Sunrise (3/16/11)

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SUBPRIME REVOLVING DOOR

Reuters: “A key advisor on housing policy to President Barack Obama has accepted an offer to head the Mortgage Bankers Association. … “Yes, it’s true,” Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens said on Tuesday in a brief telephone conversation when asked if he was going to run the trade association.”

WSJ: “Mr. Stevens must shore up the trade group’s relationships with its largest members, some of which are said to be dissatisfied with the organization’s waning influence in Washington. He will also have to soothe smaller, independent banks that have grown concerned over a playing field they perceive as increasingly tilted in favor of the biggest few. … As part of the Obama administration’s ethics rules, Mr. Stevens won’t personally be allowed to lobby or influence former colleagues for at least two years. Mr. Stevens will also take additional steps that go beyond those requirements to recuse himself from any contact with the MBA or its members until he departs the FHA at the end of the month. … “We think it’s important to ensure that there’s not even an appearance of conflict of interest,” said a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

JUSTICE REVOLVING DOOR

WSJ: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has enlisted former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to aid in its lobbying campaign to tweak the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. … The Blog of Legal Times reports that Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where Mukasey is a partner, filed lobbying registration papers on his behalf this month. … The registration, on behalf of the Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, covers possible FCPA amendments and other issues “related to criminal law and policies affecting U.S. corporations,” according to the BLT.”

CHIEFS OF STAFF A TOP DRAW FOR FUNDRAISER

Sunlight: “The presence of five chiefs of staff to House Democratic leaders is a main attraction for an “after party” fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tomorrow night, according to an invitation obtained by Party Time. … Headlining the event are the chiefs of staff to Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., Jim Himes, D-Conn., Richard Neal, D-Mass., John Carney, D-Del., and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., all leaders of the DCCC.”

FUNDRAISING PARTIES TODAY

–More fundraisers here.