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Congress has adjourned until after the November elections. They are scheduled to return for a lame duck session on November 17th.
Second Economic Stimulus
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) has called for a two-stage economic stimulus to boost the ailing U.S. economy. On Thursday, November 6, she announced plans for a $60-$100 billion stimulus package this month, followed by a permanent tax cut early next year. Details have yet to be determined and will depend on further discussions with President-Elect Obama.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors signed onto an October 31 workforce coalition letter to Speaker Pelosi and other House leadership requesting that the next economic stimulus package include expanded overall funding for WIA – specifically that $1.5 billion be designated for workforce programs in the next stimulus package, including: $500 million for Dislocated Workers; $500 million for disadvantaged Youth; $250 million for low income adults; and $250 million for reemployment services targeted to those most likely to exhaust their unemployment benefits.
To access a copy of the workforce coalition letter click here.
Unemployment Hits 14-Year High
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to Represent Conference of Mayors at President-Elect Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board Meeting
The Labor Department announced today that the unemployment rate jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October. The increase, a jump from 6.1 percent in September, brought the jobless rate to a level it last reached in March 1994.
October marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions. So far, 1.2 million jobs have disappeared, with more than half of the decrease coming in the last three months. President-elect Barack Obama will be focusing on the economy this morning, November 7, meeting with economists and business leaders to try to figure out how to deal with the meltdown.
Moving swiftly to develop a strategy to deal with the nation's No. 1 issue, Obama has assembled an Transition Economic Advisory Board that includes Warren Buffett, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Citigroup's Robert Rubin, top executives of Xerox, Time-Warner and Hyatt hotels plus Paul Volcker, Robert Reich, Lawrence Summers, Laura Tyson and others with top political and economic credentials. They are meeting in Chicago this morning and the President-elect is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. PST.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors Trustee Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be presenting the Conference’s MainStreet Stimulus proposal at the meeting. Talk, especially in some Democratic circles, is turning to pumping money directly to cities and states. The mayors have called for job training funding to be included as part of the $100 billion stimulus package currently being considered in the House.
To access a copy of the Conference of Mayors MainStreet Stimulus proposal click here.
2008 Election Results
On Tuesday, November 4th Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama was elected President by 53% of the popular vote and 364 electoral votes. Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain received 46% of the popular vote and 163 electoral votes.
The 2008 election brought control of both the House and Senate to the Democratic Party. Current House projections show 254 seats belonging to the Democrats, 173 seats to Republicans, and 8 seats still undecided because of areas still processing votes in states such as Alaska, California, Washington, Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland. Senate projections show 57 seats belonging to the Democrats, 40 seats to Republicans, and 3 seats undecided because of states still processing votes in Alaska, Georgia, and Minnesota.
Appropriations and the 111th Congress
According to Congressional aides, the Appropriations and Budget Committees of the 111th Congress will focus on turning around the economy, keeping down deficit spending, and passing all 12 spending bills. Since Democratic control of Congress in 2007, President Bush and Democrats have clashed on spending bills. Last March, President Bush said he would veto any bills that exceeded his FY09 budget requests. This led to the passage of omnibus packages including multiple bills and stopgap funding legislation. The continuing resolution expires next March.
Democratic staffers and former aides believe that the Appropriations Committee of the 111th Congress will focus on defense and foreign policy issues, with Democrats possibly winding down the Iraq war and boosting forces in Afghanistan. One former aide reported increasing federal spending to aid the economy through job creation, such as a $10 billion backlog in national park maintenance that includes $800 million in projects waiting to start. A Democratic staff director for the House and Budget Committee reported an emphasis on passing legislation to stimulate the economy and assist struggling Americans challenged by today’s poor economic situation in the next Congress.
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