February 10, 2009

United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, last night spoke on the floor of the Senate about the key small business provisions included in the Economic Recovery Package. Full release

he following is a statement by Michael Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending, on Geithner's "Financial Stability" Plan: We will not effectively stabilize the nation's banks and financial system until we stop the wave of foreclosures that continues to drive down the economy and harm millions of families. At least 8 million families risk losing their homes to foreclosure in the next four years. These foreclosures drive down the value of all homes, and in turn prevent a recovery of the housing and financial markets. The financial crisis will not end unless these foreclosures are reduced. Full release

Leaders from 67 national organizations today called on President Obama to reconsider U.S. opposition to global treaties prohibiting the production, transfer, and use of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions. The signers include the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the head of Evangelicals for Social Action, the CEO of CARE, two former U.S. ambassadors, and one former senator. Full release

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger today sent a letter to House-Senate conferees that thanks members of Congress for their "urgent and necessary" efforts so far to create jobs that will stem the economic crisis and that urges them to complete work quickly on a comprehensive plan. Full release

The Obama Administration today laid out the principles of a revamped bailout plan that will place more emphasis on transparency and accountability as the government seeks to restore stability and growth to our nation's financial crisis, an approach welcomed by Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. Full release

Hillary Clinton's forthcoming visit to Asia, her first trip abroad as U.S. secretary of state, signals the rising importance of the region to the United States over the past decade. Secretary Clinton will find that the United States is the region's undisputed soft-power leader, according to an index of soft power recently published by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the East Asia Institute. The index shows that the Obama Administration has a solid platform on which to build its relationship with countries in the region. Full release

President Obama's selection of GE CEO Jeff Immelt as a member of his economic advisory panel raises questions about the panel's financial acumen, competence, and patriotism. "Immelt's selection can't be based on his performance as CEO or loyalty to our country," said Tom Borelli of Action Fund Management (AFM), the investment adviser to the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX), a publicly-traded mutual fund. Immelt was ranked as one of the Five Worst Non-Financial-Crisis-Related CEOs of 2008, by the FEAOX in December 2008. Full release

Television is cited as the primary source of news about the economy by more Americans than daily newspapers, the Internet and radio combined. In addition, more than half of those who primarily receive their economic news from television rate the coverage as good. Full release

Economists agree one of the most important aspects of a successful stimulus bill will be its ability to create jobs. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates businesses with less than 20 employees make up 90% of all U.S. firms and are responsible for creating more than 97% of all new jobs in America. Full release

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