Under the bailout bill, Paulson could get $250 billion to start. Then, with congressional and presidential approval, he can get up to $350 billion. If he still needs more, Bush and Congress can authorize him to have up to $700 billion.
And if you’re interesting in what the bill includes… take a look.
My personal favorites are Sec. 308, 317, and 325.
Way to be discreet with our money…
Sec. 101. Extension of alternative minimum tax relief for nonrefundable personal credits.
Sec. 102. Extension of increased alternative minimum tax exemption amount.
Sec. 103. Increase of AMT refundable credit amount for individuals with longterm unused credits for prior year minimum tax liability, etc.
Sec. 201. Deduction for State and local sales taxes.
Sec. 202. Deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses.
Sec. 203. Deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers.
Sec. 204. Additional standard deduction for real property taxes for nonitemizers.
Sec. 205. Tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes.
Sec. 206. Treatment of certain dividends of regulated investment companies.
Sec. 207. Stock in RIC for purposes of determining estates of nonresidents not citizens.
Sec. 208. Qualified investment entities.
Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit.
Sec. 302. New markets tax credit.
Sec. 303. Subpart F exception for active financing income.
Sec. 304. Extension of look-thru rule for related controlled foreign corporations.
Sec. 305. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements and qualified restaurant improvements; 15-year straight-line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space.
Sec. 306. Modification of tax treatment of certain payments to controlling exempt organizations.
Sec. 307. Basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property.
Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
Sec. 310. Extension of mine rescue team training credit.
Sec. 311. Extension of election to expense advanced mine safety equipment.
Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.
Sec. 313. Qualified zone academy bonds.
Sec. 314. Indian employment credit.
Sec. 315. Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations.
Sec. 316. Railroad track maintenance.
Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
Sec. 318. Expensing of environmental remediation costs.
Sec. 319. Extension of work opportunity tax credit for Hurricane Katrina employees.
Sec. 320. Extension of increased rehabilitation credit for structures in the Gulf Opportunity Zone.
Sec. 321. Enhanced deduction for qualified computer contributions.
Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory.
Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of book inventory.
Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.
Sec. 401. Permanent authority for undercover operations.
Sec. 402. Permanent authority for disclosure of information relating to terrorist activities.
Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit.
Sec. 502. Provisions related to film and television productions.
Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.
Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation.
Sec. 505. Certain farming business machinery and equipment treated as 5-year property.
Sec. 506. Modification of penalty on understatement of taxpayer’s liability by tax return preparer.
Sec. 512. Mental health parity.
Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination program.
Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund.
Sec. 702. Temporary tax relief for areas damaged by 2008 Midwestern severe storms, tornados, and flooding.
Sec. 703. Reporting requirements relating to disaster relief contributions.
Sec. 704. Temporary tax-exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax relief for areas damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Sec. 706. Losses attributable to federally declared disasters.
Sec. 707. Expensing of Qualified Disaster Expenses.
Sec. 708. Net operating losses attributable to federally declared disasters.
Sec. 709. Waiver of certain mortgage revenue bond requirements following federally declared disasters.
Sec. 710. Special depreciation allowance for qualified disaster property.
Sec. 711. Increased expensing for qualified disaster assistance property.
Sec. 712. Coordination with Heartland disaster relief.
Sec. 801. Nonqualified deferred compensation from certain tax indifferent parties.
And whether you’re for or against the $700 billion bailout bill, we could see passage if 12 of those that voted “nay” change their votes at the next meeting. And if you’re a bit peeved at having to pay for this bill, we’ve included phone numbers for each.
They, according to Yahoo News, could include:
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)
Phone: (202) 225-5034
According to reports, he was originally a “yea” vote but reversed it, and called for more hearings and debates on the bill.
Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.)
Phone: (202) 225-2871
Fax: (202) 225-6351
He voted against the bill, complaining that the debate had left “the final cost to taxpayers … uncertain” and said he would prefer an insurance plan to a bailout.
Rep. John B. Shadegg (R-Ariz.)
Phone: (202) 225-3361
Fax: (202) 225-3462
Shadegg, according to reports “wants changes in mark-to-market accounting rules and an increase in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. limits.”
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio)
Phone: (202) 225-5731
Fax: (202) 225-3307
He originally opposed the bill, and now wants to double the amount of FDIC insurance and allow U.S. companies “operating overseas to bring assets back to the United States.”
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.)
Phone: (202) 225-5816
Fax: (202) 225-3251
He “voted no because there were still ‘too many concepts’ and not enough details about taxpayer exposure.”
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.)
Phone: 202-225-3515
Fax: 202-225-9420
“Like many other Republicans on the Financial Services Committee, Biggert voted against the bill. But Biggert has said Congress needs to act, and she has expressed support for some sort of government-backed insurance plan that would allow business, rather than taxpayers, to assume more risk.”
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)
Phone: (202) 225-6235
“Becerra ultimately voted no because he “wanted to see direct protections for responsible homeowners” in the bill.”
Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.)
Phone: (202) 225-2939
Fax: (202) 225-4628
“Scott said after the vote that he could back the plan if 1 percent of the $700 billion were set aside in a program to prevent foreclosures.”
Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.)
Phone: (202) 225-5464
Fax: (202) 225-5467
“With foreclosures in her district nearly tripling in the past few months, Solis said she opposed the bailout because it ‘lacks needed reform of bankruptcy laws’ that may help keep people in their homes.”
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)
Phone: (202) 225-5965
Fax: (202) 225-3119
“While Berkley voted no, aides said she would be inclined to support the bill if it placed “tougher restrictions on CEO pay.” Aides also said she is looking for more specific language on the regulation of Wall Street.”
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.)
Phone: 202-225-3111
Fax: 202-225-5658
“Delahunt said he voted no because the bill would have done too much to help the firms that caused the problem. Delahunt wants to lessen the burden on taxpayers and has proposed assessing a transaction fee on lenders who turn over bad mortgage securities to the government.”
According to Cape Cod Times, “U.S. Rep. William Delahunt said the $700 billion financial bailout package he voted against yesterday simply didn’t do enough to help struggling homeowners.
Delahunt, D-Mass., who represents the Cape and Islands, said he opposed the bill because it aided the financial institutions that caused the crisis and held little relief for his constituents who were at risk of losing their homes.
He said the majority of Democrats in the House voted for the bill’s passage out of “grave concern” for their constituents and the economy as a whole, but politics aside, he felt his vote was the right one.
“It didn’t address the victims of the greed,” he said when reached by telephone last night in Quincy. “It was more focused on aiding the financial institutions and those who profited and benefited from them.”
Delahunt said that more time must be taken to craft a bill that includes assistance for homeowners, perhaps extending terms so people at risk of foreclosure can stay in their homes, or charging transaction fees to the financial institutions that participate in the plan, in order to take the burden off taxpayers who are being asked to foot the $700 billion bill.
“The financial institutions should pay, and they don’t want to do it,” he said. “We should take it out of their profits, not the income of ordinary Americans. Let’s hold them accountable.”
Delahunt said he did not know when the bill would be taken up again, but that discussions between Republican and Democratic leaders was continuing.
He said he hopes the bill’s defeat will give congressional leaders more leverage. He also said it is important to fully diagnose what caused the crisis.
“I’m confident we’ll come out with a better final solution than the one I felt compelled to vote against,” he said. ‘We’re going to get it done.'”
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.)
Phone: (202) 225-2801
Fax: (202) 225-5823
“Sandlin ultimately opposed it because she thought it would give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a ‘vast amount of power’ without “effective oversight.'”
