Category: Maine
U.S Lawmakers Richer in 2007
WEALTH
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/29/08
WASHINGTON – The American economy may be gloomy this year, but for members of Congress, the previous two years weren’t at all bad. In fact, the lawmakers’ collective wealth increased by 13 percent from 2006 to last year, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Among them, Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe was ranked the 20th richest member of Congress and the 8th wealthiest senator, with an average net worth of $33,308,537, an increase of 76 percent over her 2006 average net worth of $18,963,031.
“The change in the value of the 2007 holdings was chiefly due to the increase in value of her husband’s stock in the company he works for,” said John Gentzel, spokesman for Snowe.
Snowe’s husband, John McKernan, is the executive chairman and chairman of the board of directors of Education Management Corp., a Pennsylvania-based provider of private post-secondary education.
McKernan also served as the corporation’s chief executive officer until February 2007. He represented Maine in the U.S. House before becoming a two-term governor of the state.
According to Gentzel, “the information relating to assets and transactions includes her husband’s enterprises.”
Sen. Susan Collins, on the other hand, was one of the “poorest” senators, ranked 89th out of 100 with an average net worth of $247,502, the lowest among the Maine delegation members.
Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud ranked 276th among the 435 House members, with $375,009. Democratic Rep. Tom Allen ranked 225th, with $626,006.
“It is not surprising that his ranking is 276th,” Monica Castellanos, Michaud’s spokeswoman, said. “When he first ran for Congress in 2002, he did so because there were so many millionaires in Congress. He believed that it was important that working families had someone to represent them who shared their experiences.”
Snowe is the only member of the delegation whose wealth increased from 2006 to 2007. Michaud’s wealth decreased, from $505,011 in 2006 to $375,009 in 2007. Collins’ and Allen’s reported average net worth was the same for both years.
“As reported on her financial disclosure form that is available to the public, Sen. Collins is not among the wealthy members of Congress,” Jen Burita, Collins’ spokeswoman, said.
The Center for Responsive Politics’ analysis is based on the Congress members’ personal financial reports, which they are required to file every year. The 2007 numbers are the most recent available. The analysis is available on the Center’s Web site, opensecrets.org,
The financial statements are reported within a fairly wide range, so that only an approximation of a member’s net worth is available. Thus Snowe’s net worth in 2007 could have been as low as $15,018,074 or as high as $51,599,001, for an average net worth of $33,308,537.
“Worries about the economy that most members of Congress are feeling right now are likely coming from their constituents,” Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director, said in a news release. “Most members have a comfortable financial cushion to ride out any recession.”
According to the analysis, senators were the wealthiest Congress members, with a median net worth of approximately $1.7 million in 2007.
Massachusetts Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy claimed two of the top three spots. Kerry was the richest senator, with $336 million. Kennedy ranked third, with $104 million, behind Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) with $241.5 million.
In the House, though the median net worth was about $684,000, 39 percent of the members had net worth last year estimated to be at least $1 million.
Center analysts point out that the numbers actually may be higher than members’ financial statements disclose.
Dan Auble, who manages the center’s database of lawmakers’ financial information, said that some valuable information is not required to be disclosed, such as the value of any residences, unless they produce an income.
“Members of Congress don’t make it easy for the public to keep tabs on their personal holdings and any conflicts of interest those holdings present,” Auble said in a press release.
Because the statements were only for 2007, the report does not include any possible losses related to the current financial crisis and cannot be used to determine the current value of lawmakers’ holdings.
“Unless they divested before the recent market downturn, their portfolios are almost certainly worth less now,” according to the center’s news release.
“I am not privy to the details of the senator’s personal finances, but I know the senator has been negatively affected by the financial crisis just like anyone else who is invested in the stock market,” Gentzel, the Snowe spokesman, said.
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$112 Million Allocation for Coastal Enterprises to Aid Community Development
CEI
Bangor Daily News
Guanlei Ren
Boston University Washington News Service
October 28, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Coastal Enterprises Inc., a Wiscasset-based community development organization, has received a federal allocation of $112 million that will allow it to help finance small businesses and development projects in low-income communities.
