New ObamaCare sweetheart deal: Bismarck Bank Job

First there was the Louisiana Purchase, then the Cornhusker Kickback...now it's the Bismarck Bank Job.

From Roll Call (paid registration required):

The health care budget reconciliation bill appears to have a special carve-out for one of its most ardent critics — Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Though the measure would broadly eliminate government subsidies to banks that offer student loans, the Bank of North Dakota will continue to receive federal assistance for its student loan program.

Conrad said Thursday that the Bank of North Dakota "is a unique institution" because it is "owned by the people of North Dakota. ... And they service the loans that they write, so they are not like these other institutions that have created this problem. They don’t farm out servicing of their loans. They retain it."

He added that the bank's "default rate is 1.8 percent. The default rate nationally is 7.2 percent. So we think there's a pretty strong argument for them continuing to operate as effectively as they have?

It's unique only because it's Conrad's state.

Technorati tags: politics Democrats health universal health care obamacare North Dakota Kent Conrad