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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MJ who wrote (75325)	11/18/2009 9:59:49 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 224692

House Dems Mull Ways To Pay For New Job-Creation Bill By Corey Boles Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Democratic leaders are considering a number of ways to pay for a possible new job-creation package that they hope to complete before the end of the year. When asked if one way to pay for a job-creation bill would be a tax on financial transactions, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said all options are on the table. Speaking to reporters, Hoyer declined to say whether he personally supported the measure, or if it was being given serious consideration by leadership. But he acknowledged the idea was being given consideration along with other proposals to pay for a jobs package. Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) similarly declined to say whether he supported such a tax. Rep. John Larson (D., Conn.), the No. 4 House Democrat, said Wednesday he is in favor of such a tax, saying it "is time for Wall Street to contribute to the growth of Main Street." A proposal detailing how a transaction tax could work was floated Wednesday by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.). His measure would apply a small levy on many financial transactions including purchases of stocks, futures, swaps and credit default swaps. DeFazio's measure would exclude smaller investors, pension funds as well as education and health savings accounts. It would raise approximately $150 billion a year, according to a letter the lawmaker circulated to Democratic colleagues Wednesday. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D., N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, said that she would only support a transaction tax if it was implemented by other countries at the same time. Hoyer said Tuesday that he hoped to complete a job-creation package before lawmakers break for Christmas. The sudden urgency by House lawmakers to act comes as the national jobless rate hit 10.2% in October, with many economists predicting the unemployment picture to grow bleaker in the coming months. Heading into the 2010 elections, Democratic lawmakers are keenly aware of the need to tackle the rising unemployment situation. But they are also aware of growing unease about the dire state of the federal government's fiscal imbalances. Tuesday, the federal government debt surpassed the $12 trillion mark for the first time, and lawmakers must act before the end of the year to increase the government's borrowing limit again. As such, several lawmakers spoke about the need to pay for any new job-creation package with cuts elsewhere to the federal budget or raising revenues, rather than by adding to the deficit. A financial-transaction tax would be one way to do so. It is unlikely new job-creating legislation could pass Congress before the end of the year due to the fact that the Senate is likely to spend much of the remainder of the year dealing with health-care legislation.