In Unprecedented Move, Congress Proposes Taxpayer-Funded Bailout Of $550 Billion CMBS Industry

Well, with everyone and everything else getting a bailout, may as well go all the way.

Two months after we reported that the state of California is trying to turn centuries of finance on its head by allowing businesses to walk away from commercial leases - in other words to make commercial debt non-recourse - a move the California Business Properties Association said "could cause a financial collapse", attempts to bail out commercial lenders have reached the Federal level, with the WSJ reporting that lawmakers have introduced a bill to provide cash to struggling hotels and shopping centers that weren’t able to pause mortgage payments after the coronavirus shut down the U.S. economy.

The bill would set up a government-backed funding vehicle which companies could tap to stay current on their mortgages. It is meant in particular to help those who borrowed in the $550 billion CMBS market in which mortgages are re-packaged into bonds and sold to Wall Street. What it really represents, is a bailout of the only group of borrowers that had so far not found access to the Fed's various generous rescue facilities: and that's where Congress comes in.

To be sure, the commercial real estate market is imploding, and as we reported at the start of the month, some 10% of loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities were 30 or more days delinquent at the end of June, including nearly a quarter of loans tied to the hard-hit hotel industry, according to Trepp LLC.

https://www.zerohedge.com/bailout/unprecedented-move-congress-proposes-taxpayer-funded-bailout-550-billion-cmbs-industry

Republicans Mull Ethics Charges Against Schiff Ally as Democrats Turn Back to Failed Russia Strategy

House GOP leaders are considering pursuing ethics charges against Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) for alleged misconduct he engaged in against Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) at an Intelligence Committee meeting on Wednesday morning.

“He was very rude,” Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) told Breitbart News on Wednesday evening of Maloney’s behavior towards Nunes and others during the committee meeting earlier in the day. “Members don’t question other members in hearings. This wasn’t on the agenda for the meeting. It was really inappropriate in my opinion, and pretty childish.”

Others familiar with the incident told Breitbart News that when a transcript of the incident—with the exact words of Maloney’s accusations and questions of Nunes during the meeting—becomes available, House GOP leadership lawyers familiar with parliamentary rules will consider bringing formal ethics charges against Maloney for his alleged misconduct toward Nunes during the meeting.

The standing rules of the House of Representatives make it such that one member cannot accuse another member of lying, and also cannot hurl insults at them. Depending on the exact wording of what Maloney said, when the transcript becomes available in the coming days, GOP lawyers may seek formal action against him by the House Ethics Committee.

The background of what led up to the Maloney incident is as follows: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is gearing up yet again to try to level more baseless accusations against allies of President Donald Trump, this time over packages that were sent to a number of Trump allies inside and outside of Congress during the lead-up to the House impeachment of Trump last year.

What’s more, the Democrats appear to have leaked classified information to Politico in order to weaponize the narrative to the media and are now engaged in over-the-top tactics that may be in violation of House ethics rules to boot.

In reality, however, the broader picture here—Nunes told Breitbart News–is that Schiff is doing the Russians’ bidding.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/29/exclusive-republicans-mull-ethics-charges-against-schiff-ally-as-democrats-turn-back-to-failed-russia-strategy/

Senior country Liberal Adrian Pederick to resign as government whip amid SA expenses scandal

A fifth senior office holder in the South Australian Government has indicated he will resign from his position amid questions over allowance claims.

Hammond MP Adrian Pederick informed Premier Steven Marshall of his intention to resign as government whip this morning.

Yesterday, the ABC revealed Mr Pederick had claimed taxpayer funds to spend considerable time in Adelaide and away from his Murray Mallee electorate of Hammond in the lead-up to the 2010 and 2014 elections.

He also declined to answer the ABC's questions about nights he had claimed the allowance for staying in Adelaide, but had also posted to Facebook from evening events in his electorate.

The Premier stood by Mr Pederick last week when he amended allowance claims for staying in Adelaide on two consecutive Christmas nights.

However, Mr Marshall said he had spoken with the Hammond MP this morning.

"He advises me that he believes that all of his transactions are correct," Mr Marshall said.

"But he has gone on to advise me that he will be standing aside as the whip, the partyroom whip for us in the House of Assembly.

"He does this out of an abundance of caution. He has 14 years of transactions.

"He knows this has become a very significant distraction for the Government at a time when we need to be 100 per cent focused on the coronavirus pandemic and he's also very cognisant of the heavy toll that this is taking on his family at the moment."

The position of government whip attracts an 18 per cent premium on a backbencher's salary.

Mr Pederick's resignation follows those of ministers Stephan Knoll, Tim Whetstone and David Ridgway along with Legislative Council President Terry Stephens, who will stand aside when Parliament resumes in September.

The Premier said Mr Pederick would issue a written statement later today.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-30/sa-government-whip-adrian-pederick-to-resign-amid-expenses-saga/12507396