“Coastal Enterprises continues to provide invaluable services to communities throughout Maine,” Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins said in a joint statement on Oct. 20. “Investing in affordable housing and community development in Maine’s rural and underserved areas will provide an opportunity for economic revitalization.”
The New Markets Tax Credit program, which Congress established in 2000, is aimed at spurring revitalization efforts of low-income and impoverished communities across the United States by providing federal income tax credits to investors.
For Coastal Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create jobs by helping to finance small businesses in primarily rural regions of Maine, this is the fifth New Markets Tax Credit allocation it has received, bringing its total to $481 million.
“We receive the tax credit allocation that can be applied to significant investment that qualifies for the program,” said Charlie Spies, the managing director at Coastal Enterprises Capital Management LLC. “We receive allocations but we don’t actually receive dollars.”
Coastal Enterprises Capital Management, a for-profit subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises, helps attract capital to low-income areas using the federal program. Companies or individuals who invest in Coastal Enterprises’ projects that are part of the program receive a federal income tax credit of 39 percent of the amount invested. The tax credit is spread over seven years.
The tax credits provide an incentive to investors to make investments in rural small businesses and low-income communities, Spies said. Under the latest allocation, tax credits can be applied to up to $112 million of investments. If the full allocation is used it would result in tax credits totaling $43.7 million.
Using the tax credit program, Coastal Enterprises already has helped finance 23 projects in the northeastern United States, using $235.5 million of its allocation capacity. This has triggered private capital investment in low-income communities of more than $771 million, according to the company’s Web site.
The 23 projects cover a wide range of industries, such as fishing, insurance, construction and especially sustainable timberlands development and forest conservation.
“We’re finding in our own practice that we are able to help businesses in these communities because getting projects finished, especially now with tight credit markets, is very valuable,” Spies said.
Maine Mutual Group, an insurance company, and Hampton Inn are two projects in Presque Isle that benefited from the program. The insurance company expanded its headquarters building and upgraded its technology infrastructure, allowing the company to hire an additional 45 employees, according to the project’s summary provided by Coastal Enterprises Capital Management.
A new Hampton Inn under construction in Presque Isle will be the first “national brand” hotel in Presque Isle. Using an $11 million allocation, BLD Hospitality is building a 93-room hotel that is planned to open in July 2009. About 40 jobs are expected to be created.
Roger Beaulieu, a managing member of BLD Hospitality, said building the hotel in the current economy is a huge risk.
“With the New Markets Tax Credits, it’s worth taking that risk, because it gave us a better way to financing, which enables us to afford taking that risk,” Beaulieu said. “So if we hadn’t got the New Market Tax Credits, we probably wouldn’t have built the hotel up there.”
More projects are under consideration, Spies said. “We are working on a way to do projects for or do financing for smaller businesses at the half a million dollar range. That is a product that we’re hoping we can roll out before the end of the year.”
“That is the way we are trying to expand use of the program to allow smaller companies to take advantage of it as well,” Spies said.
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Maine’s 1st District Candidate Pingree Raised Most Money
FEC Maine House
Bangor Daily News
Guanlei Ren
Boston University Washington News Service
October 22, 2008
WASHINGTON — Democrat Chellie Pingree raised $141,966 more than Republican Charlie Summers in Maine’s 1st District House race in the quarter ending Sept. 30, bringing her fundraising total for the campaign to $1,977,732, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The Pingree campaign raised $382,947 from July to September and had $358,628 to spend as of Sept. 30. Summers raised $240,981 during the third quarter, bringing his total receipts to $530,353, with $137,382 cash on hand.
The two are competing for the House seat Democratic Rep. Tom Allen is leaving to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins next month.
Much of Pingree’s money was raised before the June 10 Democratic primary. According to filings with the commission, Pingree, who won the six-way primary race with 44 percent of the vote, raised $1.59 million and spent $1.4 million as of June 30.
Adam Cote, who came in second in the Democratic primary with 28 percent of the vote, raised $660,471 as of June 30, the second-highest amount raised for the primary.
