(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 29--WASHINGTON -- Wisconsinites at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure could receive additional protections under a measure authored by Sen. Herb Kohl.

The Senate approved the Wisconsin Democrat's provision Wednesday as an amendment to a housing bill that enjoys broad bipartisan support.

The measure was designed to discourage foreclosure prevention scams by prohibiting foreclosure consultants from collecting fees before they provide their services and keeping them from obtaining power of attorney from homeowners. It also would give homeowners three days to cancel a "foreclosure rescue contract."

"Too many Americans already in financial dire straits are pushed even deeper into debt by scam artists preying on their vulnerability," Kohl said. "This legislation helps to ensure we implement the steps necessary to prevent this fraud and abuse from being perpetrated against the elderly and all Americans."

Senators are expected to approve the housing legislation when they return from a recess after the July Fourth holiday. The larger bill aims to prevent foreclosures by helping an estimated 400,000 homeowners refinance their mortgages through cheaper government-backed loans.

Energy bills: Amid a flurry of activity on energy legislation in the House, two Wisconsin lawmakers have signed on to the latest proposal to address rising fuel costs. Reps. Gwen Moore and Steve Kagen are among the 119 co-sponsors of a measure that would limit investors from participating in the energy futures market unless they can store the oil they are purchasing.

Supporters of the bill say speculators are increasing the cost of gasoline by purchasing oil as an investment.

"What's happening here is immoral," Rep. John Larson, a Democrat from Connecticut who authored the bill, said Thursday at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

The proposal is one of a slew of bills being proposed in response to the cost of gasoline, now at about $4 a gallon. Last week alone, the House voted on four separate energy measures. Lawmakers approved two of the bills, which would still need to gain Senate approval.

At the same time, Republicans made an unsuccessful attempt to force a vote in the House on opening more U.S. coastal waters to oil drilling.

One of the measures approved in the House would authorize $1.7 billion in grants to local transit agencies to increase public transportation. The other would allow the federal government to use temporary emergency measures to clamp down on oil futures speculation. Larson's bill aims to permanently clamp down on the practice.

Taxes: Wisconsin's House members split down party lines Wednesday on a bill that would prevent more than 20 million taxpayers from having to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2008.

All of the Democrats supported the measure; the Republicans opposed it. The bill, which passed 233-189, would exempt certain taxpayers from paying an additional $62 billion in taxes. Republicans largely opposed the bill because Democrats included a provision that would increase taxes on the oil and gas industry and private-equity managers in order to make up the lost government revenue.

Taxpayers subject to the alternative minimum tax are set to pay more in taxes unless Congress acts. The tax was enacted in 1969 to ensure that a small number of wealthy Americans paid their share of federal taxes. It now threatens to affect many middle-class families because the criteria were never adjusted for inflation. Instead of changing the law, Congress has passed a series of one-year bills that exempt certain taxpayers from the tax.

Terrorism: Nearly seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has not yet come up with a "coherent plan of action" to fight terrorism, Sen. Russ Feingold said Monday during a speech at the New America Foundation.

"Instead, we remain mired in and distracted politically and financially by Iraq," Feingold told the audience. "As a consequence, many of the same serious problems that made us vulnerable to al-Qaida's attack -- in strategic planning, institutional readiness and allocation of resources -- still remain."

Feingold, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. will remain vulnerable until the country addresses those problems. A new independent commission, he said, could get a better handle on gaps in the collection, reporting and analysis of foreign intelligence, diplomatic reporting and other information-gathering activities.

The Wisconsin Democrat is working with Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, on a bill that would establish such a commission.

More Wisconsin polling nuggets:A Quinnipiac poll released last week showing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with a double-digit lead over Arizona Sen. John McCain in Wisconsin also contained these other findings:

--The top issues in the '08 race are the economy (cited by 47% of those polled), the war in Iraq (20%), health care (14%) and terrorism (8%).

--Asked if the Democrat should pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate, 48% of all likely voters said no and 33% said yes; among independents, 52% said no while 29% said yes.

--Asked about the impact of putting Clinton on the Democratic ticket, 18% said they would be more likely to vote for Obama, 21% said less likely, and 59% said it would make no difference.

--Asked about the possibility of McCain tapping Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to be his running mate, 4% said they would be more likely to vote for McCain, 7% said less likely, and 81% said it would make no difference.

--Among all likely voters in the Wisconsin poll, 27% approved of the way George Bush is handling his job as president and 67% disapproved. On the same question, 26% of Republicans disapproved of Bush's performance, 71% of independents disapproved, and 93% of Democrats disapproved.

The poll of 1,537 likely voters was taken June 17-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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