President’s Budget Offers Hope, Raises Questions

The president’s proposed 2010 budget outline offers a glimmer of hope for funding housing and community development programs yet it raises questions about how restrictive these programs will be managed.

The president’s budget document is not as detailed as past budget documents in articulating funding levels for various programs. For example, there is no information on the proposed funding levels for the public housing programs, for the HOME Investment Partnership program or the Emergency Grant Shelter program. However, the outline provides a glimpse to the scope of support offered to these programs and the mandates to be imposed on them.

The portion pertaining to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) includes $7.5 billion for HUD on top of the $13.6 billion included in the stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). However, the documents indicate the administration will proceed with administrative and legislative initiatives which could result in greater restrictions for those administering the program.

For example, the administration is proposing $4.5 billion for the community development block grant (CDBG) program but also includes language which indicates targeting of these resources will be proposed this spring. The document also indicates the administration will propose increased funding for the Housing Choice Voucher program and unidentified changes to correct “inefficiencies”.

During the campaign the administration expressed support for initiatives which will pit resident advocates against administrators of these programs. They include a restoration of the one-for-one replacement rule and regional approaches to addressing housing issues. While all parties in the affordable housing industry welcome additional funds; however, they will come with a price.


CDFI Director Applauds Work of Industry in Presentation

Donna Gambrell, Director the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, told the CDFI community at its 2009 Coalition meeting that the increased funding to the program and increased allocation for the New Market Tax Credit Program is a recognition of “the important work being done within the industry”.

Gambrell said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $100 million to enhance the lending capacity of CDFIs and provides $3 billion in additional authority for the New Markets Tax Credit program. The stimulus bill also contains language which waives the matching requirement on CDFI Program awards.

“We at the CDFI Fund recognized that challenges facing the philanthropic community and lending community have made it difficult for CDFIs to obtain the matching fund requirements,” she said. “Congress also acknowledged this and waived the matching funds requirement for the stimulus funding to enable CDFIs to quickly make use of these funds.”

She encouraged participants to find innovative ways to serve the community and become successful financial lenders. She said CDFIs have “a significant role to play in helping this country once again get back on the path to economic prosperity.”

Interesting Read

Housing and Community Development

Commentary: Bailing out homeowners is a mistake
By Jeffrey A. Miron
Special to CNN

Wrong Turn on Housing
By Robert J. Samuelson
The Washington Post

Moffett resigning as Freddie Mac CEO
By Alan Zibel
The Associated Press

Buildings sprang up as donations rained down on Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion
By Benjamin Lesser and Greg B. Smith
The New York Daily News

White House mum as foes rip Carrión
By Samuel Goldsmith and Bill Hutchinson
The New York Daily News

Governors Hope to Guide Spending of Stimulus Funds
By Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

Government Gets Chance To Prove It Can Work
Stimulus Act Will Test Civil Servants' Abilities
By Alec MacGillis
The Washington Post

Stimulus: What's in it for small biz?
Emergency bridge loans and reduced fees for SBA-backed loans are some of the stimulus bill's steps to help small businesses survive the recession.
By Stacy Cowley
CNNMoney.com

9 Stores: How we’re coping
In Framingham, Mass., local businesses are struggling through the recession. We talked to dozens of entrepreneurs for a look at the future of Main Street.
CNNMoney.com

In one town, recession helps bridge cultural rift
Framingham's immigrants always felt like outsiders. Then the downturn forced the town's planners and entrepreneurs to work together to save imperiled businesses.
By Emily Maltby
CNNMoney.com

Politics

Obama, Reaching Outside the Bubble
By Eli Saslow
The Washington Post

Friday Line: Ten Republicans to Watch
By Chris Cillizza
The Washington Post

Rush Limbaugh calls on conservatives to take back nation
CNN

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Black Chamber of Commerce Opposes Labor Actions

The National Black Chamber of Commerce will hold a working lunch to express its opposition to a number of pro-labor initiatives the group says will hurt African-American businesses.

The lunch will take place February 25 at the National Press Club and will include a panel discussion hosted by Harry Alford, President and CEO of the chamber. The speakers will discuss how the Employee Freedom of Choice Act and other issues will impact minority-owned businesses.

