Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Senate passes $700B ’sweetened’ rescue package

(Yahoo News)

WASHINGTON - After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened.

Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.

In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

List of Earmarks, etc…

by Rich Lowry - (NRO)

…apparently in the bailout bill (based on a list going around). Pretty outrageous. Isn’t this in John McCain’s wheelhouse?

New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill
- Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)

Tax earmark “extenders” in the bailout bill.
- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)

Once 3 pages, bailout bill now length of novel

(Yahoo News)

Two Saturdays ago, it totaled just three pages — the White House’s request for $700 billion to rescue tottering financial institutions by buying their devalued mortgage-related assets.

After an intense weekend of negotiations, the draft of the bailout legislation before Congress had swelled to 42 pages.

The following Friday, after almost a week of marathon talks between Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and key lawmakers in both parties, the working version was up to 102 pages. It went down to defeat Monday in the House, mostly at the hands of Republicans.

Once the Senate was finished adding sweeteners Wednesday to entice reluctant House Republicans to change their minds and vote for the bailout, the bill heading for passage had grown to 451 pages.

It was unclear whether it would expand still more as House leaders hunted for the votes needed to clear the bill.

Hey, Senate! I see your damn wooden arrows and I’m raising ya!