Washington

WASHINGTON — Legislation that would extend the Build America Bonds program until April 2013 at gradually reduced subsidy rates was approved by a vote of 246 to 178 in the House yesterday.

WASHINGTON — Southwest Securities Inc. has agreed to pay $470,147 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for violating an anti-pay-to-play rule by co-underwriting Massachusetts bond deals within two years after its former senior vice president made political contributions to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

The House today is expected to vote on a bill that would reauthorize federal aviation programs and allow airports to ramp up revenue they use to back bonds.

WASHINGTON — Southwest Securities Inc. has agreed to pay $470,147 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it co-underwrote Massachusetts bond deals within two years after its former senior vice president made political contributions to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

WASHINGTON — Money-market fund officials are warning that new terms some banks and issuers are beginning to include in variable-rate debt transaction documents can be difficult to monitor and limit bondholders’ rights.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department Tuesday released interim guidance detailing how issuers, bondholders, and other market participants should “strip” the tax credits from tax-credit bonds and how that information should be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Senate has approved a Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill that would establish a pilot program giving six airports the ability to set their own passenger facilities charges, which currently are capped at $4.50 and are used to back bonds.

WASHINGTON — Another extension of federal transportation programs beyond the end of this year is highly possible, a congressional aide and transportation industry sources said at a conference here yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee voted 13 to 10 along party lines Monday evening to approve a redrafted financial regulatory reform bill, with Republicans voting against the measure but vowing to work with Democrats on a compromise package before the bill reaches the full Senate for consideration, possibly next month.

WASHINGTON — With the Senate Banking Committee scheduled to begin marking up draft financial regulatory reform language as early as today, market participants are hopeful that lawmakers will be keen to fill potential loopholes in the bill’s provisions calling for the regulation of municipal market advisers.

DORAL, Fla. — An Obama administration official last week said the underwriting fees for Build America Bonds are coming down, and the expectation is that if the subsidized taxable borrowing program was made permanent, they would come down further.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an unusual report Thursday that showed JPMorgan did not comply with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Rule G-37 on political contributions. But the report did not charge the firm with any violation of the rule or recommend any enforcement action.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s chief financial officer is warning the mayor and District Council members against additional borrowing that would breach the 12% debt-to-expenditures cap.

WASHINGTON — There are 10,000 transportation infrastructure projects under way in all 50 states and the District of Columbia with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Vice President Joe Biden announced yesterday.

DORAL, Fla. — The Treasury Department is “acutely aware” of the importance of the continuity of federal subsidy payments under the Build America Bond program, an official said yesterday.

WASHINGTON — President Obama Thursday signed a $17.6 billion jobs bill that enables municipal issuers to receive direct, Build America Bond-style payments from four types of tax-credit bonds.

WASHINGTON — The Senate yesterday voted 68 to 29 to pass a $17.6 billion jobs bill requiring the Treasury Department to provide Build America Bond-style direct payments to municipal issuers of four types of tax-credit bonds, if they want them, instead of offering tax credits to investors.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury and Education departments yesterday allocated $11 billion of authority for states and large local educational agencies to issue $11 billion of qualified school construction bonds this year.

The House yesterday unanimously approved a bill that would provide a three-month extension of aviation programs, including airports’ ability to collect fees they use to back bonds. The bill also includes provisions that would change how some surface transportation funds are distributed.

WASHINGTON — In a turnaround over a controversial test, the Internal Revenue Service has withdrawn seven notices that had threatened the tax-exempt status of 12 solid-waste bond issues sold for Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific LLC over a nine-year period.