The Burton Blog

Sallie Mae Jobs in Danger

With the proposed overhaul of the school loan industry, employees at Sallie Mae are facing the large possibility of losing their jobs.  Congressman Burton is pushing for the final fight to keep jobs that will affect hundreds of employees at home in Indiana. The Indianapolis Star covers more here:

"If the U.S. House passes H.R. 3221 today, as it is expected to do, then it will be up to the U.S. Senate to stop the government takeover," Burton said in remarks shared with media prior to the vote.

According to a transcript of his remarks, he continued: "More than 30,000 private sector jobs are directly affected by what you're going to do today. In my district, or in the state of Indiana, 2,356 jobs, and right in the 5th District it is 1,500 jobs.

"Our unemployment rate in [Indiana] is 10.4 percent. I don't understand, at a time of economic difficulty, why you want to do something that's going to put more people out of work, especially when you're talking about a program that didn't work before. It was junked, and now you're going to resurrect it."

Howard County Aide

 Congressman Burton has pushed another effort to help Howard County recover the losses it has taken from Chrysler's failure to pay property taxes.  Congressmen Burton and Donnelly and Senator Lugar hosted a meeting with the Auto Industry's Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.  The Kokomo Perspective shares Burton's response.

"Whether it's 'old Chrysler' or 'new Chrysler,' they have an obligation to the people of Howard County. These people have been supportive of Chrysler for so many years, and I think it's unconscionable that police officers, firefighters, and teachers are threatened with layoffs because Chrysler has not paid their personal property taxes.

"Even so, I appreciate Dr. Montgomery accepting our meeting request and sharing his thoughts on the situation. Looking ahead, we learned that, as far as the Auto Task Force is aware, Howard County is the only place in America with this problem. We were also told that Howard County officials, along with Kokomo officials, are scheduled to meet with representatives of Chrysler in the near future.

"It is my hope that, as those Chrysler representatives sit down at the table with our local officials, they keep in the forefront of their minds the unique and dire situation facing the people of Howard County, as well as the generosity of taxpayers in this country who paid for Chrysler to survive."

Investigation of Merrill Lynch

Congressman Burton is one of 17 House members pushing for an investigation of the federal government for their role in Bank of America's overtake of Merrill Lynch. Bill O'Boyle of timesleader.com explains more on the issue:

The House members are questioning whether the federal government, including former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, exerted pressure on Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch.

The 17 legislators – three Democrats and 14 Republicans – on Friday sent a letter to Obama requesting the investigation. The Obama administration has proposed granting new powers to the Fed in an effort to overhaul the financial system.

In the letter, the legislators wrote: “While Chairman Bernanke testified that he made no such threats in relation to the merger, there is a considerable amount of other testimony and evidence that calls into question those claims. No additional powers should be contemplated for the Federal Reserve, however, until this issue is thoroughly investigated and the Federal Reserve is cleared of any wrongdoing.”

The more you have, the more you sell

Logic would have it that dealerships have to have cars in order to sell them.  In the time that auto companies have been shutting down dealerships, Rep Burton has been fighting to keep the doors of local Indy dealerships open.  He states that there is no logical reason why major producers are pulling cars especially when they admit that there is "no downside to keeping these dealerships open." Channel 13 explains more on the issue.

Indiana 5th district Representative Dan Burton said, "Isn't this too late to do anything about this? I don't think it's too late. They can always rescind the decision that's been made, Chrysler I'm talking about."

Congressman Burton spoke with several Indianapolis dealers Saturday. He has co-sponsored two bills to restore franchise rights to dealerships affected by the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies.

In addition to a representative from Palmer, Congressman Burton also met with three GM dealers but none of them wanted to comment, because their futures are still very much up in the air.

"According to the dealers, there's no downside to keeping these dealerships open. There is no cost to the companies for keeping these dealerships open. So why are they closing them? The more dealerships there are, the more cars you're going to sell," Burton said.

"We are in a situation right now to destroy the United States of America"

We are at a turning point in the United States history.  We have the chance to turn towards the path to success or the road to failure.  The United States forthcoming decisions regarding the recession will determine our future as a country.  At this time, the American debt affects you as an individual, your family, your family yet-to-come, your town, your city, your state, and your nation.