Pingree faced a number of strong opponents in the primary, said Mark Brewer, assistant professor of political science at the University of Maine. “And running a competitive race in that primary campaign certainly was going to cost money,” Brewer said. “So I think it was certainly appropriate to raise that much.”
The biggest expense has been television advertising, said Willy Ritch, the Pingree campaign spokesperson. “It’s expensive to buy TV time,” he said.
Ritch said that nearly one-third of the third-quarter donations came from online contributions and more than 700 persons were first-time contributors. Altogether nearly 5,000 people contributed to the campaign, 77 percent of whom gave less than $200, Ritch said. The names of persons who contribute less than $200 are not required to be reported in the filings with the election commission.
“Chellie continues to build momentum, and she has a tremendous amount of grassroots support,” Ritch said in a statement. “Every day new supporters come to the campaign.”
Summers’ campaign manager, Chris Averill, said the majority of their third-quarter contributors were new to the campaign.
“Voters aren’t going to vote on how much each campaign has raised,” Averill said. “They are going to vote on issues that matter to them and messages that they hear from each campaign and each candidate about solutions they have to deal with our problems that we have in America and challenges we face.”
Pingree was first elected in 1992 to the Maine Senate and became Maine’s second female Senate majority leader in 1996. In 2002 she ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Susan Collins and lost by 16 percentage points. Pingree also served as president and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan citizens’ lobbying group based in Washington.
Pingree’s name recognition and long history in Maine politics helps her to raise money, Brewer said. Pingree also is more successful at raising money because she is recognized as the front runner, Brewer said. And her work in Washington also built connections with out-of-state donors, he said.
According to OpenSecrets.org, a nonpartisan Web site that analyzes money and elections, Pingree has raised 65 percent of her campaign funds outside of Maine.
One of the out-of-state contributors is Colorado resident Susan Schutz, founder of Blue Mountain Arts, a company that produces greeting cards, who contributed $2,300, according to filings with the commission. Schutz has donated more than $200,000 in the last 10 years to the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates across the country, including her son Jared Polis, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Colorado’s 2nd District.
According to the filings with the commission, about 91 percent of Pingree’s campaign fund came from individual contributions and eight percent were from political action committee contributions, $1,805,421 and $165,258 respectively.
Among 21 committees that contributed $5,000—the maximum legal contribution per calendar year—19 are located in Washington, such as the Human Rights Campaign PAC and Women’s Political Committee.
“Money is important in terms of being able to wage a credible campaign,” Brewer said. “But I would say money doesn’t generally determine outcomes.”
In the 2nd District, Democrat Rep. Michael Michaud raised $118,137 during the most recent three-month period, according to filings with the commission. He has raised a total of $748,293 and had $455,191 cash to spend as of Sept. 30.
Republican John Frary reported third-quarter fundraising of $76,288, bringing his total to $221,939, with $15,962 cash on hand. All but $13,227 that the campaign has raised comes from the candidate himself.
“The money I spent comes almost entirely from my own savings,” Frary said. “I didn't wish to have any special interest PAC or union contributions.”
He said his money was spent almost entirely on advertisements in local newspapers throughout the district and he would keep spending on advertisements.
“My plan … is to go wherever I'm invited to address a crowd of people,” Frary said.
Michaud campaign manager Greg Olson said: “It’s certainly an interesting political environment. People are very concerned about the economy. We are going to campaign hard for the next several weeks, meeting the voters and asking them to send Michaud back to Congress.”
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Maine to Get $79 Million in Heating Assistance
MAINE LIHEAP
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/16/08
WASHINGTON – Maine will receive $79.2 million in the new fiscal year to finance the federal program of heating assistance to low-income families, which would help more than 80,000 households to pay their energy bills, according to the Maine State Housing Authority.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe announced Thursday that President Bush directed the Department of Health and Human Services to release $5.1 billion nationwide for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“This is very good news,” Collins said in a statement. “This impending winter will bring a sharp increase in applications for LIHEAP assistance. This funding will go a long way to helping low-income Mainers stay warm this winter.”