US Chamber Says NAFTA Net Gain for US Workers

The US Chamber of Commerce released a posting on its web site which states that the North American Free Trade Agreement is a net gain for US workers.

The posting, NAFTA at 15: Assessing its Benefits, states the continuation of NAFTA is more important now than ever. The author, John G. Murphy, Vice President of International Affairs at the chamber offers the following statistics:

1. US employment increased from 110.7 million in 1994 to 138.9 million in 2007, a 25 percent expansion of the number of working Americans;
2. Export revenue averages out at approximately $25,000 for every American factory worker. The average factory workers earns $37,000 a year. Murphy makes the case that US businesses could not afford these wages without the export revenue.
3. The current rise in unemployment during this rough stretch in the economy has nothing to do with NAFTA. Unemployment during the period of NAFTA’s implementation averaged 5.1 percent while averaging 7.1 percent during a comparable period prior to NAFTA.
4. The states which have seen an increase in exports to Canada and Mexico are Texas, California, Ohio, Illinois, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Washington.
5. Canada and Mexico account for one-quarter of US merchandise business from small and median-sized businesses.
6. Canada and Mexico account for 37 percent of the total increase in agricultural exports since 1993.

Murphy concludes NAFTA should continue as the foundation for future efforts to strengthen the economy.

Briefing on Impact of Economy on Hispanic to be Held in March

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will hold a public briefing to discuss the impact the current state of the economy on Hispanic businesses.

The briefing will occur prior to the chamber’s legislative conference which will be held in Washington, DC March 9-11. The USHCC is surveying its members across the country to get their views and perceptions of the economy. These findings will be distributed publicly at that event.

Interesting reads

Stimulus

Affordable Housing Leaders Assess the Stimulus Bill
By Donna Kimura
Housing Finance Magazine

Obama warns mayors not to waste stimulus money
The Associated Press

Obama Gains G.O.P. Support From Governors
By Jackie Calmus
The New York Times

Housing and Community Development

Obama to Unveil an Ambitious Budget Plan
By Lori Montgomery and Ceci Connolly
The Washington Post

Carrión and Douglas Formally Named to Urban Affairs
By Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

Adolfo Carrion heads to White House for new urban policy position targeting money to needy cities
By Bob Kappstatter
The New York Daily News

Obama Proposes Package To Stave Off Foreclosures
Multibillion-Dollar Plan Aims to Help Modify Mortgages
By Michael A. Fletcher and Renae Merle
The Washington Post

Government Doubles Available Aid to Fannie and Freddie
By Binyamin Appelbaum
The Washington Post

Obama Plan on Housing Said to Push on Lenders
By Edmund L. Andrews
The New York Times

Fix-It Nation: In Tough Times, Tailors and Cobblers Thrive
By Sean Gregory
Time Magazine

Politics

Cuomo Creaming Gov. Paterson: Poll
By Maggie Haberman
The New York Post

Steele Makes History, but Can the New Party Chief Remake the GOP?
By Steven Gray
Time Magazine

Millennial Tremors
A new generation looks to transform American politics.
By Ronald Brownstein
The National Journal

A Record-Shattering Cycle?
The number of Senate seats up for grabs in 2010 may be unprecedented.
By Charlie Cook
The National Journal

Read more »

Commentary: Stimulus Must Lead to Changes in Local Approach to Problems

Local officials and advocates for neighborhood initiatives should not be lulled by the passage of the stimulus bill. The increase in funding will only delay the needed changes in the approach used to address local issues.

The stimulus bill provided the following increases:

• Public housing capital fund: $4 billion
• Community Development Block Grant: $1 billion
• Neighborhood Stabilization Program: $2 billion
• Emergency Shelter Grant: $1.5 billion
• HOME: $2.25 billion of which $2 billion goes to provide gap financing for Low Income Tax Credit projects.
• Infrastructure: $27.5 billion for modernizing roads and bridges; $8.4 billion for improving public transit and rail; $3.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Block Grant Program; $6 billion for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements; $1.2 billion for EPA’s nationwide environmental cleanup programs, including Superfund; and, $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers projects

The bill provides short term relief; however, now is the time for local officials and community advocates to pursue regulatory and legislative initiatives which offer greater flexibility and innovation. The stimulus debate has focused too much attention to job retention versus entrepreneurial activity. Yes, the bill includes tax breaks for current business owners but it does not provide enough incentives for individuals to become business owners.