It is vital to sustain awareness of your government's choices.  Here is a clip from BlogTalkRadio that features Dan Burton discussing the economic hardships that are facing us and our future generations due to the decisions of the Obama administration. Burton's dialogue begins at the 33 minute and 30 seconds mark.

Struggling Automaker Being Investigated for Fraud After Backing Out of Deal

Below is a full article from ABC news that brings widespread attention to Congressman Burton's fight for Tipton in the the Chrysler/Tipton controversy. 

By ANGELA M. HILL
ABC News
April 30, 2009—


Already struggling Chrysler is now being investigated for securities fraud for allegedly stiffing a small county for millions in bonds and expenses over a failed transmission plant project that county officials say could leave the county scraping its coffers. The Indiana Secretary of State filed a complaint against Chrysler and is seeking about $10 million from the car company and one local Congressman says the automaker should not receive any more bailout funds until the small county is reimbursed.

In September, 2008, Tipton County, IN issued $5.5 million in bonds each to Chrysler and Getrag Transmission to build a $530 million dual clutch transmission plant. A day after the bonds were issued, Chrysler told Getrag it would not provide it the assurances needed to finance the project. Two months later Getrag filed for bankruptcy and the project was cancelled.

The 900,000 square-foot transmission plant was expected to provide up to 1400 jobs. Now the 16,000 residents of this agricultural county is left bondless, loaded with debt and stuck with a partially completed plant.

"There's no way we would have issued the bonds had we known Chrysler was going to pull out of the project," said Jane Harper, a Tipton County Commissioner.

For months, Tipton County contacted Chrysler in an attempt to recover the bonds and other expenses.

The county's agreement with Chrysler stated "If Chrysler and Getrag were unable to reach complete agreement on the terms of the cooperative development of the project, Chrysler was responsible for reimbursing Tipton County for all third party costs incurred in furtherance of the project&"

Chrysler agreed to return the bonds last month, but not reimburse the county's expenses. Tipton County Commissioners rejected the offer. They insist Chrysler also owes them $4.5 million in expenses.

Indiana's Office of the Secretary of State recently issued the securities fraud complaint against Chrysler. It contends the troubled automaker failed to notify Tipton County of their lack of agreement with Getrag prior to Tipton County issuing bonds to the two companies.

Chrysler Files for Bankruptcy
"Indiana has a long automotive manufacturing heritage and we need to preserve it," said Secretary of State Todd Rokita. "But we also need to ensure a level playing field within all industries, and that includes protecting victims whether they are individuals or groups like taxpayers in Tipton County."

The complaint adds to the woes of the beleaguered automaker. Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today in what is seen as a move to reorganize its operation and strengthen its alliance agreement with Italian car maker Fiat. As a reward for its efforts, the federal government has agreed to support Chrysler with $3.3 billion in debt to get the company though an expedited bankruptcy proceeding. In addition, President Barack Obama's Administration says it is also prepared to loan approximately $4.7 billion to the "new" Chrysler

"As a part of their proposal for additional funds from the government, Chrysler should make a commitment that they will take care of this obligation to Tipton County," said Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), who petitioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on behalf of the county.

Chrysler, in a written statement response to the fraud filing, said "Since the matter is currently in litigation, Chrysler will make no further comment."

The company is required to appear at a hearing on June 24, 2009 at the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis.

"We won't be able to generate revenues from the site so we'll likely have to raise property taxes," said County Commissioner Harper. "The cancellation of this project has affected thousands of people in an adverse way," said Harper.

Tipton county has also filed a $14.1 million claim against Getrag Transmission in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Southern Michigan.

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.


Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

Burton to be on TeaPartyLive.tv

COMMUNICATION RELEASE – FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
RELEASED BY PRODUCENETTV

Brought to you by: teaPartyLive.png  produceNetTV.png

Monday, April 13, 2009

TeaPartyLive.tv will be broadcasting several Mid-West Tax Day Tea Parties Live on April 15th, 2009. This live broadcast will include up to the minute coverage and commentary, as well as exclusive interviews with conservative/true principle leaders and activists. ProduceNetTV will also include commentary and feedback from public feet on the street.

