A4
Politics & The Nation
Party members cite split on issue, desire to shift focus to jobs
BY LORI MONTGOMERY Senate Democrats are consid-
ering abandoning plans for a pre-election showdown with Re- publicans over expiring tax
EZ SU
KLMNO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 Senate Democrats consider putting off vote on Bush tax cuts
breaks for the wealthy, saying a lack of consensus within the party and a desire to focus on job creation may delay a vote until after the November elections. Instead of spending their time
tussling over income tax rates, some Senate Democrats are pressing their leaders to stage a debate over companies that ship jobs overseas, an issue that proved politically potent in a Pennsylvania special election this year.With unemployment at
9.6 percent, these Democrats say a measure to create jobs would speak more directly to the con- cerns of voters anxious about the economy. In response, Senate Majority
Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and other key Democrats this week unveiled a bill that would offer businesses a two-year pay- roll tax holiday on jobs repatriat- ed from abroad. The measure also would end subsidies for certain manufacturing compa-
nies that do business overseas or close U.S. plants and move them offshore. “It is resonant,” said Sen. By-
ron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), one of the bill’s sponsors. “Somewhere around 20 million people woke up without work today. We’re trying to find away to put an end to the incentives to move jobs overseas.” Reid spokesman Jim Manley
confirmed that Reid has set the procedural wheels in motion for
debate on the bill and hopes to bring it to a vote before the Senate leaves town, perhaps as soon as next week. That would leave little time for the Senate to approve a must-pass budget res- olution and do battle with Re- publicans over tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration. Senate Democrats are sched-
uled tomeet Thursday tomake a final decision on whether to vote on extending the Bush tax cuts. Republicans want to extend all
the cuts, at a cost of nearly $4 trillion over the next decade. President Obama has proposed extending the cuts only for households with incomes less than $250,000 a year, a move that would cost about $3 trillion over the next decade. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.),
THEWAY FORWARD
the Finance Committee chair- man, is preparing a smaller bill that would cost nearly $2 trillion over the next decade. Aides said that measure would permanent- ly extend cuts that benefit the middle class but would protect taxpayers froman expensive par- allel tax structure, known as the alternative minimum tax, only through 2011, reducing the cost to the government. Democratic leaders had hailed
the battle over the upper-income cuts as an electoral winner for them, saying it would force Re- publicans to defend big tax breaks for about 3 million ex- tremely wealthy households, many of themheaded bymillion- aires. They said it would also expose GOP hypocrisy on budget deficits at a time when Republi- cans were blaming Democrats for driving up the national debt. HouseDemocratic leaders still
hold that view, and SpeakerNan- cy Pelosi (Calif.) may yet stage a vote in the House before the election, aides said, despite com- plaints from more than three dozen conservative Democrats who are fearful of raising taxes, even on the wealthy, in an elec- tion year. But many Senate Democrats
have come to see the tax battle as less important politically. By clearly outlining the Democratic position, aides said, Obama has taken some of the sting out of Republican claims that Demo- crats are plotting to let all the tax cuts expire, causing taxes to rise next year for virtually every American. “By the president being out
THERE AREMANY WAYS FORWARD FOR SMALLBUSINESS.
In this downturn economy, many small businesses are having to cut back. Tat’s why we’re doing our part to help them grow and create new jobs.
We’re leading the way forward with our $10 billion small business lending commitment for 2010. To give more small businesses a chance to get the credit they need, we incorporated a second look into our loan review process - approving nearly $200 million in additional loans since the start of the program.
In order to help spark new jobs, we created Chase Loan for Hire, offering to cut interest rates when small businesses hire someone new.
Trough lending and innovation, we’re committed to the success of small businesses. It’s just one way that JPMorgan Chase is helping move America forward.
To speak with a Chase Business Specialist, visit
chase.com to find a branch near you
To learn more about JPMorgan Chase and The Way Forward, visit
jpmorganchase.com
there and individual members talking at home, it’s clear where the lines are drawn in this de- bate, and you don’t need the vote to cement that,” a Democratic aide said, speaking on the condi- tion of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “The bat- tle lines are already drawn. The contrast exists. The president has provided that air cover.” Delaying the vote would also
paper over divisions in the party rank and file. Although liberals are determined to let the tax cuts expire for the wealthy — Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) called it a “moral issue” — many conservatives are pushing to ex- tend all the cuts, saying raising anyone’s taxes right now would be bad for the economy. That camp includes Sen. Ben
Nelson (D-Neb.), who is sched- uled to take part in an event defending the Bush tax cuts next week at the conservative Heri- tage Foundation.
montgomeryl@washpost.com
SEC’s timing on Goldman ‘suspicious’
REUTERS The timing of the Securities
and Exchange Commission’s ac- tion against Goldman Sachs this springwas “suspicious,” a federal watchdog said Wednesday, sug- gesting that the federal agency was trying to divert attention from a report that sharply criti- cized its investigation of billion- aire financier R. Allen Stanford. The SEC filed civil fraud
charges againstGoldman inmid- April, the same day it released a watchdog report accusing it of mishandling a probe into Stan- ford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme. The report by SEC Inspector
General David Kotz said the regulator suspected as early as 1997 that Stanfordwas running a Ponzi scheme but did nothing to stop it until late 2005. The timing of the two April
events “strains credulity,” Kotz told a congressional hearing Wednesday examining the SEC’s handling of the Stanford case. Stanford is in a Texas jail,
awaiting trial on 21 criminal charges related to his Antiguan bank’s issuance of certificates of deposit with improbably high interest rates. The SEC in Febru- ary 2009 filed civil charges relat- ed to thematter. Some Republican lawmakers
Some restrictions and requirements may apply. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Equal Opportunity Lender. © 2010 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.
accused the SEC of suing Gold- man to help Democrats pass the landmark Wall Street overhaul bill, which was winding its way through Congress in April. Kotz is probing whether the
SEC’s lawsuit against Goldman was politically motivated, a charge the SEC denies.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89