Municipal Bond Market Support Act of 2008

H.R. 3657/S.3500 - the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act, to amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications. H.R. 2072/S. 1020 - To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period during which licensees are required to commence construction of certain hydropower projects. S. 3518 - FLOWS Act, To amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, and for other purposes. H.R.7129 / S. 3684 - Water Power Research and Development Reauthorization Act, To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reauthorize water power research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities, and for other purposes.

Client expense: $110,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

H.R. 5267 (Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008); Valuation safe harbor under IRC section 475 mark-to-market requirements; Valuation of CDOs and related securities for purposes of section 475; Taxation of credit default swaps; taxation of national principal contracts; H.R. 3970 (Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2007)/ H.R. 878 (Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act)/ S. 601(Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act)/ H.R. 5720 (Housing Assistance Tax Act)/ H.R. 3221(Housing and Economic Recovery Act)/ S. 3335 (Tax Relief Extension Act)/ H.R. 6049 (Energy and Tax Extenders Act)/ H.R. 7060 (Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act)/ H.R. 7201 (Energy Improvement and Extension Act)/ H.R.1424 (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act): (adjusted basis reporting requirements for brokers and delay in filing deadline for 1099 statement); H.R. 1509 (To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the subpart F exemption for active financing income)/ H.R. 6049 (Energy and Tax Extenders Act)/ S. 3125 (Energy Independence and Tax Relief Act )/ S. 2886 (Alternative Minimum Tax and Extenders Tax Relief Act)/ S. 3335 (Tax Relief Extension Act)/ S. 940 (To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the subpart F exemption for active financing income)/ S. 3098 (Alternative Minimum Tax and Extenders Tax Relief Act)/ H.R. 7060 (Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act)/ H.R. 7202 (Temporary Tax Relief Act)/ H.R. 1424 (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act): (active financing exception under Subpart F); Tax treatment of derivatives generally; Tax patent reporting; Foreign tax credit rules (including proposed "technical taxpayer" rule, noncompulsory payment rules); Allocation of income and deductions from global securities dealing operations; OECD project on attribution of profits to permanent establishments; Withholding tax consequences of self tenders and other distributions analyzed under IRC section 302; OECD Forum on Tax Administration's project on tax intermediaries and banks; OECD and EU projects on provision of treaty withholding tax relief when investment is made through collective investment vehicles or other intermediated structures; Arbitration provisions in OECD Model Tax Convention, U.S. bilateral tax treaties, U.S. Model Treaty; International reform generally, including importance of interest expense allocation rules; IRS Form W-8 and instructions; Currency gains and losses of qualified business units under IRC section 987; Cross-border equity swaps; H.R. 4912 (Tax treatment of prepaid derivatives contracts); OECD request for comments on transactional profit methods; IRS Section 265 (b) safe harbor concerning interest expense deductibility; Revenue Procedure 2008-28 (effect of loan modifications on tax status of REMICs and other securitization vehicles); Tax reporting with respect to widely-held fixed investment trusts (Treas. Reg. section 1.671-5); H.R. 6333 (Municipal Bond Market Support Act)/ S. 3518 (Municipal Bond Market Support Act):(municipal bond tax provisions); H.R. 1424 (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act)/ H.R. 6049 (Energy and Tax Extenders Act)/ S. 3125 (Energy Independence and Tax Relief Act)/ S. 3335 (Tax Relief Extension Act): (executive compensation tax provisions); H.R. 1424 (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act) (tax-related regulatory issues relating to EESA programs); Economic Stimulus legislation (carryback of net operating losses; tax-exempt bond provisions; REMICs, modifications of energy tax credits).

Client expense: $1,320,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Education, Dept of, Executive Office of the President (EOP), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve System, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Natl Economic Council (NEC), Natl Security Council (NSC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), SENATE, Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), White House Office

S. 1677 (Currency Reform and Financial Markets Access Act) (International Economic Coordination/Market Access); Fee Based Brokerage Accounts; Soft Dollars; Client Commission Arrangements; 12B-1 Fees; Global Capital Markets Competitiveness; Hedge Funds, private pools of capital, asset management issues; S. 1782 (Arbitration Fairness Act); H.R. 3010 (Arbitration Fairness Act); H.R. 3225 (Mutual Fund Fee Reform Act); Sovereign Wealth Funds; Auction Rate Securities Market; Rule 15a-6 (Facilitating foreign broker dealer cross-border access to US sophisticated investors); H.R. 6333 (The Municipal Bond Market Support Act); S. 3518 (The Municipal Bond Market Support Act); H.R. 6308 (Municipal Bond Fairness Act); Credit Ratings for Structured Finance Products; SEC Nominations; Cross border securities activities; Section 13(d) ownership of equity swaps; Regulatory restructuring/discount window access; H.R. 5720 (Housing Assistance Tax Act) (Foreclosure Prevention); H.R. 3221 (Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008); S. 2636 (Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008); Treasury Blueprint/Regulatory Restructuring; H.R. 1424 (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act); H.R. 6482 (To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish both a process by which asset-backed instruments can be deemed eligible for NRSRO ratings and an initial list of such eligible asset-backed instruments); Financial Services Regulatory Restructuring; S. 3714 (Derivatives Trading Integrity Act of 2008); Regulation of Credit Default Swaps; G-20 Summit (discussion paper submitted outlining SIFMA's broad principles for Global Modernization of Financial Supervision and Regulation).

Client expense: $1,320,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Education, Dept of, Executive Office of the President (EOP), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve System, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Natl Economic Council (NEC), Natl Security Council (NSC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), SENATE, Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), White House Office