New provisions for Senate rescue bill
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Scott Jagow: The Senate has decided it will vote on a new financial rescue package tonight. It will include one provision we talked about yesterday:
Increasing the limits on FDIC insurance for bank deposits from a hundred thousand to a quarter of a million dollars. Our reporter in Washington Steve Henn joins us as Marketplace continues its coverage of the financial crisis. OK, Steve, what else is in this bill?
Steve Henn: There’s another thing that Senate leadership has decided to wrap into this bill: tax credits for renewable energy. This is an issue that’s pretty popular in both parties, but there’s been a big fight about how to pay for it. There’s some talk about also including relief for the Alternative Minimum Tax, although last night that probably wasn’t in the Senate version.
Jagow: Renewable energy and the Alternative Minimum Tax. What does that have to do with this financial rescue package?
Henn: Nothing . . . but they’re looking to pick up Republican votes in the House. The thing is, especially with these tax credits for renewable energy, fiscally conservative Democrats in the House were all for this, but they wanted to pay for it. And they fought hard to force the Senate to pay for it too, so by including this they may actually lose some of those votes on Thursday.
Jagow: OK . . . so they might gain Republican votes, and lose Democratic votes?
Henn: Yeah, that’s right. And you know hopefully, they’re betting they’ll gain more than they lose. But they need to pick up at least a dozen. So we’ll see.
Jagow: All right, Steve Henn in Washington. Thanks.
Henn: Thanks.
Jagow: These people are unbelievable.
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