Rent-to-own News - Democrats reach 58 in Senate, early voting begins in Chambliss race

Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, according to the AP. His defeat by Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats one step closer to a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in Congress.

A recount is possible, but should Begich hold on his victory raises Democrats' Senate majority to 58 seats, with races in Georgia and Minnesota still undecided.

Stevens, who turned 85 on Tuesday, was trailing Begich by 3,724 votes when the result was declared after a two-week count of absentee and early voting ballots.

Stevens was involved in politics before Alaska was a state, and over his senatorial career, he has secured billions of dollars in federal aid for transportation and military projects. His ouster marks an abrupt shift in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate.

Tuesday's tally of just over 24,000 absentee and other ballots gave Begich 150,728, or 47.76 percent, to 147,004, or 46.58 percent, for Stevens. There are about 2,500 overseas ballots yet to be counted.

Stevens was found guilty in October on federal corruptions charges or failure to report extensive renovations to his Girdwood, Alaska home.

Minnesota

The contentious fight for a U.S. Senate seat between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken moved into the recount phase this morning as election workers across Minnesota started re tabulating more than 2.9 million ballots -- one by one.

The recount is being carried out in more than 100 sites across Minnesota. It is required under state law because the votes cast for Coleman and Franken differed by less than 0.5 percent. Coleman's 215-vote lead heading into the recount translates to 0.008 percent.

Georgia

Early voting began today in the runoff between Republican incumbent and rent-to-own co-sponsor Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. Neither candidate secured a majority in the three way race with Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley.

Lieberman Effect:

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman is one of two Independents -- the other is Bernie Sanders -- who caucus with the Democrats and who are counted among the Democrats current 58 seat majority.

After Lieberman's public support of Republican Sen. John McCain's failed presidential bid, it remained unclear to what degree the move would affect his relationship with the party and it's potential 60-seat filibuster-proof majority.

On Tuesday, by a 42-13 vote, the Democrats of the Senate decided only to pull Lieberman out of the Environment and Public Works Committee, including taking his chairmanship of one of its subcommittees.

Lieberman will continue to preside over the powerful Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

RTO

The economic downturn and the shift of power in Washington will ultimately affect how Congress deals with the rent-to-own industry in the next session and will spotlight regulation of financial markets and consumer affairs.

With the U.S. economy chief on its plate of concerns, the next Congress will continue to focus on financial services, credit and market regulation. The committees of jurisdiction for rent-to-own industry legislation -- the Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act -- will be of particular interest for the next Congress.

All the more reason for rental dealers to join APRO's 2009 Legislative Conference this year to tell the rent-to-own story, explain the importance of the transaction to consumers in credit strapped times, and make sure the right RTO bill gets the attention, said APRO Public Affairs Director Richard May.

"With the focus on the (Senate) Banking Committee and the (House) Financial Services Committee, we believe we have a convincing story to tell," May said. "We believe we can help this by showing how our transaction can help millions of credit strapped American consumers."

With the added responsibilities of steering the $700 billion banking bailout package and with U.S. auto-makers now asking for assistance, Congress will have its hands especially full next session.

"The congressional address of the economic meltdown continues to complicate matters and highlight where rent-to-own fits," Mays said. "It's our job to tell legislators how it fits."
 
RTO industry supported legislation earned 100 sponsors in House and 22 in the Senate last session. The bill will be re-introduced when the new Congress reconvenes in January.

mevans@rtohq.org