A24 Economy & Business
S
KLMNO
FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2010
Jobs bill blocked in Senate Republicans united
in opposition to $120 billion package
by Lori Montgomery and Brady Dennis
The Senate effectively rejected
a slimmed-down package of job- less benefits and state aid late Thursday, rebuffing President Obama’s call for urgent action to bolster the economic recovery. Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and
Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) voted with a united Republican caucus to block the approximate- ly $120 billion package. The measure needed 60 votes to ad- vance, but garnered only 56. Democratic leaders, who had
Washington Business Journal* has ranked Safeway Inc. the No.1 corporate philanthropist in local giving.
predicted victory less than 24 hours earlier, vowed not to give up on the measure, but acknowl- edged that they have no clear path to securing the one or two Republican votes needed to push it to final passage. Though the sprawling package contains a number of must-pass provisions, Republicans have been steadfast in their opposition, insisting that the full cost of the measure be covered by cutting existing gov- ernment programs. “Americans are frustrated with the amount of spending and bor- rowing around here,” Senate Mi- nority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said after the vote. “Let’s not wave on through legislation that is going to worsen the deficit and dig an even deeper hole than we are in.”
With midterm elections loom- ing this fall, conservative Demo- crats also had voiced opposition to the size of the package and its impact on deficits, already driven to record levels by government spending to combat the reces-
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).
sion. But congressional leaders have struggled to pare the legisla- tion back. The measure would protect
doctors from a steep cut in Medi- care rates scheduled to take effect Friday and extend emergency un- employment benefits that sup- port more than 5million people. Without congressional action, an estimated 1.2 million people will stop receiving checks by the end of the month, according to inde- pendent estimates. The package also would extend
some expired tax breaks for busi- nesses and individuals, including the hugely popular research and development tax credit. And it would raise taxes on oil compa- nies, multinational corporations and investment partnerships. During the past month, Demo-
cratic leaders have winnowed the overall price tag down from $200 billion and reduced its im- pact on the deficit by two-thirds. The House narrowly approved the package and sent it to the Sen- ate, where Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has been trying to add $24 billion in aid to state governments, a top Obama prior- ity designed to avert thousands of state layoffs and prevent the 9.7 percent unemployment rate from shooting even higher. To squeeze in that extra cash, Reid has hacked away at other pieces of the package. The latest
version would protect doctors from the Medicare pay cut for six months rather than the 19 months approved by the House, for example, and it would dock $25 from the checks of all 15 mil- lion people who receive unem- ployment benefits, repealing a boost approved in last year’s stim- ulus legislation. The resulting measure, un- veiled late Wednesday, would add $55 billion to deficits over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And with that, Democrats believed they had secured the votes of at least two Republicans: Sens. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.). But any deal unraveled during
a long day of talks Thursday, leav- ing Democrats frustrated and perplexed. “We thought we had enough votes to pass this,” Reid told re- porters, adding that Lieberman had been prepared to come on board. He and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Bau- cus (D-Mont.) said they would re- group Friday. But aides said the path forward would not become clear until next week at the earli- est. “The vast majority of Amer- icans want us to create jobs, to help pull us out of this recession,” Baucus said. “The bottom line is we’re going to keep trying, be- cause that’s what the American people want us to do.” White House spokeswoman
Amy Brundage blamed Repub- lican obstructionism for the bill’s failure. “These measures are vital to our nation’s families and our economic recovery, and the Presi- dent urges those opposing these measures to end this obstruction and stand on the side of the American people,” Brundage said.
montgomeryl@washpost.com dennisb@washpost.com
Swiss to help IRS in bank probe
Parliament deal to aid in the identification of secret UBS accounts
Last year, we gave or raised more than $10.4 million towards fi ghting hunger, helping schools, assisting people living with disabilities, and supporting health and cancer research organizations. And that’s just in the Washington D.C. area.
Thank you to all our loyal customers and valuable
employees for your contributions to these incredible efforts.
