The President has signed the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008. Last week it was passed in the House by a
vote of 263 to 171, welcome news to the Associated General Contractors of
America (AGC).
The package, which the Senate passed days earlier, includes
the financial-market rescue provisions that the House rejected, plus an
increase in FDIC insurance coverage to a maximum of $250,000. The Senate also
extended numerous expiring business and energy tax provisions, kept the
alternative minimum tax from increasing in 2009, and added disaster assistance.
"We have been calling on Congress to act in order to
open up America's
credit markets, protect small businesses, stave off job losses and feed money
back into the economy," said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer
of AGC. "In the last week, AGC members generated an unprecedented number
of letters to their Senators and Representatives because Congressional inaction
was affecting their businesses."
The package also includes AGC-supported tax provisions
including extensions of the Production Tax Credit for Alternative Energy
Investments and the Targeted Relief for Investments in Real and Personal
Property.