Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he and his wife knew Countrywide Inc. was treating them as “VIP” customers when they refinanced mortgages on two homes in 2003, but it didn’t cross his mind he was getting a financial perk from the sub-prime lender.

Dodd, who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee oversees mortgage lenders, said he did not ask and Countrywide’s representatives did not say what the VIP treatment entailed.

He noted that he and his wife, Jackie Clegg, were pre-existing customers with excellent credit. Clegg assumed that they were merely going to receive more attentive customer service, Dodd said.

He said he had never sought nor had any knowledge of any special rate he was getting from Countrywide.

“As a member of the U.S. Senate over these many years, the idea of asking or seeking any kind of financial preference, whether it’s on home mortgages or anything else, I completely reject. And any offer that ever would be made I would terminate immediately,” he said.

Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) faced intense questioning from reporters on Tuesday during their first appearance in the Senate after a report that they received sweetheart deals as part of the “Friends of Angelo” program, named for Angelo Mozilo, the embattled chief executive of Countrywide.

The program waived points and fees on loans to prominent people, according to Portfolio magazine.

Both have repeatedly denied that they asked for or knew they were receiving any favorable treatment.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). Photo by Lauren Victoria Burke

The upper chamber may  vote as soon as Wednesday on the legislation, which is intended to help homeowners and would increase regulations of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brushed off suggestions from reporters that it could appear awkward to move to the housing legislation while a cloud is still hanging over Dodd’s and Conrad’s heads. He called the bill “extremely important” given the wave of foreclosures in the country.

He also indicated that the senators are cooperating fully with the Ethics Committee. “It’s my understanding that Sen. Dodd and Sen. Conrad said they would welcome any investigation by the Ethics Committee,” he said.

Senate Republicans were reluctant to criticize Dodd and Conrad over the reports.

“I’m not going to comment on what some member did or didn’t do. I don’t have any information on that,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the top Republican on the Banking Committee.

Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) said that he believed his Democratic colleagues when they said they weren’t aware of the sweetheart deals they were receiving.