Reply #28: It's going to get worse...Obama and crew let the Repubs quash something else... [View All]

[rfranklin]

BAB Program's Extension Not a Sure Thing for Tax Compromise Bill
Tuesday, December 7, 2010

By Lynn Hume

While federal lawmakers are nearing a compromise on tax legislation that would extend many expired and expiring tax provisions as well as the Bush-era tax cuts, it is not certain the measure will continue the popular Build America Bond program, sources said.

That's because the Senate's lead Republican negotiator, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has been a harsh critic of the program, which is set to expire on Dec. 31. In May, Kyl complained to colleagues that BABs reward states and localities with lower credit ratings because they sell BABs at higher interest rates and receive higher subsidy payments from the U.S. Treasury.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate Finance Committee's ranking minority member, also has been a harsh critic of BABs but last month predicted the extension would go forward. However, sources said while Grassley might have been willing to go along with a BAB extension in return for continued ethanol subsidies, Kyl opposes both programs.

http://www.bondbuyer.com/issues/119_482/bab-program-tax-bill-1020775-1.html

Another way for the Repubs to attack "big government."