December 12, 2008

Is it a bail-out or a build-up? That's the question being put to federal lawmakers right now as they try to grapple with the nation's economic woes and with how to allocate its depleting resources.

President-elect Barack Obama says that while his administration will insist on financial prudence, it must address the current recession head-on. In January, he is expected to introduce an economic stimulus package that is reported to be in the $500 billion range. An estimated $15 billion would be targeted toward green energy initiatives to create or preserve millions of jobs.

December 10, 2008

Washington civil servants are bracing for that personnel hurricane that sweeps through the federal bureaucracy every eight years or so, when a new administration places thousands of political appointees in all the top jobs -- and some not-so-top jobs.

These bureaucrats call themselves the "we-be's" -- as in, "We be there when you arrive, and we be there when you leave."

They enjoy a sometimes uneasy coexistence with the political appointees, adapting themselves to the priorities of a new administration, sometimes pushing back and influencing policy themselves. While those career staffers have a grasp of the critical issues, they are clearly in subordinated positions to both the political appointees and the elected officials, who are the ones held accountable by the people.

Silver Spring, MD:

The Commercial Building Tax Deduction (CBTD) has been extended for five years, through December 31, 2013. The extension was enacted through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which became Public Law No. 110-343 when President Bush signed it on October 3, 2008.

According to the National Lighting Bureau, the CBTD encourages specification of high-efficiency lighting by giving owners an accelerated-depreciation benefit equal to the cost of the lighting system or lighting-system improvement, or $0.60/square foot, whichever is less. The benefit applies to discrete systems within a building; i.e., not all lighting in a building must meet the efficiency criteria for some of the lighting to be eligible for favorable tax treatment. Lighting systems that do not meet the efficiency required to earn the maximum deduction may be eligible for a smaller deduction.

October 31, 2008

The less fortunate can rest a little easier. Congress has doubled the funds provided to them to better enable those residents to keep their homes warm during the winter.

Federal spending on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, will now be $5.1 billion. The increase has been included in a budget bill aimed at keeping the government running past the current fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The measure passed in bi-partisan fashion before it was sent to President Bush for his signature, all in an effort to help needy families during tough economic times and through March 2009.

October 17, 2008

Taxpayers may have rescued America's banking system, but will they have to assist the country's nuclear energy program, too?

At issue are federal loan guarantees that assure borrowers that they will get reimbursed in the case of default. As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress authorized such guarantees and then instructed the U.S. Department of Energy to devise the program. About $18.5 billion is now on the table, although some proponents of the nuclear sector say that the amount must be revised upward if some of the 30 proposed plants are to actually get erected.