Skeptics will argue a high percentage of businesses fail in their first year. This is true; however, studies also show times of economic distress are great motivators for entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. Studies also show businesses which have their start within an incubator have a greater chance of success versus those not seeded as a result of an incubator. A significant amount of funding for business incubators should have been included n the bill. We should be encouraging the unemployed to pursue self-employment. We fail to realize we need people to start businesses to create jobs. If there is a second stimulus bill, it should include funding to help local chambers of commerce to establish business incubators and provisions allowing greater flexibility to how federal programs are administered locally.

Commentary: Congress Should Take the Test

The admission of steroid use by Alex Rodriguez added another chapter to the on-going saga detailing the prevalence of performance enhancing drugs in sports. Members of Congress immediately deplored the use of such drugs by these athletes with good reasons. But for me it begs the question: how dependent are our elected officials on illegal substances? Shouldn’t our elected officials be screened before holding the oath of office?

President Obama promised change in America. As the administration is singling a change in approach to our country’s never ending fight against drug abuse, our elected officials need to step up and exert leadership on the issue. It is time for our elected officials to be drug tested. That’s right elected officials should submit to random drug test as a good faith effort to free America from the ravages of drug abuse.

Last year, a report by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) demonstrated that our society must get serious about addressing alcohol and drug abuse.

In brief, the report stated the following:

1. Half of all full-time college students binge drink, abuse prescription drugs or abuse illegal drugs;
2. Almost a quarter of all college students met he medical definition of substance abuse or dependence.
3. Abuse of prescription drugs such as Percocet, Vicodon and OxyContin rose 343 percent;
4. Abuse of stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall rose 93 percent;
5. Abuse of tranquilizers such as Xanax and Valium rose 450 percent;
6. Abuse of sedatives such as Nembutal and Seconal rose 225 percent;
7. Daily marijuana use more than doubled; and,
8. Use of other illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin rose 52 percent.

Those are frightening numbers. When they are combined with the ongoing stories of steroid abuse in sports and the devastating effects that methamphetamines is creating in local communities something dramatic must occur to demonstrate how serious and committed we as society are in addressing these problems.

That is where congressional and political leadership is critical. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., President and Chairman of CASA rightfully called on educators to take the high out of higher education. Conversely, political leaders must commit to its commitment to protect our communities from the dangers and consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.

Elected officials should submit to random drug testing, make the results public and set the example for this country if they truly want to win this battle against drugs. The timing is perfect. We have a president who has acknowledged snorting cocaine, a past president who abused alcohol abuse, and an ex-president who smoked, but didn’t inhale, marijuana.

Will this solve the problem? No. But given the magnitude of their daily decisions, we need assurances our political leaders are “clean” when conducting the business of governance. The decisions which resulted in the war in Iraq, underscore our right to know our political leaders are making decisions out of conviction and not addiction. Their decisions can mean life or death for some of us. We need assurances our leaders are clean. This will be a major step in the right direction, restore respect for our political leaders and demonstrate a seriousness to tackle a vexing, but highly profitable, issue.

We need leaders to rise above the crowd and demonstrate by their actions their desires to solve our countries problems. Politicians are very good with words; it is time to demonstrate their commitment with action.


New Report Says the Combined Cost of Housing and Transportation Strains Workers in Washington, DC Region

Housing located far from transit and employment centers places a heavy financial strain on working families in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, according to a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. Beltway Burden: The Combined Cost of Housing and Transportation in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, documents the challenges faced by area working families who are forced to "drive ‘till they qualify" for housing, incurring higher transportation costs that eventually erode their housing cost savings. It finds that area families are victim to combined housing and transportation costs that constitute, on average, nearly 47 percent of the area median income.

The report, prepared by the ULI Terwilliger Center in partnership with the Center for Housing Policy (CHP) and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), finds that region-wide, households spend an average of $23,000 on housing and $13,000 on transportation annually. An estimated 60 percent of households have either high housing cost burdens, high transportation cost burdens or both.

