Business - Obama sells financial reform during tour Senate banking regulation bill stalls again

By Julie Pace Associated Press Writer QUINCY, Illinois (AP) -- President Barack Obama is working to sell voters in the Midwest on his financial reform plan, telling them that if lawmakers don't rein in Wall Street, there's no guarantee another economic crisis won't hammer the already stuggling region. Making that link as he sells the Democrats' financial regulatory reform bill that is now before Congress is a political imperative for Obama as well as an economic one. His fellow Democrats face a tough political landscape in November congressional elections brought on in part by the public's wariness of his handling of the economy. The economic situation is getting back to normal on Wall Street, White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters Wednesday, "but if you look around Main Street and rural America, where we've been, we're far from a normal that should be acceptable to anyone." On the issue of financial regulations, Obama and Democratic lawmakers see an opportunity to paint Republicans as obstructionists who stand on the side of Wall Street bankers, not middle-class America. On Tuesday, the first day of a three-state economic tour through rural America, Obama ripped Senate Republicans for blocking debate on a bill that would impose greater federal control on the nation's financial system. "It's one thing to oppose reform, but to oppose just even talking about reform in front of the American people and having a legitimate debate, that's not right," Obama said in Ottumwa, Iowa. "The American people deserve an honest debate on this bill." During stops in Missouri and Illinois on Wednesday, Obama was expected to continue his efforts to frame his administration's agenda -- from the $862 billion recovery act to the massive health care overhaul -- as part of his plan to put the economy on a path toward a more sustainable future. Obama appeared to relish the opportunity to get outside Washington this week. In Iowa, the state that jump-started his 2008 presidential bid, he made a surprise visit to a 140-acre (55-hectare) organic farm, stopped for pie and coffee at a family owned restaurant, and shook hands and posed for pictures with the impromptu crowds that gathered as his motorcade sped through the state. The president's Midwest tour comes as economic forecasts show some signs of progress: The country added jobs at the fastest pace in three years last month, the manufacturing industry is growing at a steady pace and new claims for jobless benefits have declined. But 15 million Americans remain out of work, and most economic forecasts suggest it could be months or even years before the nation's unemployment rate returns to more normal levels. Published: Thu, Apr 29, 2010

––––––––––––––––––––
 Subscribe to the Legal News!
 https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available