Legal Commentary

Extracting More Concessions From Obama

By Big Tent Democrat

Why d[id] Boehner and the other leaders want [the] vote [on the stimulus bill] to be unanimous? Because they still want to extract concessions in the conference. . . In the end, I suspect that a couple dozen Republicans will vote for the final stimulus bill. But they sent a message today that they have discipline.

Is Booman expecting Obama to give more concessions to the House GOP? And what of concessions to the Senate GOP? Relatedly, Al Giordano writes:

[The GOP's] other complaint du jour was most interesting to me: the Stimulus Bill's inclusion of $50 million dollars to the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA).

Obama hasn't yet nominated the next NEA chief. The agency's budget for fiscal year 2008 was $144 million dollars, so the extra $50 million would be a major shot in the arm. And it gives the new director, if someone with vision, a golden opportunity to unleash an army of artists and other creative Americans to be the public eyes and ears and the grassroots propaganda arm of this effort to restart the economy.

It seems to me that that extra $50 million is likely to fall by the wayside in the coming negotiations with Senate Republicans and, apparently, a second round with House Republicans. In addition, the Senate has included an AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) fix:

The U.S. Senate’s tax-writing committee added $70 billion in relief from the alternative- minimum tax to an $825 billion economic stimulus proposal.

The provision benefiting more than 30 million households, primarily with incomes between $100,000 and $500,000 annually, was approved by voice vote today as an amendment to $272 billion in tax cuts the Senate Finance Committee already had planned for the broader stimulus plan.

Inclusion of the alternative-minimum tax relief would swell the stimulus plan’s tax cuts to $342 billion. The tax relief is anchored to President Barack Obama’s campaign promise to give workers a reduction of up to $1,000 by reducing Social Security payroll taxes. The Obama administration urged exclusion of the AMT provision when the House drafted its stimulus bill, House Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangel said last week.

That is not efficient use of $70 billion for stimulus. But I would bet you it survives the negotiating process.

And nothing on the housing crisis. This stimulus bill leaves a lot to be desired.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 29, 2009 (boomark / email).