For more information, please contact Trish Riggs, ULI vice president of communications, at (202) 624-7086 or priggs@uli.org.

Interesting Read

Donovan Outlines Vision for HUD
By Jerry Ascierto
Housing Finance Magazine

States and Cities in Scramble for Stimulus Cash
By Monica Davey
The New York Times

Two Moderate GOP Senators Give Big Voice To Little Maine
By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Paul Kane
The Washington Post

Homelessness: The Family Portrait
Across Region, Economy Pulls Rug From Under More and More 2-Parent Households
By Chris L. Jenkins
The Washington Post

In Gingrich Mold, a New Voice for G.O.P. Resistance
By Adam Nagourney
The New York Times

Friends of fat cats? Suddenly, 3 Dem Politicians Look Like They May be Protecting Rich from Taxes
By Juan Gonzalez
The New York Daily news

The Madness of Rent Stabilization
Lawmakers Plan to Ruin NYC Housing
By Stefanie Cohen
The New York Post

Read more »

EDA Study Highlights Benefits of Business Incubators

A study released in January by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) concluded that business incubators generate more jobs per dollar invested than any public works initiative. The study, “Construction Grants Program Impact Assessment Report,” was announced in January in an EDA newsletter

The study, prepared by Grant Thorton, found that business incubators are the most effective means of creating jobs – more effective than roads and bridges, industrial parks, commercial buildings, and sewer and water projects. In fact, incubators provide up to 20 times more jobs than community infrastructure projects (e.g., water and sewer projects) at a cost of $144 to $216 per job compared with $2,920 to $6,872 for the latter, the report notes.

The study showed that on average, EDA investments produce between 2.2 and 5.0 jobs per $10,000 in federal spending, for a federal cost per job of between $2,001 and $4,611. Business incubators create between 46.3 and 69.4 jobs per $10,000 in federal investment, for a federal cost per job of between $144 and $216. The report also notes that, by dollar invested and by number of projects funded, business incubation programs have historically been the least well-funded of EDA’s public infrastructure projects.

“We agree with investing in highways, bridges and other elements of our aging infrastructure,” says Dinah Adkins, president & CEO of the National Business Incubation Association. “However, business incubators are critical components of the nation’s entrepreneurial support infrastructure and the only public works projects that were designed entirely as job generators. It is vitally important that the nation leverage its existing investments in incubators to generate new jobs and innovations and to help individuals facing layoffs to start their own firms.”

Another EDA-funded study in the mid-1990s found that 87 percent of all firms that had graduated from NBIA member incubation programs were still in business – and about 84 percent of those graduates remained in the incubator’s community. “The jobs created by incubators aren’t one-time construction jobs,” Adkins explains, “but enduring, high-paying positions that contribute to community and U.S. global competitiveness.”

NBIA estimates that in 2005 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for more than 100,000 workers and generated annual revenue of more than $17 billion. Many thousands more jobs have been created by companies that have graduated from these programs and now operate self-sufficiently in their communities.

For a detailed definition and explanation of the history of incubators visit NBIA’s web site.

HUD Secretary: We must limit foreclosures

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Gerri Willis, Shaun Donovan talks about what's needed to get the housing market and economy back on track.

Sims Selected as Deputy Secretary of HUD

King County Executive Ron Sims has been selected to be the next Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He will be responsible to oversee the day-to-day operations of the department. For a detailed review of his background click here.

Housing Solutions Week 2009 Begins February 17

The National Housing Conference (NHC) and its research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, will host Housing Solutions Week 2009 which is a series of events to release reports and hold discussions on the current housing crisis.

Activities to take place during the week include the release of three research briefs funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The first brief explores reviews the preposition that affordable housing is the cause for a decline in property values. The second brief looks at how data is helping state and local communities address their affordable housing problem. The third brief looks at how affordable housing affects its inhabitants.

The week will include the launch of two on-line resources for those interested in addressing the affordable housing problem in their community. The first site provides a wide range of up-to-date information on a number of state and local policy solutions to preventing foreclosures and stabilizing neighborhoods. The other site is a discussion forum to allow practitioners and policymakers to converse on-line to share ideas and best practices.

For more information contact NHC.

