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Boston Money — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:03:12 +0000

‘Yes We Can’ vs. ‘Tell Washington No’:

Public passions seen rising on health care overhaul

Kimberly Hefling

Public passions are rising on health care overhaul

WASHINGTON — Booed, jeered and occasionally cheered in a raucous session with the public, a Democratic senator said Monday that other lawmakers can expect the same as they face voters on the divisive issue of overhauling health care.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the harbinger of things to come,” Pennsylvania’s Sen. Arlen Specter said a day after facing the rowdy crowd in Philadelphia. A House member who was surrounded by protesters shouting “Just say no!” to Democrats’ health plans in Texas over the weekend accused Republicans of organizing the opposition.

“This mob … did not come just to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard. And this appears to be part of a coordinated, nationwide effort,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said in a statement. “What could be more appropriate for the ‘party of no’ than having its stalwarts drowning out the voices of their neighbors by screaming ‘Just say no!’”

With Congress’ monthlong recess looming, lawmakers are encountering growing public doubts about President Barack Obama’s push to remake the system for providing medical care, evident in polls that find confidence in the president’s handling of the issue has fallen since January.

Turn Your Head and Gag!

The White House is determined to frame the debate on its terms this month and counter fears about government-run insurance plans, a growing federal deficit, the impact on small businesses, abortion and end-of-life provisions — all issues that have dominated the health care debate. Political parties and special interest groups will add to the cacophony by spending millions of dollars on competing ads.

For lawmakers such as Specter and Doggett, the weekend events captured the public mood and the obstacles for the Obama administration.

At Specter’s forum Sunday in Philadelphia, some chanted Obama’s “Yes we can” campaign slogan, while others carried signs that said, “Tell Washington no.”

Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius faced an antagonistic, standing-room-only crowd at the National Constitution Center. Specter said he thought political organizations orchestrated some of the commotion, but individuals with serious concerns — some in dire medical conditions — were there as well.

“I do think there’s a big concern in America,” Specter said in an interview Monday. “We heard it yesterday about the growing deficit and national debt.”

Specter is a recent Republican-turned-Democrat who indicated earlier this year that he’s open to a government health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers, an idea backed by Obama and many Democrats.

Four of five congressional committees have approved versions of health care bills, but lawmakers fell short of Obama’s deadline for the House and Senate to vote on bills before their August recess. That sets up a September showdown on the legislation and all sides have moved into high gear.

The House has begun its recess, with the Senate to follow on Friday, as lawmakers continue to work on bipartisan legislation.

Frustrated with the pace of those talks, Democratic leaders promised to push a sweeping health care bill through the Senate whether they get Republican support or not.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the third-ranking Senate Democrat, raised the prospect of the leadership crafting a bill to Democratic specifications and using a rare legislative procedure to expedite it.

“We will have contingencies in place,” Schumer told reporters on a conference call. “These plans will likely be considered as a last resort, but they are on the table.” He would not elaborate.

After numerous delays, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are facing a Sept. 15 deadline to wrap up secretive talks and come up with a plan.

“If we cannot produce a bipartisan solution by then, you have to wonder if the Republicans will ever to be willing to agree to anything,” Schumer said.

However, one of the negotiators — Republican Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming — said Monday he did not recognize such a deadline, and another, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said: “I don’t like deadlines.”

After those objections were voiced, Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said that senators were looking at a target date internally but “the main thing is we got to get it right.” Baucus said a draft bill would be ready by the end of this week.

Senators have plenty of action on the Senate floor this week, including a vote on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination, but health care is still a focus. Senate Democrats are lunching at the White House Tuesday and will hear from White House adviser David Axelrod and Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina at a closed-door session Thursday.

Schumer said Democratic leaders continue to look at invoking a procedural maneuver that would allow them to pass the health bill with 51 votes instead of 60. That route is viewed as a last resort, in part because it would probably limit the breadth of policy initiatives.

On the same call, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., accused Republican leaders of trying to hinder bipartisan progress to deny Obama a political victory.

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., scoffed at the complaints. He noted that Schumer himself hasn’t committed to supporting whatever the Finance Committee negotiators produce and that other Democrats have also criticized the plan that’s taking shape.

“Seriously, how can any Democrat who doesn’t support what the bipartisan group of Finance members is working on complain about there not being a bipartisan approach?” Stewart asked. “Has Sen. Schumer or anyone in the Democrat leadership offered a bipartisan bill?”

Schumer and many other liberals favor a strong new government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers, and all the plans approved so far have included that. But Republicans nearly uniformly oppose a new public plan, saying it would drive private insurers out of business, so the Finance negotiators are looking at a system of nonprofit health co-ops instead.

Schumer said negotiations on the Finance bill were continuing.

“No one’s drawing any lines in the sand right now, but I feel very strongly we need a public option and that fight is continuing,” he said.

Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

Small Business Loans – Finance News

Boston Money — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:19:36 +0000

Emergency small business loans coming in June

To kick off National Small Business Week, the government announced its timetable for a hotly awaited assistance program.

