Everett, Wash. Published: Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Senate adds sweeteners to bitter bailout pill
Associated Press
Key provisions of the $700 billion financial industry bailout and sweeteners added by the Senate to attract votes from constituencies.
The underlying legislation would:
* Authorize $700 billion for the government to purchase troubled assets and buy equity in distressed financial firms.
* Require the Treasury Department to make rules to prevent excessive compensation for executives whose companies benefit from the rescue, and cap deductibility of executives’ pay packages at $500,000 for firms that get $300 million or more from the program.
* Establish an oversight board for the program, a special investigator general to monitor it and regular government audits.
* Require that the president establish a plan to recoup the cost from the financial industry if, after five years, there are any losses.
* Phase in the money for buying troubled assets, with $250 billion available immediately, $100 billion to be released if the president certifies it is needed, and the last $350 billion available with another certification, but subject to a congressional vote.
Among the sweeteners added are those that would:
* Provide business tax breaks, including for production of, investment in, and use of renewable fuels.
* Require group health plans that include mental health or addiction treatment to provide coverage for those conditions that is equitable to other medical coverage.
* Increase personal credits against the AMT, shielding more than 20 million taxpayers from the tax.
* Grant tax relief to victims of natural disasters in the Midwest and elsewhere.
* Extend through 2011 a program that funds rural schools and local governments that have low property-tax bases because they lie within or are adjacent to federal lands.
* Extend until end of 2009 the deduction for state and local general sales taxes.
* Extend until end of 2009 individual tax breaks, including deductions for higher education costs and teachers’ personal expenses.
