Dems keep focus on the economy

Democrats in Congress next week will keep the focus on the faltering economy, with five hearings scheduled on an economic stimulus package and other financial issues. 

The action takes place as the plunging stock market has magnified the political emphasis on the economy. The bad economic news continued Friday morning with the Dow Jones Industrial falling more than 400 points shortly after the opening bell and Chrysler announcing cuts to its workforce.

{mosads}Many of the hearings are focused on Democrats’ wishes to stimulate economic growth through public works projects, which House Republicans and the White House have criticized. Democrats are preparing to consider a stimulus package during a post-election session, although it’s unclear whether a vote would be held this year or in 2009.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hear testimony Wednesday from a range of lobbyists and policy experts on “Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery,” while the House Ways and Means Committee’s hearing the same day covers job creation through investment.

The House Education and Labor Committee’s hearing Tuesday is on how a slower economy will affect healthcare coverage, while the House Small Business Committee looks at how opportunities could be created for small businesses during a recovery. On Thursday, the House-Senate Joint Economic Committee takes up the need for an economic stimulus.

The faltering economy appears to have boosted poll numbers for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Democrats running for Senate and House seats.

The panel hearings have often generated helpful headlines for Democrats. For example, Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) Oversight and Government Reform Committee made major news this month hearing testimony from officials at Lehman Brothers, an investment bank the Bush administration did not bailout, and American International Group, an insurer that has now received more than $100 billion in loans from the government.

Waxman released documents during the AIG hearing that detailed a $440,000 company retreat the firm’s executives took after it received an $85 billion bailout from the government. The retreat included spa treatments and golf outings.

On Thursday, Waxman made headlines again when former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he had erred in not seeking more regulation of banks and other financial institutions on Wall Street.

Democrats also have been careful in how they have scheduled hearings. Most notably, they resisted GOP calls to hold a hearing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until after the November election. Because some Democrats, including Obama, have received large campaign contributions from the mortgage giants and have opposed reforming the entities, a hearing before the election might not have been helpful.

Next week’s activities follow a plethora of hearings over the past few weeks on the stimulus package and rewriting regulatory rules for the financial system, including a House Education and Labor Committee hearing Friday on building an economic recovery package.