Bailout won't pass? Throw in more pork.

[randomness]

As it turns out, one of the ways Congress has come up with to get the MOAB (Mother of All Bailouts) to pass is the time-honored way of adding more pork to it. Mmmm...pork.

From http://tbm.thebigmoney.com/articles/juicy-bits/2008/10/01/bailout-baloney:

Save the world economy! Save the wooden arrows for children! The Senate is doing both tonight. The 451-page Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes a number of tax relief measures added in presumably to garner votes; certainly few seem to respond to an emergency, or do anything particularly stabilizing. Here are the juicy bits from the bill that help some special interests or regions.

DIVISION C-TAX EXTENDERS AND ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RELIEF

SEC. 308. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COVER OVER OF RUM EXCISE TAX TO PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

SEC. 309. EXTENSION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CREDIT FOR AMERICAN SAMOA.

SEC. 317. SEVEN-YEAR COST RECOVERY PERIOD FOR MOTORSPORTS RACING TRACK FACILITY.

SEC. 325. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF DUTY SUSPENSION ON WOOL PRODUCTS; WOOL RESEARCH FUND; WOOL DUTY REFUNDS.

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

Perhaps modifications like this will help get them the votes they need in the House.

Edit: According to Forbes, the additional provisions add $110 billion to the cost of the bailout, which makes it an $810 billion package.

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind if I post about this, using the links you supplied, and so forth.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure! Amplify as you like, although I do feel it's a done deal in the House as well.

Also, there's an argument going around that the pork is from another House bill that already passed which the Senate attached the bailout to, so it would pass.

This link: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/10/more-on-oinking-bailout-bill.html
has a refutation of that argument (from the original poster) in the comments:

"The original bill, as discussed here in several posts before the horse-trading started, was three pages, and that included definitions, for the Treasury Secretary to have blanket authority, no review, to buy assets from financial firms (rather broadly defined) as he saw fit....The pork was added when the bill went from its interim 110 page version to its current 451 page form."

"A DC guy who speaks to Congressmen (a lobbyist) e-mailed me and told me the pork was added specifically to get votes. He said it was horse trading."

Thanks for asking!

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Also, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/10/02/16589/bailout-add-ons/ has more add-ons not mentioned in the other links:

Sec. 310. Extension of mine rescue team training credit.
Sec. 502. Provisions related to film and television productions.
Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008
Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

Enjoy!