*Source: Washington Business Journal, May 14-20, 2010.
by David S. Hilzenrath
The Swiss parliament ap- proved a deal Thursday to help the Internal Revenue Service ob- tain the names of Americans with secret accounts at Switzer- land’s largest bank. The approval averted a re-
newed conflict between the U.S. and Swiss governments over bank secrecy. If the deal had col- lapsed, Swiss banking giant UBS faced the threat of potentially crippling U.S. legal action. Instead, the breakthrough
paves the way for the Swiss gov- ernment to turn over the names and account details of as many as 4,450 U.S. clients of UBS suspect- ed of using undeclared accounts to hide income and evade taxes. The fate of the international agreement was in limbo during the past week after the lower house of parliament initially re-
jected the deal and tried to put it to a national referendum, which could have delayed resolution until next year. Lawmakers agreed Thursday not to seek the referendum. In ratifying the deal, the par- liament in effect gave its blessing to a weakening of Swiss bank se- crecy
standards. The issue stirred deep passions in Switzer- land, where bank secrecy is not just a tradition but one of the keys to the success of the nation’s economically important banking industry. The promise of privacy has helped Switzerland attract deposits from around the world. The U.S. government’s pursuit of tax dodgers has posed a threat to that system.
UBS acknowledged last year
that it had defrauded the U.S. government by helping Amer- icans hide money from the IRS. To avert criminal prosecution, it agreed to pay the U.S. govern- ment $780 million. Separately, the U.S. govern- ment pursued a lawsuit against UBS, trying to compel the bank to hand over details on about 52,000 accounts. UBS said its
hands were tied by Swiss law, and the Swiss government stepped in to negotiate a solu- tion. The governments reached an agreement last August calling for the Swiss to process a request for details on 4,450 accounts. The deal meant that the Swiss would consider the request under a more accommodating interpre- tation of national law. Then, early this year, after that process had begun, a Swiss court ruled that the deal violated na- tional law. The executive branch of the Swiss government asked the parliament to salvage the agreement by ratifying it. The Swiss government has al- ready turned over details on about 500 UBS clients, the Swiss justice department said Thurs- day. Under the agreement, the Swiss tax authority must decide by August whether the U.S. gov- ernment is entitled to receive in- formation about each of the 4,450 accounts. Account holders will be able to appeal those deci- sions in Switzerland.
hilzenrath@washpost.com
Lockheed cuts back role in air show
Decision part of cost-trimming by Bethesda company
by Marjorie Censer Capital Business Staff Writer
Lockheed Martin chief exec- utive Robert J. Stevens said Thursday that the company will cut by half its participation at the Farnborough International Air- show this year and that he will skip the event as part of an effort to trim company spending. Stevens said his decision to pass on the British trade show, traditionally a major event for the aerospace industry and the Beth- esda-based contracting giant, re- flects the company’s commitment to closely reexamine its spending. He did not say how much the company would save by paring back its attendance. “What I did is what I’m asking
every executive and every profes- sional in our company to do, and that is to be rigorous and de- manding in evaluating how we spend our time and how we spend our customers’ money,” Stevens
and employee training. He said Lockheed is reducing spending to make its programs more afford- able for the government. Separately, a Pentagon review found that nine of the company’s 32 divisions are not properly re- porting how well they meet planned contract costs and sched- ules. The process, known as earned
Lockheed CEO Robert J. Stevens won’t attend biennial event.
said during a breakfast meeting with reporters. “So I asked a very simple question: ‘Tell me . . . ex- actly what the priorities are that require my participation at an air show,’ recognizing that there are expenses associated with that. . . . None of the requirements that were offered to me met a thresh- old test that said I had to be there.” In general, Stevens said, the company — which reported rev- enue of $45.2 billion in 2009 — is healthy and will continue to in- vest in research and development
On Mondays, The Washington Post offers Capital Business, a weekly publication covering the region’s business community. A one-year subscription costs $49 and is available only to Post subscribers.
EA Visit
washingtonpost.com/capitalbusiness for more details.
value management, is designed to help the Defense Department track programs. Because some of Lockheed’s divisions aren’t meet- ing the Pentagon’s reporting stan- dards, the Defense Department says it can’t confirm how much work has been accomplished for a given cost or how much work is left to complete, according to Shay Assad, a top Pentagon acqui- sition official. Stevens said the company has
shortcomings in the tools and processes it uses and is reviewing a corrective plan with the Defense Department. If the Pentagon finds that Lock-
heed’s plan is unacceptable or will take too long to implement, the government could withhold con- tract funds from the company. Stevens said the company is
committed to fixing the problem and predicted thatmoney will not be withheld. “I don’t need to be persuaded about the value of these systems,” he said. “I understand their value, and I want to get it right.”
censerm@washpost.com
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 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128