The State Housing Authority is getting $49.5 million in base funding and $29.7 million in emergency funding. The latter amount, the 5th highest among all states, is set aside and may be used in case of extreme cold winter or an extreme rise in heating oil prices.
In 2008, Maine received $46 million to help low-income families pay their energy bill. The new total represents a 72 percent increase over last year.
“We are delighted,” said Dale McCormick, director of the Maine Housing Authority. “It is going to allow us to keep the benefits of last year’s amount and serve about 33,000 more households.”
“It was essential for the administration to identify the heating oil burden as a critical and timely priority and to fund the program accordingly,” Snowe said in a press release.
Even though there is a sharp increase in funds, Maine’s eligible families will actually receive a little less assistance because the administration also modified the eligibility requirements to increase the number of eligible recipients.
Previously, to be eligible a family had to earn no more than 170 percent of the poverty level or 60 percent of the state median income.
Dan Simpson, spokesman for the State Housing Authority, said that under the new requirements, a family must now earn no more than 230 percent of the poverty level or 75 percent of the state median income.
Simpson said that about 50,000 households received an average $779 from the program last year. In 2009, 84,000 families will receive an average of about $722.
“We have more money to get spread over more people, so the average benefit is going to stay about the same,” McCormick said. “But we are going to target the money to the neediest households.”
Last year the program assisted 4.5 million low-income families nationally, or only about 15 percent of eligible families.
The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming said last month that home heating oil prices were expected to reach a record $4.60 per gallon this winter, which would mean a $4,000 average heating bill for families.
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Low Foreclosure Numbers in Maine Don’t Mean Ease for Homeowners
FORECLOSURE
Bangor Daily News
Guanlei Ren
Boston University Washington News Service
October 10, 2008
WASHINGTON— Maine’s foreclosure rate is low compared with other states. But homeowners facing foreclosure still need help, state officials say.
Of the 435 congressional districts nationally, Maine’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts rank 402nd and 388th respectively on the list of worst rates of foreclosures per household, according to www.hotpads.com, a real estate search engine.
“We are not experiencing the same rate of foreclosure in Maine that other states are experiencing; that is true,” said Will Lund, superintendent of Maine's Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. “I think it is a combination of more conservative borrowing and more conservative lending than in other states. Maine consumers tend to be a little bit more traditional in terms of the product they are interested in.”
According to an online marketplace for foreclosure properties--RealtyTrac, which Lund called “the best source of information” on foreclosures--303,879 U.S. properties filed for foreclosures in August, a 12 percent increase from the previous month and a 27 percent increase from August 2007.
In Maine, with one in every 2,966 households filing for foreclosure, the foreclosure rate declined in August. Its foreclosure rate ranked 43rd among the 50 states. In all, 233 properties filed for foreclosure in August, a nine percent decrease from July, but still 61 percent above the level reported for August 2007.
Dan Simpson, public information manager for the Maine State Housing Authority, said: “We have a low foreclosure rate on our own home loans because, while our typical borrowers have below-average incomes, we have not made sub-prime loans and we work with our borrowers to try and avoid foreclosure.”
A study based on 2008 first-quarter numbers by Maine’s Bureau of Financial Institutions also found “foreclosure numbers remain relatively small and do not pose a threat to the stability of state-chartered banks and credit unions.”
The second-quarter figures probably will come out by the end of this month, according to Lloyd P. LaFountain III, superintendent at the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions.
So far, he said, the national financial crisis hasn’t affected credit unions, and loans are still available.
“However, that is not to say that the situation is not serious in Maine for those people who are affected,” Lund said. “For consumers who are facing foreclosure, it’s not much consolation for them that the overall rate of foreclosure is not as great in Maine as it is in other states.”
According to a national delinquency survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, there were 4,912 loans in the foreclosure process in Maine out of 143,468 loans as of the second quarter. The Maine’ foreclosure inventory rate for all loans, 2.91 percent, is a little higher than the national average rate of 2.75 percent and significantly higher than Maine’s 2007 rate of 1.77 percent.
Simpson said that the state “also instituted a program at the start of this year called MaineHOPE [Home Ownership Protection against Unemployment] that provides our borrowers with four months’ worth of mortgage payments if they become unemployed through no fault of their own.”
