Posted 6/10/2010
By Clarence Mills

House Committee Considers Small Business Lending Fund Act

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has considered President Barack Obama's plan to aid America's small businesses.

House Bill 5297, sponsored by Frank and co-sponsored by 18 other House representatives, would establish a temporary small business lending fund, separate from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), for banks having total assets of $10 billion or less.

The purpose of the "Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010" is to address the ongoing effects of the financial crisis on small businesses by providing temporary authority to the secretary of the treasury to make capital investments in eligible institutions to increase the availability of credit for small businesses.

Kerry, Lieberman Unveil 'American Power Act'

On May 12, 2010, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., unveiled their "American Power Act of 2010."

The purpose of the bill, which is yet to be numbered, is to secure the energy future of the United States, provide incentives for domestic production of clean energy technology and achieve meaningful pollution reductions to create jobs.

Key provisions of the American Power Act include protecting consumers, ensuring regulatory predictability, ensuring price predictability, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, encouraging the use of America's natural gas, increasing nuclear power generation, reducing transportation emissions and blocking market manipulation.

Further, if the act is passed, it aims to expand America's manufacturing base, create new opportunities for American farmers, invest in clean energy research and development and ensure coal's future.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation In Jeopardy With Newly Proposed Bill

Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., and Rep. Stephanie Sandlin, D-S.D., have introduced the "Limit Executive Actions Suspending Energy Act of 2010."

H.R. 5294 was introduced to prevent federal agencies from regulating greenhouse gas emissions for purposes of addressing climate change unless a federal statue expressly and specifically authorizes such action.

If passed, the bill could jeopardize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, since the EPA is a federal agency. The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized their "National Program to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Improve Fuel Economy for Cars and Trucks" in February of 2010.

Amendment Would Exempt Some Automakers from Financial Reform Bill

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., has proposed an amendment to Sen. Chris Dodd's, D-Conn., Senate Bill 3217, the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010." Brownback's amendment would exempt certain automotive manufacturers from the authority of Dodd's proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFP).

President Barack Obama is not a fan of Brownback's amendment, stating that excluding automotive dealers from regulation of the CFP "would allow them to inflate rates, insert hidden fees into the fine print of paperwork, and include expensive add-ons that catch purchasers by surprise."