NPR 2008-03-15

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Raum.

The House and the Senate have approved separate 3-trillion-dollar spending plans while calling on the next Congress to roll back President Bush's tax cuts for wealthier Americans. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

The House and Senate plans were approved on largely party-line votes. Both proposals call for more spending this year than the president has proposed, and both would extend tax cuts for middle-income Americans set to expire at the end of 2010. The plans will allow the tax cuts for upper-income Americans to expire. The budgets are non-binding but set forth 1 Democrats 2 priorities for the next 5 years. The Senate rejected an amendment 3 that would have placed a one year moratorium 4 on earmarks, the special-interest spending projects which critics say have been abused. It drew the support of the 3 presidential candidates, but few other Senators backed it. Brian Naylor, NPR News.

The House is expected to take up a domestic surveillance bill today. The proposed legislation would make it easier for intelligence agencies to eavesdrop 5 on foreign telephone calls and email communications that pass through the United States. The House debated the measure in a closed session last night, the first such secret session in 25 years. The last one was in 1983 when lawmakers debated U.S. support for paramilitary operations in Nicaragua. Last night, House members had to sign a confidentiality 6 oath that they would not reveal what's said during the debate.

Help could be on the way for homeowners facing foreclosure: a new bill being introduced in Congress aims to help refinance more than a million loans in trouble. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

The bill will be introduced by Congressman 7 Barney Frank. It aims to dramatically expand the number of people who could qualify for help of the Federal Housing Administration. Homeowners will need to be able to afford a reasonable interest rate. And in many cases, lenders will need to forgive a portion of the debt to bring it to 90% of the house's current value. Michael Calhoun heads up the Center for Responsible Lending. "This program would have a far greater impact than the Hope Now Alliance." He's referring to the effort backed by the Bush administration to help homeowners. Some economists 8, though, are skeptical 9. They say like the Hope Now Alliance, this effort also relies on the industry's voluntary involvement. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

President Bush speaks to the New York Economic Club today. Officials say he will provide an upbeat message on the economy that better times are coming as soon as an economic stimulus 10 package takes effect. The president is expected to urge consumers to have confidence in the long-term future of the economy.

Wall Street opens this morning with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 12,145. It gained 35 points yesterday after having dropped more than 220 points earlier in the session.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The federal government has approved plans that would allow drilling for natural gas on the Roan Plateau in Colorado. Environmental groups want to preserve the plateau for wildlife and recreation. From Denver, NPR's Jeff Brady reports.

A natural gas boom is underway in the Rocky Mountain West, and thousands of permits for drilling wells are issued each year. But this was one place environmental groups said should be off-limits. The potential gas reserves under the plateau are enormous. Federal royalties 11 over the next 20 years could top a billion dollars. The Bureau of Land Management says it's possible to allow drilling while still protecting the area. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter says he's disappointed by the BLM's decision. He wants drilling leases on the plateau to be sold in phases with more restrictions 12. He plans to ask members of Congress to pass legislation that requires the BLM to do that. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Denver.

Voting is underway in Iran for a new parliament. This is the 8th parliamentary election in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. There are 290 seats at stake. Some 4500 candidates are on the ballot 13. That's hundreds fewer than had wanted to run. The Guardian 14 Council had disqualified some 1700 candidates, saying they were insufficiently 15 loyal to Islam or the revolution.