On Sept. 26 and Oct. 1, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development announced two programs aimed to relieve the foreclosure problems.
The $3.92 billion neighborhood stabilization program allocated $19.6 million for Maine to assist local governments in acquiring and redeveloping foreclosed properties.
The HOPE for Homeowners program would help borrowers refinance into more affordable loans to prevent foreclosures.
“I think lenders are anxious to participate,” Lund said. “Lenders do not really benefit from foreclosures.” Bu in many states, he said, such programs are “only reaching less than 5 percent of all the eligible cases.”
“So although there’s been a lot of talk and although I would certainly encourage any program to do whatever it can,” Lund said, “the facts and figures may indicate that only a small percentage of consumers are actually being helped by the programs that are currently in place.”
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New Regulation to Protect the North Atlantic Right Whales
WHALES
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/09/08
WASHINGTON – The endangered North Atlantic right whales will soon benefit from greater protection thanks to a new regulation which will reduce the speed at which large commercial ships can travel along the East Coast.
Although the regulations won’t affect ships traveling in Maine waters, the state’s lobstermen’s association welcomed the news as the recognition that both fishing and shipping industries should share responsibility for protection of the right whales.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, which issued the regulation, said its goal is to reduce collisions between North Atlantic right whales and ships, one of the most common human-related causes of the mammal's death.
"There are only 300 to 400 left in the world," Connie Barclay, spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries, said of the right whales. "They are slow-moving and very vulnerable to ship collision. She said several whales are killed every year as a result of being hit by ships.
Ships will be required to stay at speeds below 10 knots in certain coastal regions. The regulation will take effect in two months and apply to ships of 65 feet or longer within 20 miles of the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida, an area where the right whales feed, reproduce and migrate.
The new rule is part of NOAA’s ongoing efforts to protect the whales which include aerial whale surveillance and a mandatory ship reporting system.
The North Atlantic right whales have been on the endangered species list since 1973, according to NOAA. That same year, they were also designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The speed reduction won’t apply to Maine because the concentration of right whales is not great enough in the waters off the state’s coast according to Vicki Cornish, vice-president of the marine wildlife conservation at the Ocean Conservancy.
However, The Maine Lobstermen’s Association supports the passage of the regulation.
For the past 10 years there have been a number of federal rules and restrictions on fishing gear that have applied to Maine fishermen, according to Patrice McCarron, executive president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
These are designed to prevent whales’ entanglement in fishing gear, the other most common cause of whale deaths.
McCarron said the group supports ship speed reduction because the fishing industry should not be singled out for restrictions and both threats should be addressed.
“If the shipping industry is having a negative impact, it should have some restrictions as well,” McCarron said. “The precedent is good. We all need to step up to the plate and do something.”
Both Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe and Democratic Rep. Tom Allen said they were pleased with the rule.
“There is an unquestionable need to reduce the occurrence of right whale ship strikes,” Snowe said in a press release. “For years, Maine lobstermen have made considerable efforts to abide by new fishing gear rules, so it is highly appropriate to address other causes of whales’ mortality.”
The regulation “ensures that all parties, not just lobstermen, are working hard to conserve our natural resources,” Allen said in a press release.
The new NOAA rule will be up for renewal in five years, after scientists assess the effectiveness of the restrictions.
The Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife and the Ocean Conservancy who have been pushing for the rule’s implementation, said they were satisfied but disappointed the rule was not made permanent.
“We are very happy that the speed restrictions are in place on the East Coast, the need has been known for seven years,” Cornish said. “But we do feel like the agency made some pretty big compromises by reducing the restriction areas and adding a five year provision. It could cause NOAA to stop the rule early and we are concerned about that.”
Barclay said that the five year provision would allow NOAA scientists to assess how the rule is working.
“It’s a complicated issue,” she said. “It gives us more time and a chance to improve the rule.”
