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NRF Welcomes House Passage of Financial Rescue Bill, Says Measure Will Protect Main Street Jobs

WASHINGTON-(Business Wire)-October 3, 2008 - The National Retail Federation welcomed today’s House passage of legislation to address the nation’s financial crisis, saying the bill would help protect Main Street jobs in addition to stabilizing Wall Street and credit markets.

“This legislation will help protect jobs on Main Street by restoring confidence and stability on Wall Street,” NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations Steve Pfister said. “Yesterday, we stood on the verge of an unprecedented financial calamity that had already begun to threaten millions of Americans regardless of whether they were investors, owned a modest 401(k) or simply held a job. Today the House has voted for a plan that will maintain the ability of American consumers and businesses to obtain the credit needed to keep our economic engine running and to pave the road to economic recovery.”

“Retailers have worked diligently over the past several days to make sure members of the House and Senate fully understood the profound impact the lack of functioning credit markets would have on businesses and consumers across the nation,” Pfister said. “Whether you work in a retail store, a factory or in the service sector, the job of almost every American depends on his or her employer’s ability to obtain credit to buy materials, update equipment and make payroll. Without readily accessible business credit, hard-working Americans could quickly find themselves out of a job. In addition, today’s trying economic times make credit more important than ever for consumers trying to make ends meet. Today’s vote was a vote to protect American jobs and the American economy.”

In addition to establishing a system to restore stability to the nation’s financial markets, the legislation approved by the House includes two significant and longstanding retail priorities that were added to the bill earlier this week by the Senate.

The first is a provision that would renew a depreciation rule that expired at the end of 2007 that allowed retailers who lease their stores to write off remodeling expenses over 15 years rather than the previous 39 years. The rule would be extended through the end of 2009 and also expanded to include owned stores for the first time in response to NRF’s arguments that it was unfair to put retailers who own their stores – many of them small or rural merchants – at a disadvantage. Remodeling is particularly important in the current economic climate as retailers try to revitalize failing stores, but having to depreciate the costs over 39 years rather than 15 makes it more difficult to know that the investment will pay off.

The other is a measure strongly backed by NRF that would require health plans to provide the same level of coverage for mental illnesses as physical illnesses. The bipartisan compromise says coverage for mental health can be no more restrictive than for other coverage, including co-pays, deductions and out-of-pocket expenses. NRF believes mental health parity is important to the economy because of the productivity losses that occur when any illness – physical or mental – is left untreated.

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail companies, more than 25 million employees – about one in five American workers – and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents over 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com

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