Lobbyists use new provisions to hunt bailout votes
by TedWASHINGTON — Lobbyists for restaurants hunted votes Wednesday for the $700 billion financial industry bailout package, touting new provisions that leaders added in hopes of finally pushing the bill through Congress.
Working off a color-coded spread sheet listing House members whose “no” votes sank the bill in that chamber on Monday, business groups contacted dozens of lawmakers _ at home and in Washington _ to seek their support. By late-afternoon, that list showed five legislators who’d voted “no” now leaning toward supporting an overhauled version of the bill the House rejected by 23 votes.
The all-out lobbying came as the Senate easily approved the revamped legislation late Wednesday. The added language _ designed to win House approval later this week _ included higher limits on federal deposit insurance, extended tax breaks for some states’ sales taxes and requirements that some businesses improve coverage for workers’ mental health.
“This is sausage-making, of course,” said Jade West, lobbyist for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, describing the often messy process of collecting votes for a bill. “But it’s sausage-making in a favorable context.”
Efforts by the National Restaurant Association were typical of how many trade groups were working to round up votes.
Besides contacting lawmakers directly in Washington, the organization asked its 50 state chapters and its 18,000 most active members around the country to contact their members of Congress directly.
The focus was on House members because the business community thinks they may be willing to reverse their “no” votes, and the new provisions attached to the bill would help, said John Gay, the group’s top Washington lobbyist.
“Those who voted ‘no’ need an excuse, a rationale to say, ‘I changed my mind and here’s why,'” he said.
Among the extended tax cuts added to the bailout bill is one allowing those who build new restaurants or improve existing ones to write off the cost faster than the current 39.5 years, he said.
“People were 99-1 against the bill, then the market went down and people said, ‘You’re crazy, why’d you vote against the bill?'” Scott said Wednesday. “The next day the market went up and people said, ‘You did the right thing.'”
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