CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Senators proclaimed bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill they approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks for automakers, airlines, alternative-energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders.

The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crunch, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the capital's power corridors.

It also shows how legislation with a populist imperative offers a chance for lobbyists to press their clients' interests.

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