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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Satire Alert: Dodd’s ‘Quote’ on Mortgages

Q: Did Sen. Dodd of Connecticut really say that requiring homebuyers to make a 5 percent down payment "would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it"?
A: No. This quote was made up by satirist John Semmens, who regularly writes a blog called Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News.

More Regulatory Rhetoric

A new attack ad targeting three Democratic senators and one Republican criticizes "hidden taxes on … pensions and retirement accounts" in the financial regulation legislation being considered by Congress, and urges the senators to "vote against this phony financial reform."
The ad gives a false impression. The Senate bill doesn’t contain the tax mentioned in the ad.

The ad is the work of a less-than-transparent group calling itself "Stop Too Big To Fail," which says its $1.6 million ad buy is targeting senators in Nevada,