Metro Relief included in TARP Reform. Language providing Metro relief from penalties related to so-called “lease-back” transactions involving the purchase of subway cars was included in the TARP Reform Act which passed the House last week. “Lease-back” transactions are contracts allowing banks to purchase Metro cars and then lease them back to the transit agency. The agreements have been severely harmed by the credit and financial crisis because many required insurance by an AAA credit rated insurance agency. When insurance giants like AIG lost their AAA ratings, the sale lease-back arrangements unraveled leaving transit agencies like Metro on the hook for hundreds of millions in penalties from the banks with whom the agreements were made.
Leading a team of Metro-friendly legislators, we were able to successfully include language in the TARP Reform bill allowing the U.S. Treasury Department to serve as the AAA rated insurer for all lease-back transit agreements. Should this become law, the transit agencies won't have to pay hundreds of millions in penalties.
Stimulus Recovery Plan up this week. The House is poised to enact an $825 billion stimulus package designed to create jobs and pull our economy out of recession. The package provides $550 billion for transportation infrastructure, aid for Medicaid, education and other public services and $275 billion for stimuluative tax cuts. Leading economists, such as Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Economy.com and former adviser to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign believe that with the economic recovery plan, 3 million more jobs will be created and the unemployment rate will be 2% lower by the end of 2010. Under the plan, funding would be provided to states within one week of enactment and the states would be required to obligate at least 50% of the funds within 180 days and 100% within two years.
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Lilly Ledbetter worked for nearly 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. She sued her employer after learning that she was paid less then her male counterparts, despite having more experience than several of them. A jury found that her employer had unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of sex. However, the Supreme Court said that Ledbetter had waited too long to sue for pay discrimination.
The Lilly Ledbetter Act clarifies that as long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. This was the law prior to the Supreme Court’s May 2007 decision. While its too late for Lilly to recieve compensation, her case has been cited in hundreds of discrimination cases, adversely impacting genuine claims of discrimination.
Steering and Policy Committee. Congressman Moran was elected by his colleagues last month to serve on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee (DSPC). The DSPC serves a critical and influential function within the Democratic caucus. The committee’s principle role is to assist the Speaker in deciding which Members will chair and sit on the 20 plus House committees.
New Committee Assignments for the 111th. Rep. Moran received committee assignments in January for the new Congress. In addition to his previous posts on the powerful Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense and Interior, he will be adding the influential Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor HHS) Subcommittee to his portfolio.
The Defense Subcommittee and Labor HHS Subcommittee control the 1st and 2nd largest budgets of the 12 Appropriations subcommittees. Between the two, they make up nearly ½ of the $3 trillion federal budget. This will be the first time in decades that a Member of the Appropriations Committee will serve on both the Defense and Labor/HHS Subcommittees. With these assignments, Moran will have jurisdictions over the budgets of some of the largest federal agencies including the Pentagon, Health and Human Services Department, Social Security Administration, EPA, Interior Department and the Department of Labor.
