Economic Recovery Task Force

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) appropriated $6 billion to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program to support loan guarantees of up to $60 billion for renewable energy and electric power transmission projects.  Potential applicants for these loan guarantees include companies involved in alternative energy production (such as solar, wind and hydropower projects), leading-edge biofuel projects, and projects designed to upgrade electric power transmission.  Interested companies would do well to revisit the opportunities available through the Program and the latest appropriation, as well as the many requirements established under the Program’s final administrative rule. (more…)

On March 26, 2009, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner appeared in front of the Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives to introduce his proposal for comprehensive financial regulatory reform. In his testimony Secretary Geithner made it clear that he’s not looking for modest repairs—he’s looking for “new rules of the game”. The proposed regulatory reform, which is still in the early stages of development and will require Congressional approval, reflects a range of complex and consequential policy choices that directly impact private investment funds and their advisers.  (more…)

The economic stimulus bill passed by Congress on February 12, 2009 includes whistleblower protections for employees of private contractors and state and local governments who disclose fraud or mismanagement regarding the use of stimulus funds.  Protected conduct includes disclosures to a person of supervisory authority over the employee when the employee reasonably suspects and reports mismanagement or waste of stimulus funds.  This whistleblower provision is known as the McCaskill Amendment. (more…)

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While the Act’s goals are primarily to create jobs and restore economic growth, it also contains a number of important COBRA revisions that will apply to every employer that is subject to COBRA, effective immediately.  (more…)

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Act”), Title VII of which imposes new and more stringent limits on executive compensation for participants in the United Stated Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”) under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (the “EESA”).  These new restrictions apply retroactively and prospectively, to existing and new participants in the TARP Capital Purchase Program, for so long as the TARP participant retains any obligation arising from the financial assistance it received under TARP (the “Restricted Period”). Once the TARP participant has redeemed its preferred stock from Treasury, the restrictions go away — importantly, the restrictions do not apply during any period for which the federal government only holds warrants to purchase common stock of a TARP participant. In addition, Title VII of the Act permits TARP participants, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Secretary”) and the applicable federal bank regulatory agency, to redeem its preferred stock at any time, notwithstanding the original restrictions on redemption set forth in the EESA. (more…)

On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, unveiled a new plan (“Plan”) designed to address the U.S. credit crisis and restore stability to the nation’s financial system. While many details are still to be released, the Plan will deliver as much as $2 trillion to the U.S. financial markets through the following four key elements: (more…)