Highlights include Stan Solomon, on-air personality and lifelong activist for conservative values; US Representative Dan Burton; and Amy Kremer, national representative for Tax Day Tea Parties.

ProduceNetTV will be including an interactive forum accessed via their website, www.teapartylive.tv , where participants can comment, chat live or call using communication platforms like Skype, Twitter, Facebook and others. ProduceNetTV is encouraging all person’s that want to be heard to contact ProduceNetTV with their Tea Party comments, concerns, and feedback. They will be selecting and addressing several of these participants live on air in efforts to facilitate conversations and discussion with leaders and activists. All contact information will be available via website and is listed below:

Twitter: TeaPartyLive
Skype to Skype: 317-608-2888
GoToMeeting: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/413517587
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Direct Call In: 317-806-0123

About ProduceNetTV: ProduceNetTV is a video-casting production company specializing in bringing specific messages to market. ProduceNetTV gives tools to events, brands, and services to produce their own content and deliver their message. ProduceNetTV will then professionally edit and produce the content into a videocast. They then take the videocast to broadcast, promote, and market the message to the masses.

To contact ProduceNetTV, visit www.producenettv.com or contact Danielle McDowell at dmcdowell@enterpriseus.net , 317-750-8103.

Congressman Burton attempts to keep Sallie Mae jobs in Fishers area

WishTV 8 shows Dan Burton speaking to Sallie Mae employees about the company's future.

Burton's Press Coverage of Tipton/Chrysler Dispute

Listed below are videos and articles that cover Congressman Burton's efforts to help Tipton County prevail in the dissent with Chrysler.

Tipton Declines Renewed Chrysler Offer (Kokomo Tribune Today)

Fox News segment


WISH –  Tipton/Chrysler


WISH – More coverage on Channel 8

WTHR- Tipton/Chrysler

WTHR – More coverage of Tipton/Chrysler

Chrysler Pressured to Repay Ind. County over Plant (Fox 28)

Burton Phones Treasury Secretary (Kokomo Tribune Saturday)

Hoosier Lawmaker Wants Chrysler Bailout Put on Hold (WPTA, WISE)

The fight for Tipton County continues

Ken de la Bastide from the Kokomo Tribune marks another instance in Congressman Burton's battle for Tipton County.  Bastide's article:

With $5 billion in federal loans to Chrysler hanging in the balance, Congressman Dan Burton has raised the stakes in the fight between the automaker and Tipton County.

Burton, R-5th District, said Chrysler should not receive any additional federal bridge loans until it pays Tipton County the money officials believes it is owed.

Tipton County on Tuesday turned down an offer from Chrysler to relinquish $5.5 million in bonds used to pay for infrastructure at the proposed Getrag Transmission plant.

Tipton County officials told Chrysler they want the company to honor a commitment agreement to cover all the county’s cost if the plant is not completed. In addition to the $5.5 million in bonds sold to Chrysler, Tipton County wants the company to provide $4.2 million in bonds sold to Harris Bank and $300,000 in county Economic Development Funds used for infrastructure improvements.

County officials gave Chrysler until Thursday to respond with a counter offer.

Tipton County Commissioner Jane Harper said Thursday she received a communication from Chrysler on Thursday, but there was no new offer from the company.

Burton sent a letter Thursday appealing to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner not to provide Chrysler with another $5 billion in federal loans to avoid bankruptcy and restructure until Tipton County recovers the costs of the infrastructure improvements to the plant site.

The letter states Burton believes no additional taxpayer money should be provided to Chrysler until the Tipton County matter is equitably resolved.

Burton said Chrysler should honor its obligations as a result of a commitment agreement signed in 2007 in which Chrysler agreed to pay all third party costs if the Getrag project is not completed.

He wrote Chrysler officials have indicated a willingness to negotiate a settlement but the Treasury Department has ultimate authority over the company’s finances.

Burton wants to know from Geithner if the Tipton County matter has been discussed, and if not, will the Automotive Task Force require the dispute to be resolved before any more bridge loans are provided.

“I’m a little disappointed with Chrysler,” Burton said in a phone interview. “I told them we want to find some solution, but Tipton County can’t be left holding $4 or $5 million that would fall on the backs of the taxpayers.”

Burton said he is pushing hard to get this resolved.