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Allen and Michaud Disagree on the Financial Rescue Plan
MAINE VOTE
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/03/08
WASHINGTON – Maine’s Democratic congressmen Mike Michaud and Tom Allen repeated their Monday votes on Friday as the House approved 263 to 171 the Senate version of the $700 billion financial rescue plan. Michaud, who voted against the House plan that failed on Monday, again cast a no vote while Allen again voted for the government bailout.
“I am not surprised in the vote but I am very disappointed,” Michaud said after the vote. “It’s a travesty. I do believe we had to act swiftly but this bill is deeply flawed. It did little to change the White House plan.”
Michaud said he regretted the House Rules Committee, in charge of deciding how and when a bill comes to the floor, refused to add amendments to the Senate bill, which he said lacks sufficient protection for taxpayers.
“If we were able to have amendments, they would have passed,” he said. “There were some good ideas in the air. Now, we have superficial safeguards and they know it.”
Allen said in a statement that the House “took necessary action.”
“I believe that Congress acted today in the best manner possible to protect Mainers and all Americans from further financial deterioration,” he said. “I am proud to have worked with members from both parties to build consensus and pass this critically important legislation.”
U.S House members cheered with applause as the House approved the Senate version of the bailout plan early Friday afternoon. In a rather unusual fast move, President George Bush signed the bill two hours later.
Allen and Michaud each said the Senate added too many extra provisions to the bill, such as $110 billion in tax breaks.
“The Senate did not provide sufficient offsets for these measures, increasing the deficit even further,” Allen said. “Our national debt has skyrocketed over the past eight years, contributing to the situation we are in today, and it is time to reverse that trend.”
Michaud also underscored the fact that the plan will put the budget debt limit to $11.3 trillion, whereas the country already faces huge trade deficits and high costs with Medicare and Social Security.
“As a nation, we are putting ourselves in a very tough situation,” Michaud said. “People are suffering, they have problems putting oil in their tanks yet we are going to spend $700 billion to bail out these large corporations.”
Both Maine representatives said they hope the new Congress will improve oversight and taxpayer safeguards when it comes to the financial markets.
“We must change the way that Wall Street has been operating so that Main Street can prosper once again,” Allen said. “This bill is just the first step in rebuilding our economy. Congress must continue to evaluate and modernize financial regulations to ensure that a similar situation will not reoccur.”
“It is definitely time for a change,” Michaud said. “I will be looking forward to putting corporate governance on top of the agenda as well as a new trade policy. There is too much greed on Wall Street and K Street. The American people are fed up.”
K Street in Washington is where many lobbyists have their offices.
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Allen to Vote for Rescue Plan, Michaud Undecided
RESUCE
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/02/08
WASHINGTON – With the House likely to vote Friday on the financial rescue plan, Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud, who voted against the plan Monday, said Thursday he was undecided about how to vote on the Senate-approved version.
“We have a long way to go,” Michaud said in an interview. “The fact is that this is being rushed. [Treasury Secretary Henry ]Paulson and [Federal Reserve chairman Ben] Bernanke said we have to get things through. Any time we try to move with the fear factor, we don’t get good legislation.”
Democratic Rep. Tom Allen, who voted for the bill on Monday, said he will support the new version, and he urged House approval.
Allen, in a statement on Thursday, said that though he supported many of the changes that the Senate made to the proposal, he regretted so many were added.
“I do not believe it was necessary to laden this particular bill with unrelated measures,” Allen said. “Many of the provisions added by the Senate could have and should have been considered separately on their own merits.”
“It is imperative that Congress act responsibly to prevent any further deterioration to the financial underpinnings of our economy,” he said. “The plan the House rejected on Monday was not perfect, but it was a vast improvement over the proposal President Bush submitted.”
In addition to giving $700 billion to the Treasury secretary to buy troubled assets from banks, establishing an oversight board and authorizing safety measures for taxpayers, the Senate-approved version of the bill includes $111 million in energy-related and other tax breaks and a one-year increase in the cap on government deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per account.
It also would provide relief from the alternative minimum tax and authorize $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.
Michaud said he was pleased that the Senate version includes the deposit insurance increase but still had concerns about the overall plan. He criticized the Senate’s move to attach the tax package to the financial rescue plan.
