Obama: TARP would fund plans for business

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama outlined his plan to help private businesses hire and grow Tuesday, saying he would use bank bailout funds to finance it.

The administration is proposing a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff, Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution.

Building on the tax cuts included in the stimulus package he signed into law in February, Obama said, "we are proposing a complete elimination on capital gains taxes on small business investment" in the coming year, along with extending write-offs to encourage small businesses to expand.

"I believe it's worthwhile to create a tax incentive to encourage small businesses to add and keep employees and I'm going to work with Congress to pass one," he said.

The administration also proposes investing in infrastructure nationwide beyond what was included in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Obama said.

"These are needed public works that engage private sector companies, spurring hiring across the country," Obama said. "What this means is that we're going to see even more work -- and workers -- on Recovery projects in the next six months than we saw in the last six months."

The third effort to move the economy ahead would be an extension of relief provisions in the Recovery Act, including emergency assistance to seniors, unemployment insurance benefits, COBRA health insurance, and relief to states and cities to prevent layoffs.

To help support the just-announced initiatives, Obama said, "we're going to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program" used to help stabilize the U.S. financial system.

TARP fulfilled its original purpose at a lower cost than expected, Obama said, and is on track "to actually reap billions in profit for the taxpaying public."

"This gives us a chance to pay down the deficit faster than we thought possible and to shift funds that would have gone to help the banks on Wall Street to help create jobs on Main Street," Obama said.