Hoyer Statement on Financial Bailout Measure

At this hour, the House of Representatives is back in session debating a rule for the debate of this bill tomorrow. This statement was released by the Majority Leader’s Office earlier today.

 

Also of note, President Bush will deliver a statement on the bill at 7:35am EST tomorrow; the networks will have live coverage and we will provide live twitter updates.

 

Hoyer Statement on Announcement of

Financial Recovery Plan
House to Vote on Measure TOMORROW

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WASHINGTON, DC - House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement on the announcement of the financial recovery legislation, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008:

 

“Coming together in a bipartisan way, Democratic and Republican Members of Congress worked with the Administration to reach agreement this weekend on a final plan to stabilize our financial system and stave off the threat of a broader economic crisis.

“Altogether, this package will reinvest our economy, establish a means for reimbursing the taxpayer, and lay the groundwork for long-term reforms.

“This final plan is much improved over the original Bush-Paulson proposal, incorporating many of the ideas that Democrats put forward to protect taxpayers, limit CEO compensation, ensure greater oversight, and minimize foreclosures. From day one, Democrats pledged that we would not simply hand the Administration a blank check, and we have made good on that promise.

“I am especially pleased with the inclusion of a profit-sharing provision that puts taxpayers first in line to benefit from any profit-making opportunities, as well as a version of a recoupment clause originally championed by Congressman John Tanner that insures taxpayers against potential losses.

 “With these changes, I believe this is a plan a large majority of both parties can and will support.  Now that we have broad bipartisan agreement, I intend to bring the final package to the House floor tomorrow for a vote.”

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

I just finished reading a draft of the financial rescue bill that was agreed to today in Congress and will likely be voted on and passed tomorrow. As soon as I find a good summary or what is contained in the legislation, I will post and link to it here on the blog. Here, after a very quick first read, are some of my points about the bill:

·          The Treasury Department is expanded to included a 10^th Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, subject to Senate Confirmation, and head of a new Office of Financial Security within the Office of Domestic Finance

·          The bill creates a new Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

·          The bill seeks to prohibit the “unjust enrichment of financial institutions”

·          There is created a Financial Stability Oversight Board, consisting of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Home Finance Agency, the Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Secretary of Housing & Urban Development—and there is also the creation of a Credit Revenue committee

·          Limits are set for Executive Compensation and a Golden Parachuete is defined as “means any payment (or any agreement to make any payment) in the nature of compensation by any financial institution for the benefit of an individual pursuant to an obligation”

·          Still wondering what “deferred deducation executive remuneration” is but I think it is a limit on executive pay

·          A lot of members—and a lot of Americans—may have a problem with Section 112, “Coordination with Foreign Authorities and Central Banks”

·          Kudos for the market transparency provisions in Sec. 114

·          The initial cost of the bill is $250 billion which can then be extended by $350B and up to a cap of $700 Billion

·          A Special Inspector General for Troubled Asset Reflief Programs (TARP) is created along with an Assistant Inspector General and a budget of $75 million

·          The bill has a sunset for December 31, 2009

·           The statutory debt limit of the United States is increased under the legislation to 11.315 trillion dollars (sec. 122)

·          A Congressional Oversight Panel is created charged with submitting a Special Report on Regulatory Reform by January 20, 2009 (Inaguration Day), consisting of 5 members appointed by Congressional leadership

·          There is a statue allowing for FBI cooperation in any criminal investigation that may result from the financial turmoil of this year

 

I guess that one of the big questions now is who will head this new Program and who will serve on the regulatory reform Panel?

 

Expect key Congressional leaders to check in before the end of the day, along with both presidential candidates and at some point late today or tomorrow, the President.

 

Asian stock markets open in about an hour. This will be the first chance to get any financial market reaction and as the night progreses we will get a good indication as to what kind of opening it will be tomorrow morning on Wall Street.

 

Sunday's Tracking Polls

Today is the first day that the daily tracking polls, which are an average of the daily polls conducted over the previous three or five days, reflect Friday’s First Presidential Candidates Debate. Tomorrow and Tuesday’s polls will give us a better indication as to any changes that resulted from the debate.

 

Diageo/Hotline Tracking Poll:
Obama 47

McCain 42

 

Rasmussen Tracking Poll:

Obama 50

McCain 44

 

Gallup Tracking Poll:
Obama 50

McCain 42

 

One note about the Gallup Poll: Since yesterday, Obama has gained one point (and reached the 50% threshold) and McCain has lost 2 points.

Obama is now at 50% in two of the three daily tracking polls.

 

Liveblogging: Representative John Larson Conference Call