“The tax package should not be included; this has nothing to do with the issue” he said. “These are more unfunded measures that would put a burden on future generations.”
Michaud said he would like to see provisions ensuring that taxpayers would recoup from the financial market and that the government act to address relief for homeowners from the mortgage crunch.
“We have to put that in there,” Michaud said.
He said he was scheduled to meet with the Democratic caucus and with House leaders on Thursday evening to discuss possible changes to the Senate version.
“I am still waiting to hear from the leadership,” Michaud said. “The other question is what bill would it be? The Democratic leadership has not made any comments. It could be the same bill [as the Senate version] or another.”
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McCain Campaign is Moving to Maine
CAMPAIGN
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
10/02/08
WASHINGTON –John McCain’s campaign announced Thursday that it will move resources and staff to Maine to challenge Barack Obama in the Democrat-leaning state.
“We are opening up an aggressive front in Maine, where we have strong numbers and where they split their electoral votes,” Mike DuHaime, political director of the campaign, said in a conference call.
Maine, which has four electoral votes, splits those votes by districts. Nebraska is the only other state in that situation.
The announcement came as the campaign decided to scale back resources in Michigan and move them to other states, such as Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
DuHaime and Greg Strimple, a senior campaign adviser, included Maine in a number of states they say were “not safe in any direction.”
They said Maine was one of several states where centrist Democrats have been successful, while underscoring that Obama is not one of them.
“Obama is the most liberal senator,” DuHaime said. “So we feel very confident in these states.”
According to the Associated Press, the McCain campaign checked advertising rates in Maine this week.
Strimple said that the campaign had its best fund-raising month in September since last year and therefore was looking for a “very aggressive last 30 days.”
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Snowe, Collins Glad Senate Bill Has Passed
BAILOUT
Bangor Daily News
Maite Jullian
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 1, 2008
WASHINGTON — Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine welcomed with gravity the U.S. Senate’s passage Wednesday night of a revamped $700 billion financial rescue plan.
“I feel like I did the right thing but I am sad,” Snowe said. “The American people didn’t deserve this.”
“It shows that when confronted with a serious economic crisis, the Congress can come together in a bipartisan way,” Collins said. “This legislation is necessary in order to avert an economic catastrophe that would have devastating consequences for anyone who relies on credit.”
Collins and Snowe said the modified version of the bill addressed the concerns they had.
“Compared to the Treasury proposal, there is much stronger oversight and accountability,” Collins said. “Those changes were critical to me supporting the bill.”
Both senators said they supported the Senate version of the bill that the House defeated Monday in part because of the additional protections for taxpayers, the curbs on executive compensation, and stronger accountability. The plan limits corporate tax deductions on executive compensation in excess of $500,000 and on golden parachutes.
“What we can do is ensure taxpayers are protected and these protections are embedded in this legislation,” Snowe said. “Then we’ll have to find out who is responsible. Somebody has to be responsible.”
The major changes to the House bailout plan is a one-year increase in the cap on federal deposit insurance, from $100,000 to $250,000, for banks and credit union accounts, and the extension of business and individual tax breaks that had expired.
The Senate financial rescue plan’s extension of tax breaks for businesses and individuals includes tax credits for the production and use of renewable energy sources.
Snowe said she supported the tax package attached to the plan but expressed doubts regarding the future of the plan.
“I don’t know if it’s going to work for or against us,” she said. “I guess somebody thought it would help us.”
The major provision of the bailout plan, giving $700 billion to the treasury secretary to buy troubled assets from banks, remains unchanged, as do provisions establishing an oversight board and creating safety measures for taxpayers.
The rescue plan is now headed to the House, where lawmakers are expected to vote on Friday on the modified version of the bill. Maine’s Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud split their votes on the original bailout plan Monday when Michaud joined the majority in defeating the measure that Allen supported.
The bill’s failure that day echoed in the financial markets with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging by 778 points, the most ever for a single day.
Snowe and Collins hope the House will pass the modified version Friday to avoid further consequences on American families and the economy.
“I am absolutely worried about the consequences if it doesn’t pass the House,” Snowe said.
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