The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities holds conference call to compare the House and Senate housing relief tax packages

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held a conference call to compare the House and Senate housing relief tax packages. Aviva Aron-Dine, Barbara Sard, and Robert Greenstein, executive director of CBPP spoke during the briefing. (47:32)
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#1 issue is energy dependence, Congressman Davis says

In response to my question, what one aspect of the war do you feel is most important, Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) says we have not had a national strategy since the days of the Cold War. We need to step back and have objectives ranging from diplomacy to economics to security. The number one issue, he says, is energy dependence. If we use our natural resources and become an energy exporter, that would give us tremendous leverage and reduce economic incentives in many of the OPEC nations. (1:24)
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Obama says to stop spending money in Iraq, rebuild American infrastructure instead

At the CWA conference, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) says America must focus on rebuilding its own infrastructure and proposes a national infrastructure reconstruction bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years for that purpose. He says if America can spend $400 million per day in Iraq and $10 billion a month rebuilding a foreign nation, it can spend $10 billion domestically to put citizens back to work and restructure the economy. (1:00)
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Chairman Bernanke says he remains confident in the economy's prospects

Chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors Ben Bernanke testified at the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on "The Economic Outlook," saying clearly the U.S. economy is going through a very difficult period, but among the great strength of our economy is its ability to adapt. Much necessary economic adjustments has already taken place, he says, and he remains confident in our economy's long-term prospects. (:25)
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Chairman Bernanke says failure of Bear Stearns would have severely shaken confidence

Chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors Ben Bernanke testified at the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on "The Economic Outlook," saying normally the market sorts out which companies survive and which fail. However, he says, our financial system is extremely complex and interconnected, and financial conditions are fragile, so the sudden failure of Bear Stearns likely "would have led to a chaotic unwinding of positions in those markets and could have severely shaken confidence." (:30)
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Chairman Bernanke says he expects economic activity to strengthen

Chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors Ben Bernanke testified at the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on "The Economic Outlook," saying overall, the near-tern economic outlook has weakened relative to the projections released by the FOMC, and it now appears likely that GDP will not grow much if at all. We expect economic activity to strengthen in the second half of the year, he says, and growth is expected to proceed at its sustainable pace in 2009. (:46)
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More regulation cannot stop market cycles, but can help, says Treasury Secretary

Treasury Secretary Paulson says that more regulation is not the answer and cannot prevent market "disruptions," but he suggests a more flexible approach will allow better protection of consumers and investors, and allow U.S. markets to continue to be competitive. (0:37)
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Financial regulatory changes not reaction to current troubles, says Secretary Paulson

Treasury Secretary Paulson says that the new Blueprint for Regulatory Reform are not reactions to current troubles and should not be implemented hastily, but instead reflect long-term concerns and should be thoughtfully implemented. (0:33)
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Money Well Spent? Professor Linda Bilmes Discusses the Cost of War In Iraq

Professor and author Linda Bilmes of Harvard University discusses the cost of war in Iraq. (0:47)
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Conference Call: Center for American Progress Action Fund Discusses Main Points of McCain Speech

The Center for American Progress Action Fund hosts a phone call discussing the main points behind McCain's substance-free housing speech. (12:05)
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Secretary Spellings Addresses Chairman George Miller (D-CA) On Student Loans

Secretary of the Department of Education, Margaret Spellings, addresses Rep. George Miller (D-CA) at House Education and Labor Committee hearing on ensuring the availability of federal student loans. (0:37)
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Senator Gordon and Bill Gates Discuss Need to Ensure U.S.' Share of Global Technological Progress

At a House Science and Technology Committee hearing, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Chairman Senator Bart Gordon (D-TN) discussed the benefits of any technological progress for the whole world, but stressed steps needed to maintain the United States' share of that research (0:40)
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Bill Gates : Global Economy is like the Olympics

At a House Science and Technology Committee hearing, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates stated that American students will compete with foreign students in the global economy regardless of whether they are allowed to study in the U.S. Rejecting foreign students cannot cut out competition (1:08)
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Bill Gates : U.S. Universities Are No. 1, But Immigration Policy Expels Best Talent

At a House Science and Technology Committee hearing, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates claimed that though U.S. schools and federal research investments provide the best education in the world, immigration policy prevents the best foreign born students (60% of math and science graduates) from working in the U.S. (0:40)
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Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Voices His Opinion on the American Economy Facing Recession

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) voices his opinion on the recession-faced American economy at Joint Economic Committee hearing concerning rising unemployment rates. (0:37)
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Princeton Economics Prof. Alan Krueger says 600,000 jobs lost in 8 month period

Princeton University professor of Economics Alan Krueger spoke to The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee at a hearing today to discuss “Unemployment in a Volatile Economy: How to Secure Families and Build Opportunity.” He revealed a rise in the unemployment rate from 4.4% in March 2007 to 4.9% as of January 2008 totalling a loss of about 600,000 jobs.
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Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Sheila C. Bair on model-driven capital under Basel II

Ms. Bair details how the problem with model-driven capital under Basel II is that it relies on past performance, and they are only as good as data you put into them. Because it is based on past performance, it will not tell you how economic circumstances will change. Anticipation of worst-case scenarios is something currently being addressed. (1:07)
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Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke Discusses Housing Foreclosure Problems at House Financial Services Committee Hearing

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke discusses housing foreclosure problems at House Financial Services Committee hearing on monetary policy and the state of the American economy. (0:25)
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Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke Discusses the Stimulus Package at House Financial Services Committee Hearing

Chairman of the Board of Governers of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, discusses the Stimulus Package at House Financial Services Committee hearing on monetary policy and the state of the economy. (0:30)
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Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke Discusses the Global Response to Worldwide Economic Troubles at Senate Banking Committee Hearing

Chairman Ben Bernanke talks about the global nature of the current downward trends in housing and credit markets and describes the types of efforts being made jointly by the U.S. and other nations to address and correct them. (1:00)
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