2850.00	0.00	2850.00
Johnson, Hank	H	GA	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Hastings, Alcee L	H	FL	D	300.00	0.00	300.00
Cantwell, Maria	S	WA	D	16250.00	0.00	16250.00
Hayes, Robin	H	NC	R	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Christian-Green, Donna	D	VI	D	750.00	0.00	750.00
Walsh, James T	H	NY	R	7750.00	0.00	7750.00
Lautenberg, Frank R	S	NJ	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
LaHood, Ray	H	IL	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Arcuri, Michael	H	NY	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Filner, Bob	H	CA	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Weiner, Anthony D	H	NY	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Weller, Jerry	H	IL	R	5000.00	0.00	5000.00
Rush, Bobby L	H	IL	D	1000.00	0.00	1000.00
Allen, Tom	H	ME	D	1950.00	0.00	1950.00
Shadegg, John	H	AZ	R	500.00	0.00	500.00
Harman, Jane	H	CA	D	3250.00	0.00	3250.00
Allard, Wayne	S	CO	R	20250.00	0.00	20250.00
Kyl, Jon	S	AZ	R	1250.00	0.00	1250.00
Watson, Diane E	H	CA	D	250.00	0.00	250.00
Paul, Ron	H	TX	R	3500.00	0.00	3500.00
Feingold, Russ	S	WI	D	1250.00	0.00	1250.00