Questions with Dinah Adkins of the National Business Incubation Association

Dinah Adkins has been chief staff executive (now President and CEO) of the National Business Incubation Association since November 1988 when the association moved its headquarters from Pennsylvania to Athens, Ohio. Ms. Adkins oversees all activities of the 1,900-plus member organization of incubator managers and developers and she heads a staff of 15. The most international business incubation association, NBIA currently has members representing 59 nations. It is at least six times larger than any of its peer associations.

Under Adkins’ direction, the Association has greatly expanded its customer base, quintupled membership and increased revenues many-fold. NBIA has developed a comprehensive array of member services including publications, training, research, consulting and information clearinghouse activities, and it has significantly expanded its prestige in the United States and abroad. With Adkins in the lead, NBIA has managed consulting efforts for major Japanese, Bulgarian, Chinese, Kuwaiti and American contractors, both government and private. The Association maintains a Web site with more than 12,000 pages of information on business incubation and NBIA, and individuals who have questions about business incubation and entrepreneurship development contact NBIA more than any other organization.

Prior to assuming her position with NBIA, Ms. Adkins was founding staff of the Ohio University Innovation Center, a campus-based incubator, from its inception in 1982. She managed the incubator from January 1986 until July 1989. Ms. Adkins also worked in journalism, public relations and events management. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in English from Ohio University.

Why is it important for Congress to recognize incubators in the stimulus bill?

As the EDA study illustrated, business incubators are the most cost-effective way to help stimulate the local economy. However, the responsible solution is not choosing between roads and bridges or incubators but in ensuring that incubators, which have proven themselves to be the most significant generators of new jobs, are not left out.

What are the most misunderstood benefits of business incubators?

First, there has historically been some confusion about what constitutes an incubator. A business incubation program as a comprehensive program of services targeted to accelerate the growth and success of start-up and emerging firms. While the vast majority of incubators have buildings, the facility isn’t the incubation program; it’s the services that make the incubator. Incubators also graduate self-sufficient businesses into the community. Effective incubation programs should be dynamic generators of successful businesses and jobs, with a steady deal flow of new companies entering and more mature firms exiting the incubator. Incubators are not hospitals for sick businesses, and multi-tenant buildings that do not offer the services and “flow-through” described above aren’t incubators; they’re real estate.

This is a misunderstanding about incubators that some people have but perhaps not the “misunderstood benefit” you’ve asked for. Hmmm, perhaps it has to do with the quality of jobs provided by incubators. Our research has shown that these are high-paying, enduring jobs that provide benefits to employees. The job creation benefits provided by business incubators are not the same as average jobs created in a community; they are better jobs, and they are frequently associated with companies that are commercializing innovations that make our communities, and our country, more competitive.

Some states have established business centers to assist local entrepreneurs. What is the difference between a business incubator and these business centers?

The business centers you refer to are Small Business Development Centers (though some have slightly different names). The U.S. Small Business Administration www.sba.gov the SBDC program to provide general business assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs and similar programs differ from incubators in that they do not specifically target early-stage companies. They often serve small businesses at any stage of development. Some business incubators partner and share management with the SBDCs to avoid duplicating business assistance services in a region.

In addition to the above, I would add that client businesses of incubators are highly screened and enter the incubation program, are served and benchmarked along the way, and then exit the program; in other words they get continuous service as they grow their company to sustainability. Services are not episodic, as provided by SBDCs. You can participate in a workshop at an SBDC, or get help with a business plan, but you don’t need to engage in a two to five year program of activity designed to make your company successful. (The average graduation from an incubator occurs in from two to three years, but some companies such as those engaged in developing biotechnology products take much longer.)

How diverse are the incubators currently in operation? For example, are a majority focused on technology businesses or do they vary?

Fifty-four percent of incubators are mixed use – meaning that they take a variety of light manufacturing, service and technology companies. Thirty-nine percent are technology incubators, and some of these may be sector specific – devoted to clean technologies, medical devices or biotech, or homeland defense. The remaining incubators may be focused on only service or manufacturing firms or devoted to food production or to arts and crafts businesses. There are a lot more technology companies in mixed-use incubators than there were 20 years ago due to the evolution of our economy, and there are fewer old-time manufacturing firms. Generally, technology incubators are located in proximity to some significant technology generator(s) such as major research universities, federal laboratories and large technology industries. Communities that don’t have access to these resources tend to have mixed use incubators, and of course there are mixed use incubators in metropolitan areas that also have technology incubators.

