|
Friday, April 18, 2008
DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- April 18, 2008
Economy -- 9 in 10 Americans Negative on Economy: A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that nine in 10 Americans -- including a wide majority of Republicans -- now give the economy a negative rating, with a majority saying it is in "poor" shape, the most to say so in more than 15 years. Republicans are even sour about the efficacy of the stimulus tax rebate, with 68 percent saying it will fail to abate the slowdown, an increase of 21 points since February. Story.
Earmarks -- Senate Asks DOJ to Probe Don Young Earmark: Yesterday, the Senate voted 64-28 to call for a review by the Department of Justice of criminal allegations arising from the insertion of an earmark into the 2005 highway bill between final passage and President Bush's signature. The earmark here is a $10 million expenditure for a Florida highway interchange backed by Rep. Don Young (R-AK), former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Story .
Taxes -- House Rejects Senate Farm Bill PAYGO Deal: House farm bill conferees rejected a Senate package of $2.5 billion in tax credits for land conservation and alternative energy to offset new spending in the bill. House negotiators said that that the tax credits would expire too soon to be PAYGO compliant. Overall, the Senate plan would add an extra $10 billion above the farm bill's $560 billion baseline. Farm Bill Wikipedia Entry.
Posted by Dana Chasin
|