By Sharon McLoone, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Last Updated: May 18, 2009: 4:47 PM ETWASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — An emergency loan program designed to shore up struggling-but-viable small businesses will open for applications in mid-June, the Small Business Administration announced Monday.

The news came during a speech by SBA head Karen Mills kicking off the SBA’s annual National Small Business Week program of publicity and networking activities. Known as America’s Recovery Capital (ARC), the emergency loans were authorized in February’s stimulus bill. The SBA has been working since then to pull together guidance for the new program, which will back short-term loans of up to $35,000 that business owners can use to temporarily cover their payments on existing debt. No repayment on the ARC loans will be due for 12 months, and owners will have up to five years to repay them.

The SBA plans to release guidance to banks by June 8 and will be ready to accept lender loan packages by June 15. Business owners will need to apply directly to banks for the loans, but the SBA will offer those banks a 100% guarantee on the ARC loans they make. If the business owner defaults, the SBA will pay off the loan.

SBA Administrator Mills called the ARC loans “risky” and very different than the loans her agency typically backs. Aimed at businesses with “immediate financial hardship” but a past track record of financial success, the loans are intended to aid companies that “are in a situation where they just need a little extra help to bridge the troubled waters,” she said.

Right now, many small businesses find themselves struggling against the economic tides. Mills acknowledged that her constituents are in trouble and looking to the government for help.

“I have started to think of the SBA not just as a backbone for small business, but as an entire bone structure,” she said before a crowded audience at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington.

Sworn in last month as the SBA’s leader, Mills’ talk on Monday marked one of her first public speeches in her new role. In her remarks, she said that the top three priorities for her agency are more progress on fulfilling the small business provisions of the American Recovery Act, revitalizing the agency, and “making the SBA the strongest possible voice for small businesses in the U.S.”

The Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus bill, allocated $730 million for initiatives aimed at shoring up the country’s small business. So far, “the results are good,” Mills said. Since one stimulus provision took effect in mid-March, offering banks higher guarantees and waived fees on SBA-backed loans, the average weekly loan volume is up more than 25%, she said.

But that increase comes against a dismal backdrop for small business lending. In the quarter ended March 31, the number of loans made through agency’s popular 7(a) loan program dropped 57% compared to the prior year, and several major lenders have sharply reduced their activity.

Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., the chair of the Senate’s small business committee, joined Mills in a small press conference after the public speech. Landrieu told reporters that it’s a top priority for the committee and the agency to determine why 50% of the nation’s banks aren’t partnering with the SBA. The SBA itself does not directly loan money, but works with partner banks to offer government-backed loans.

“I would love to see any small business owner just walk around the corner to their local bank and say they’re looking to expand their business,” she said. “That bank should ask the SBA – would you be a partner with me?”

Landrieu also said that finding a better health care solution for small businesses is a top priority for her.

As for the agency, which employs 2,000 full-time workers, Mills said she plans to invest in “training, planning and better communication across the SBA … and for repeated calls to break down silos, to give up sacred turf.”

Internal reform was also a priority for Mills’ predecessor, Steven Preston, who served as SBA chief from July 2006 to April 2008. After a 2005 government survey found that the SBA had the lowest employee morale of any major government agency, Preston devoted much of his energy to streamlining the agency and improving morale. To top of page
First Published: May 18, 2009: 4:33 PM ET

Obama wants Fed to be finance supercop

Boston Money — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:41:23 +0000

Boston.com
The Associated Press
AP sources: Obama wants Fed to be finance supercop

By Anne Flaherty, Associated Press Writer | May 9, 2009

WASHINGTON –The Federal Reserve could become the supercop for “too big to fail” companies capable of causing another financial meltdown under a proposal being seriously considered by the White House.

The Obama administration told industry officials on Friday that it was leaning toward making such a recommendation, according to officials who attended a private one-hour meeting between President Barack Obama’s economic advisers and representatives from about a dozen banks, hedge funds and other financial groups.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials made it clear they were not inclined to divide the job among various regulators as has been suggested by industry and some federal regulators. Geithner told the group that one organization needs to be held responsible for monitoring systemwide risk.

“Committees don’t make decisions,” said Geithner, according to one participant.

Officials from the Treasury Department and National Economic Council, which hosted the meeting, told participants that the Fed was considered the most likely candidate for the job, according to several officials who attended or were briefed on the discussions.

The administration officials said a legislative proposal would likely be sent to Capitol Hill in June with the expectation the House Financial Services Committee, led by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., would consider the measure before the Independence Day recess.

The officials requested anonymity because the meeting had not been publicly announced and they were not authorized to discuss it.

A Treasury Department statement provided to The Associated Press on Friday confirmed Geithner’s position that he wants a “single independent regulator with responsibility for systemically important firms and critical payment and settlement systems.”

A spokesman said Geithner also is open to creating a council to “coordinate among the various regulators, including the systemic risk regulator.”

The Fed itself hasn’t taken a position on whether it should have the job, although Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the Fed would have to be involved in any effort to identify and resolve systemwide risk.