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…)

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…)

As the 111th Congress begins its work, one of the first items to receive attention will be the Troubled Assets Relief Program, better known as TARP.  This Monday, at the request of President-elect Obama, President Bush asked Congress to approve the second $350 billion tranche of TARP funds.  Under TARP, the funds will be released unless the House and Senate pass resolutions of disapproval.  Resolutions have been introduced in both the House and the Senate, and votes could occur as early as the end of this week.  If either house fails to pass the disapproval resolution, or if Congress cannot override a Presidential veto of the joint resolution, then the funds will be available to the Executive branch.  Notwithstanding the disapproval resolutions, Congress appears poised to make statutory changes to TARP that could impact past and future recipients of TARP funds.

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