Senate Democrats have upped the ante on predatory lending by re-introducing legislation that would place stiff new restrictions on subprime lenders without shielding them from state and local laws. The bill, S. 1928, is identical to a proposal introduced last year by Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-MD. While that bill failed to advance, it did help spur industry efforts to craft a national standard to deal with a growing myriad of state and local anti-predatory