Economic Recovery Task Force

On May 18, 2009, the two federal agencies that will distribute $7.2 billion to support broadband projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) reported to Congress on their progress in implementing the new stimulus law. The reports provide detailed information on the allocation, timing and procedures for distribution of the new federal funding for broadband development. (more…)

summers-letter-01-12-09

Following the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 on October 3rd, Congress has ramped up its oversight of federal regulation and agencies, as well as its investigation into the causes of the current financial crisis. Congress is undoubtedly under significant pressure to show the public that it is “on the case,” so to speak, and the multitude of upcoming hearings illustrates this point. (more…)

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.  As you may be aware, the House of Representatives passed the EESA today by a vote of 263 to 171, with 172 Democrats and 91 Republicans voting for the bill.  This legislation was identical to the version of the bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday of this week.  The President signed the bill into law this afternoon.  In general terms, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions and empowers the Secretary to enforce a range of new corporate governance standards and executive compensation rules for institutions that participate in the program. The new law also contains a provision that permits the FDIC to increase the amount of deposited money it can insure from $100,000 to $250,000.  The bill also contains a variety of “tax extenders” that prevent existing tax deductions from expiring.  In addition to a section-by-section analysis of the EESA available from the Senate Banking Committee, we will be providing commentary on various provisions over the next few weeks. (more…)