US President Barack Obama was to take his case for a huge economic rescue plan directly to the US public yesterday, warning of a “catastrophe” without urgent action, as a pivotal vote loomed in the US Senate.
Confronting the biggest challenge of his new presidency, Obama was returning to barnstorming campaign mode with a “town hall” meeting in rust-belt Indiana before his first White House news conference in prime time at 8pm.
The president on Saturday had welcomed signs of a tentative deal by lawmakers on his stimulus plan as the Senate held a rare weekend session, following news that the US economy shed a staggering 598,000 jobs last month.
“Because if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe,” Obama said.
His Indiana visit, to be followed by a trip to Florida today, underscored Obama’s determination to drum up support in the country at large for a stimulus package that looks set to top US$800 billion.
The Democratic-led Senate was expected yesterday to decide on a key procedural motion to override Republican blocking tactics and put the package to a full vote, possibly today.
The Democrats control 58 votes in the Senate and need 60 to break through a Republican “filibuster.” They appear to have the support of at least three Republican moderates — Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter.
Despite the outlines of a compromise brokered with the help of the centrist Republicans, senior opposition senators were adamant that Obama’s mix of infrastructure spending and tax cuts would prove a massive waste of money.
“We are going down a road to financial disaster. We’ll pay dearly,” Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate’s banking committee, told CNN Sunday.
“Until we straighten out our banking system ... this economy is going to continue to tank,” the Alabama senator said.
Administration officials said on Sunday that just such a program to revive the stricken banking industry and housing market would be presented today by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
National Economic Council director Larry Summers said US$350 billion remaining from the Troubled Asset Relief Program would prise open credit markets and include at least US$50 billion for housing.
The funds were freed up when former president George W. Bush in October signed a bill authorizing US$700 billion to buy up distressed mortgage securities and other complex financial instruments.
Instead however, then-treasury secretary Henry Paulson injected about half of the funds directly into struggling banks, with few conditions on how the money was to be spent or accounted for.
The Obama administration has promised tighter controls, including limits on executive pay.
The New York Times yesterday reported that Geithner’s plan to save the foundering US banking system would rely on investors in hedge funds, private equity funds and other financial institutions buying the contaminated assets that wiped out the capital of many banks.
The newspaper, citing unnamed officials, reported that under the plan, the US government would guarantee a floor value for the assets as a way to overcome investors’ reluctance to buy them.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS