Ambulance Called In: Health Care Reform In Serious Condition

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Senate Democrats are pushing to get a health care reform bill moving forward and closer to passage. Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s efforts to improve the healthcare system. Dodd is leading the committee’s mark-up of the health reform bill and said over 200 amendments to the bill have been made in the past five days.

The Senators appeared in front of an ambulance that featured the words "Pass Health Care Reform." The ambulance from Families USA included a ticker of the number of families losing health care coverage.

“The present situation on health care is not just unacceptable, it’s unsustainable from an economic standpoint. You cannot have as much of our gross domestic product be consumed by health care costs [that are] mounting everyday in this nation and expect our economy to thrive and prosper in the years ahead. This is the issue that makes our economic recovery, in the long term, the most difficult,” said Dodd.

Murray said reform is not just for the uninsured since families with health care coverage are having to pay for those without. The current system is not working, according to Murray, who assured that Congress will “do what’s right for America.”

Dodd said he would like to have the bill out of the committee before the Senate’s July 4th recess, but noted that doing so may pose a challenge.

“I would love to complete all of it but realistically it may be impossible to get all of that done,” said Dodd. “I hope during the 4th of July break what we have done already could be melded with what the Finance Committee is dealing with so they don’t lose the opportunity of time over the following week.”

Dodd Stresses Consumer Protection

Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said that consumers must be protected from "dangerous financial products." He praises Obama's plan to establish an independent Consumer Protection Agency, which will guard against unscrupulous financiers. (0:50)

Dodd Applauds Obama’s Financial Regulatory Proposals

Speaking to a group of reporters following the President’s speech on overhauling the nation’s financial regulatory system, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) called Obama’s plan a “step in the right direction.”

Dodd described the President’s plan, which would give the Federal Reserve the ability to monitor risky investments made by financial companies, as an effort to reinvigorate the marketplace.

Although the Senator admitted that there is “not a lot of confidence in the Fed right now,” he professed that the agency has the necessary experience to properly assume this new responsibility. Dodd added that “sitting around, hoping things will work,” should not be the President’s way of dealing with this nation’s current financial mess.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who joined Dodd in speaking to reporters afterwards, took a swipe at Republicans, accusing them of turning a blind eye over the years as major financial companies made risky investments.

During his speech, President Obama described his plan as a means of “leveling the playing field,” for investors, both big and small. The President stressed his desire to promote free and fair markets by closing loopholes that exist in the current financial system. Specifically, Obama suggested it was time to crack down on intricate financial instruments such as derivatives, which he described as being “so complex, it’s impossible to know their actual value.”

The President also spoke of the need to move the country away from a bubble-based economy, adding that it is the duty of his administration to prevent scenarios in which private innovation negatively impacts the marketplace.

Obama also proposed holding mortgage bankers to higher standards, requiring hedge fund advisors to register with the FCC and creating an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency to eliminate small print and ‘gotcha’ clauses found in mortgages, credit card and other financial agreements.

The President referred to these proposals as “common sense rules.”

When Will The Government Get Out Of The Auto Industry And How Soon?

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Serive

The U.S. federal government is working to construct an orderly exit from its involvement with the automobile industry, while stabilizing the auto giants and saving jobs, said Ron Bloom, a senior advisor at the U.S. Treasury Department.

Bloom testified today before the Senate Banking Committee, along with Dr. Edward Montgomery, White House Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.
 
Committee Chairman, U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) explained that the hearing was unique. He said it was the first time it would have the opportunity to hear directly from Obama administration officials in charge of supervising federal assistance to the auto industry. 

“Let us remember-Not too long ago, it seems an American could walk a city block without sensing the strength of an American automaker’s brand. Their labels adorned buses, railcars, and aircraft. They dominated the U.S. automobile market,” said Dodd. “Today, those images have faded. For the first time, the domestic market share for Ford, Chrysler and GM has slipped below 50 percent, going form 66 percent in 2001 to just 47 percent today.”

Bloom explained to the committee that the restructuring process that followed both GM and Chrysler filing for bankruptcy has required “deep and painful sacrifices from all stakeholders,” including workers, suppliers, dealers and the communities that rely on the auto industry. 

The Obama administration made it clear in February that it’s auto task force wanted to handle the auto restructuring process in a commercial manner. That is to ensure that all stakeholders are treated fairly and that the government’s involvement doesn’t change how much they receive, according to Bloom.

Earlier today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Md.) held a press conference with colleagues and automobile dealers.

Hoyer said, “Two Sunday’s ago I was on a phone call with the White House who was helping us make our policy effective and I asked them, what money does it save the manufacturing General Motors or Chrysler if you shut down a dealership? Answer...zero.”

U.S. Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) was also present for the press conference and said the way things are being handled could be viewed as a “bailout for the big guys but a force out for the little guys.”

Financial investment firms compared to "spoiled teenagers"

As far as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is concerned, there must be a “heightened sense of urgency” about the enactment of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. At a full committee hearing on the turmoil in the United States credit markets, the committee heard from Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Neel Kashkari, interim assistant secretary for financial stability and assistant secretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department; Brian Montgomery, federal housing commissioner and assistant Housing and Urban Development secretary; Elizabeth Duke, member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; and James Lockhart III, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The opening statements included Senator Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) comparison of the financial investment firms in question to “spoiled teenagers” who threw a house party while their parents were out of town. Schumer said the financial crisis was “not unforeseeable” and that the Treasury must issue guidelines for future banking endeavors now that taxpayer money is involved. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) believes that if 9800 Wall Street jobs were lost everyday, like they were lost for millions of Americans, the financial problem would have been solved long ago. He then stated that the “funds are not a gift” from taxpayers to banks and that must be made clear through oversight and compliance.

In her testimony, Chairwoman Sheila Bair advised the necessity to recapitalize banks in order to reverse the “confidence problem” happening in America. She said this recapitalization would be similar to that of European banks and would help in the area of liquidity. She also advised that to help homeowners, the FDIC would work with the Senate Banking Committee and Treasury Department to prevent future foreclosures and create sustainable mortgages. Neel Kashkari said that to help financial institutions, the Treasury Department had created seven policy programs including an equity purchase program, a homeownership preservation program, and an executive compensation program. Kashkari believes that the Treasury has “accomplished a great deal in a short period of time,” but stated that it may not be until the end of the year before the $250 billion is allocated to chosen banks.