Lobbying blitz ushers bailout bill back to House

October 03 12:05:02 PM, LA Times

Members are besieged by 'promises and threats on both sides' with second vote expected today. Lobbying for the $700-billion financial rescue plan reached fever pitch as the hours ticked down toward today's climactic vote in the House, with powerful interest groups orchestrating last-minute appeals from constituents back home and the two major presidential candidates working the telephones.

WASHINGTON -- Lobbying for the $700-billion financial rescue plan reached fever pitch as the hours ticked down toward today's climactic vote in the House, with powerful interest groups orchestrating last-minute appeals from constituents back home and the two major presidential candidates working the telephones.

Supporters of the measure were hopeful of approval, saying that public fury over a bailout for Wall Street -- which helped torpedo the plan Monday -- was giving way to concern that government inaction could devastate the economy.

  Full coverage: Financial crisis Senate approves bailout after revisions, 74-25 On the bailout: Voters vented, lawmakers listened Why the $700-billion rescue plan failed Those fears were given new weight Thursday by government data showing an unexpectedly steep decline in factory orders and a fresh seven-year high in claims for jobless benefits. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 350 points.

"The tide has changed," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Alamo). "While this was initially unpopular, events are overtaking us."

It remained uncertain, however, whether the intense pressure would shift enough votes to reverse Monday's 228-205 defeat, and neither side was predicting victory. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), while voicing cautious optimism, said she would not bring the measure to the floor unless it was assured of passage.

A scattered handful of members, several of them among the 133 Republicans who opposed the bill Monday, announced that they would now support it. But some fiscally conservative Democrats -- the so-called Blue Dogs -- expressed unhappiness with the package of tax breaks and other provisions added to the rescue plan in the Senate. That raised the possibility of new defections among Democrats, 95 of whom voted "no" on Monday.

The rescue plan was proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson as a means of restoring liquidity to a financial system battered by losses on securities tied to troubled home loans. It would give the government the power to buy these securities and get them off the books of banks and other financial institutions.

In recent days, some members of Congress who initially opposed the bill have been besieged by constituents who worry that the volatile stock market -- the Dow saw a record 777.68-point drop Monday -- threatens their retirement nest eggs.

At the same time, lawmakers are getting an earful from business owners who say they can't get the credit they need to make payroll or buy inventory.

Typical of many who were changing course was Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who said he now supported the bill after returning home this week to see economic storm clouds hanging over his district.

"I don't want my grandchildren or great-grandchildren to pick up a history book and find that I helped bring about a crash of the U.S. economy in 2008," Cleaver said.

Even as they moved away from opposing the plan, many remained reluctant to commit themselves publicly. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), who voted "no" on Monday, said: "I'm not leaning any way right now. I'm getting information."

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke in favor of the bill as necessary to protect the economy and called at least one wavering House Democrat, Rep. John Yarrmuth of Kentucky, who had voted "no" but said he was now moving into the neutral category. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also called individual lawmakers to build support for the bill, aides said.

Even House members who remained staunchly opposed to the bill said they felt the pressure to reverse course.

There are "promises and threats on both sides of the aisle," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista). "Leadership on both sides of the aisle support this. The President, the vice president and the entire [political] donor community of America support this."

Issa said he still opposed the bill, saying the plan approved by the Senate on Wednesday was "worse than the bill before" -- in part because of the tax breaks and other goodies that have been stuffed into the legislation to garner votes. Still, Issa predicts the measure will pass.

The country's major business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Assn. of Manufacturers, have been rallying their rank and file to press lawmakers to support the plan.

Bruce Josten, the top lobbyist for the Chamber of Commerce, said Monday's loss energized him to amp up his efforts.

"We lost, no doubt about it," he said. "I have no intention of losing again."

Among those answering the call was Collie Hutter, an executive with Click Bond Inc., a mid-size Nevada manufacturer of industrial fasteners. Hutter said her family-owned firm had been expanding but felt the effects of the credit crunch when it bought an additional manufacturing facility and had to pay more for credit.


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