KATRINA
STILL CHURNING UP DISASTER SPENDING
Six Months Later the Storm continues to take a Financial Toll
After the $71 billion authorized to meet Hurricane Katrina disaster needs, Congress is still fine-tuning its' response and some resources just aren't enough. Three bills address shortfalls: HR4745 provides hundreds of millions more in Small Business Administration loans; S1777 lifts caps on disaster aid to home owners, extends unemployment benefits and helps storm impacted foreigners with visas stay in the US, and S2275 would give the National Flood Insurance more borrowing power up to $21.2 billion. Read more....HR 4745; S 1777; and S 2275
Photo: NOAA
USO get a nod from the House HCR322
Bill to impose high penalties for trademark and other service mark fraud cleared for President HR 32
ASBESTOS BILL FAILS IN THE SENATE
Three Years in the Making the Bill May Return Next Month
The three year old bill aiming to remove tens of thousands of asbestos poisoning cases from the courts and pay claimants from a fund paid into by defendants gave way to opposition who saw it as poorly constructed and with significant flaws that could lead to the fund drying up before all claims were satisfied. But the bill is not dead yet: Senate Majority Leader William Frist (R-TN) made a last minute vote change that assures he can return to the bill when he thinks he has the 60 votes necessary for passage. Story continues here... Full report on the bill here...S862
Photo: Wikipedia
