Agenda: The TARP campaign
Posted: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 9:15 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Obama “yesterday launched an aggressive campaign to persuade a deeply skeptical Congress to permit him to spend another $350 billion to stabilize the still-fragile U.S. financial system, as the Bush White House formally notified lawmakers of Obama's intention to use the money,” the Washington Post reports. “Obama began calling lawmakers, promising to respond to their intense criticism of the financial rescue program by expanding its scope to aid struggling homeowners, small businesses and others. His top economic adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, sent a three-page letter to congressional leaders, vowing to better track how the money is spent and bolster oversight.”
The New York Times: “Republican and Democratic Senate leaders signaled on Monday that they would support the release of the second half of the Treasury’s $700 billion financial system bailout fund, despite anger among many rank-and-file lawmakers over the Bush administration’s management of the program… The Senate’s approval of the $350 billion would be a big relief for the Obama administration, which is hoping to avoid a messy legislative battle just as the new president takes office. That outcome seemed increasingly likely as some influential senators said they would urge their colleagues to approve the money.”
But not everyone seems willing to cooperate. “The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said he was reluctant to provide the additional money. ‘The American people have a lot of questions about how additional funds would be used,’ Mr. McConnell said. ‘I would be hard pressed to support additional funding for the TARP without sufficient assurances this money will not be wasted, misspent or simply used for more industry-specific bailouts.’ Some lawmakers, including the House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, have said they will oppose disbursing the $350 billion.”
The Wall Street Journal adds, “Failure to secure the second installment of TARP funds could spook markets once more. It would also represent a defeat for Mr. Obama before he's even taken office.”
The New York Times front-pages that Obama “plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, people briefed by Obama transition officials said Monday. But experts say it is likely to take many months, perhaps as long as a year, to empty the prison that has drawn international criticism since it received its first prisoners seven years ago this week. One transition official said the new administration expected that it would take several months to transfer some of the remaining 248 prisoners to other countries, decide how to try suspects and deal with the many other legal challenges posed by closing the camp.”
It’s now official: Obama has shelved his stimulus proposal to give businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create, the Washington Post says.
"With President-elect Barack Obama set to join what could be a more labor-friendly Congress, union leaders and businesses are gearing up for another partisan fight over a bill that would make it easier to form unions in the workplace," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote yesterday. "The Employee Free Choice Act would give unions the right to organize if a majority of employees sign cards supporting a union, eliminating the need for a secret-ballot process where many organizing drives now fail. Business groups fear the bill will drive up labor costs if more workers become unionized."
Starting the first public push for the act with real money behind it, pro-labor group American Rights at Work launches a $3 million ad campaign this morning at 9:00 am ET at the National Press Club with former Rep. David Bonior and others. The push for the legislation -- also known as card check -- may be the first test of the relationship between unions and the new administration, which is focused solely on the stimulus.