What can be done to promote incubators in the future?

Of course we need to do more research to show the value of business incubation; NBIA is engaged in a large U.S. Department of Commerce funded research effort now. But incubators are growing inexorably, because best practices programs are so successful. There were only 10 to 15 incubators in the U.S. in 1980 and there are approximately 1,000 today, and perhaps 7,000 around the globe. Many universities, economic development agencies and others have “seen the light” so to speak. And success breeds success. The concept of business incubation is very adaptable, and each incubator can be tailored to capitalize on local resources and strengths. Also, incubator managers and incubation programs have become increasingly sophisticated over the last 20 or so years, and this will continue as we gain more tools and understanding of how to support entrepreneurial firms. Entrepreneurs themselves are more sophisticated, which is driving up program quality as well. And other institutions such as universities have become more involved in business incubation over the years, which bring additional resources to bear in support of entrepreneurs.

Interesting Reads

Foreclosure fix: Obama's options
Administration officials are racing to find a way to use bailout funds to help homeowners. Stopping the foreclosure plague won't be easy.
By Tami Luhby
CNNMoney.com

White House: Census Director to ‘Work Closely’ with West Wing
By Jonathan Allen
Congressional Quarterly

Double Blow for Police: Less Cash, More Crime
By Carrie Johnson
The Washington Post

Schools Face Sharp Rise in Homeless Students
Educators Rush to Offer Help amid Bad Economy
By Maria Glod
The Washington Post

News Analysis
As Nominee Trips, Health Care Drive Suffers a Setback
By Peter Baker and Robert Pear
The New York Times

Despite Federal Aid, Many Banks Fail to Revive Lending
By Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer

The new jobless
Could this be you? The recession is throwing millions out of work. What the new jobless class can tell you about what it's like out there.
By Jennifer Reingold
Fortune Magazine

Internet Money in Fiscal Plan: Wise or Waste?
By David M. Herszenhorn
The New York Times

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Engineers Say Stimulus Not Large Enough for Infrastructure Needs

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released a report which says the proposed stimulus boll does not provide enough funding to address the nation’s infrastructure needs.

The group released its 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure which provides grades in 15 infrastructure categories. The organization says the nation’s infrastructure needs $2.2 trillion in repairs and upgrades to meet current needs. The organization released a report in 2005 which also called for increased investment in the nation’s infrastructure. In 2005 the nation needed to invest $1.7 trillion to meet its infrastructure needs.

The group says the current stimulus plan is at least $1 trillion short of meeting the overall infrastructure needs of the country.

Interesting Read

Stimulus

Ohioans Seek Slice of the Stimulus Pie
By Peter Slevin
The Washington Post

8 Questions on the Stimulus Package
By Michael A. Fletcher
The Washington Post

The Big Deal
The Sums Are Staggering. But The Real Stunner Is the Ambition.
By Dan Morgan
The Washington Post

FDR Was a Great Leader, but His Economic Plan Isn't One to Follow
By Amity Shlaes
The Washington Post

Once the Stimulus Kicks In, the Real Fight Begins
By Robert B. Reich
The Washington Post

An $800 Billion Mistake
By Martin Feldstein
The Washington Post

Democrats among Stimulus Skeptics
Some See Long-Term Goals Going Unmet
By Alec MacGillis
The Washington Post

Other items

From the Second City, an Extended First Family
Obama's Mother-in-Law, Other Chicagoans Bring Home to White House
By Eli Saslow
The Washington Post

Local Police Want Right to Jam Wireless Signals
By Spencer S. Hsu
The Washington Post

Welfare System Failing to Grow as Economy Lags
By Jason DeParle
The New York Times

Feds allege plot to destroy Fannie Mae data
USA Today

For GOP, a Case of Misshapen Identity
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
The Washington Post

Treasury Weighs Hard Choices to Save Banks
Any Path Carries Risk of Failure
By David Cho
The Washington Post

Fannie Mae to Seek Funds from Treasury
Mortgage Firms' Requests for Aid near $65 Billion
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
The Washington Post

Read more »