Iraq death toll

Bailout

By CHARLES BABINGTON and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers 10/02/08

WASHINGTON - President Bush and congressional leaders conducted fierce eleventh-hour lobbying Thursday for enough House votes to push the $700 billion financial industry bailout bill to the finish line.

Bush said "a lot of people are watching" and he kept up his pleas from the White House as Democratic and Republican party leaders worked over wayward colleagues wherever they could find them. Bush argued that the measure represents the "best chance" to calm unnerved financial markets and ease a widening credit crunch.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat, said that his party won't put the bill up for the vote planned for Friday unless lawmakers are sure it will pass.

Speaking to reporters during a meeting with business executives, Bush said the increasingly tight credit markets are in some instances threatening the existence of small businesses. He said Congress "must listen" to those arguing for passage of the bill, derided by many on Capitol Hill and within the general public as a handout to a risk-taking Wall Street.

The much-maligned measure was returned to the House after the Senate resuscitated it with tax cuts and other sweeteners in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday. The bill had been defeated in House narrowly on Monday.

Hoyer said that "there's a good prospect of getting it done" but left open the possibility the House could make changes to the legislation. What won't happen, he said, is a repeat of the kind of crushing scene that played out earlier this week when the bill went down on the House floor, triggering the largest stock sell-off in history.

"I'm going to be pretty confident that we have sufficient votes to pass this before we put it on the floor," Hoyer said.

The Senate's addition of some $110 billion in tax breaks and other sweeteners helped satisfy some Republican critics, but angered conservative so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats concerned about swelling the deficit. Still, Hoyer predicted the number of Democratic defectors from the measure "is going to be minimal."

The rescue package would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.

In efforts to appease GOP opponents, the Senate-passed bill contains a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

House Republicans also welcomed a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

The fierce lobbying came as the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urged people to remain calm.

"I think overall the banking system remains very sound so that's why I think it's so important for everybody to keep their head," commission Chairman Sheila Bair said.

But the drumbeat of bad news rattled on. A government report said that orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years as the credit strains smashed manufacturers with hurricane-like force.

The bailout package was never in danger in the Senate. Lawmakers there played catalysts for the House instead, adding tax provisions popular with the left and right in a bid that House leaders hope — but cannot guarantee — will persuade enough of the House rank-and-file to switch from "nay" to "aye" on a highly contentious bill a month before Election Day.

They were especially targeting the 133 House Republicans who voted against the package.

To some degree, at least, House GOP opposition appeared to be easing as the Senate added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

"This is an issue that is affecting hardworking people," Bush said Thursday. "They are worried about their savings; they're worried about their jobs; they're worried about their houses; they're worried about their small businesses."

"The House of Representatives must listen to these voices and get this bill passed so we can get about the business of restoring confidence," Bush added.

House Republicans also welcomed a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

The Senate-backed package extends several tax breaks popular with businesses. It would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans. And it would provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.

Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs almost everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the bailout measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster.

But critics on the right and left assailed the rescue plan, which has been panned by their constituents as a giveaway for Wall Street with little obvious benefit for ordinary Americans.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a leading conservative, said the step was "leading us into the pit of socialism."

But proponents argued that the financial sector's woes already were being felt by ordinary people in the form of unaffordable credit and underperforming retirement savings. Still, they said voters were unlikely to reward those who vote for the measure.

"There will be no balloons or bunting or parades" when the rescue becomes law, said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman.

Healthcare Differences

Obama assails McCain over health care proposal

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer 10/04/08

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Democrat Barack Obama sharply criticized Republican John McCain's health care proposals Saturday, saying they could force millions of Americans to struggle to buy medical insurance.

Turning to an issue that has faded somewhat during the economic crisis, Obama gave an unusually detailed outline of his own plans in a 40-minute speech to thousands of sun-soaked Virginians at a waterside park in Newport News. He would make coverage more affordable to most Americans, he said, paying for the subsidies largely by canceling the Bush administration's tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year.

In a sign that the presidential campaign's final month may have a nastier tone, Obama called McCain's health plan "radical," and Republican officials accused Obama of lying.

Wearing a dark suit and speaking from a TelePrompTer, Obama told the Virginia crowd he would reduce premiums for most people by "as much as $2,500 per family."

He would save money in the heath care system, he said, by holding drug and insurance companies "accountable for the prices they charge and the harm they cause." He also said he would outlaw "insurance company discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions."

Medicare would be allowed to negotiate with drug makers for cheaper prices, he said, and his administration would place greater emphasis on preventing illnesses.

"The time has come," Obama said, "to solve this problem, to cut health care costs for families and businesses, and provide affordable, accessible health insurance for every American."

He devoted at least half his speech to criticizing McCain. The Republican nominee has proposed to tax the health benefits that 156 million people get through the workplace as income. In exchange, McCain would give tax credits to help pay for insurance — $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families, paid directly to the insurer they choose.

The criticisms that Obama made here are echoed by his campaign in four new television ads, four separate mailers targeted to swing state voters, radio commercials and events in every battleground state.

"On health care, John McCain promises a tax credit," an announcer says in one of Obama's new ads, over images of families examining their bills. "But here's what he won't tell you: McCain would make you pay taxes on your health benefits, taxing your health care for the first time ever, raising costs for employers who offer health care so your coverage could be reduced or dropped completely. You won't find one word about it on his Web site."

It's true that McCain doesn't mention that he would tax health benefits on the section of his Web site where he describes his plan. But the Obama ad omits some important context — the tax credit McCain plans to offer would be more generous than the current tax break, at least for most families for the first several years, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

Obama said Saturday that under McCain's plan, younger, healthier workers would buy cheaper insurance outside the workplace, leaving an older, sicker pool to drive up the cost of the employer-based system.

"As a result, many employers will drop their health care plans altogether," Obama said. "And study after study has shown, that under the McCain plan, at least 20 million Americans will lose the insurance they rely on from their workplace."

He called McCain's plan "so radical, so out of touch with what you're facing, and so out of line with our basic values."

An assessment by health care economists published last month in the journal Health Affairs projected that McCain's plan would lead 20 million people to lose their employer-sponsored insurance. But it also found that 21 million people would gain coverage through the individual market.

Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant responded: "Barack Obama is lying about John McCain's plan to provide more Americans with more health care choices. Obama's plan only offers more government, while McCain's plan offers more choices."

Obama's speech was more loaded with policy than most, and he seemed to realize that many in the crowd wanted a pep rally more than a detailed examination of health care practices.

"You still with me?" he said halfway through.

Lyndon Johnson was the last Democratic nominee to carry Virginia. But Obama is making an all-out push here, encouraged by growing numbers of Democratic voters in the Washington suburbs and the near-certainty that former Gov. Mark Warner will win the Senate seat being vacated by Republican John Warner.

Newport News, near Norfolk, is home to many military families, and McCain hopes to do well in the area.

Polls show Obama has taken a lead in the national race, fueled by voters' increasing confidence that he would be better equipped to handle the struggling economy. Campaign aides said they long planned to focus on economic issues in these final weeks of the race, but the debate over the government's $700 billion financial bailout focused voters on such concerns more than they could have imagined.

The push on health care is an opportunity to raise the debate on a pocketbook issue that voters rank near the top of their concerns. According to an AP-Yahoo News poll taken last month, 78 percent of voters rate health care as at least a very important issue, which puts it behind the economy in a group of second-tier issues along with Iraq and terrorism.

Directory: files
files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2
files -> Integer programming and game theory
files -> 4 Integer Programming
files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective
files -> Pop Warner History
files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose
files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d
files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal
files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations

Download 1.35 Mb.

Share with your friends: