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Waters to address ethics charges

Posted on August 13, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, who is under investigation by the House ethics committee, will personally plead her case to reporters in a 10 a.m. news conference on Capitol Hill Friday.

The 10-term congresswoman is alleged to have helped steer federal bailout money to a bank in which her husband had a financial stake.

In an appearance on the Tom Joyner Morning Show on Tuesday, Water said she has not been given due process and that she “will not be a sacrificial lamb for anyone.”

She also said she was not guilty of any violations and wants to go on trial.

Video: Waters denies allegations

Video: Rangel: ‘Not asking for leniency’

On Friday, Waters is expected to read a prepared statement and also answer questions.

The House ethics committee released a report Monday detailing three counts against Waters and rejected her request for the charges to be dismissed.

The 71-year-old Waters has been pushing the ethics panel to set a trial date before the midterm elections in November.

But she said Tuesday in the radio interview she doesn’t expect that request to be granted.

“That’s one of the issues of not having due process. When in the heck are you going to set up this hearing? We are on break and we don’t think it’s going to be before the November election,” she said.

Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, helped arrange a meeting in September, 2008, between Massachusetts-based OneUnited Bank and Treasury Department officials, according to ethics investigators.

OneUnited Bank ultimately received $12 million in bailout funds.

According to the report, Waters’ husband owned almost 4,000 shares of OneUnited stock at the time of the meeting. The shares had declined in value from more than $350,000 in June to $175,000 at the end of September — the height of the Wall Street financial crisis.

Waters, according to a separate preliminary report, called then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “and requested that Treasury Department officials meet with representatives from the National Bankers Association,” an organization representing more than 100 minority-owned banks.

“A meeting was in fact granted, however, the discussion at the meeting focused on a single bank — OneUnited. Rep. Waters’ husband had been a board member of the bank from 2004 to 2008 and, at the time of the meeting, was a stock holder of the bank,” the report said.

But Waters reiterated Tuesday that “the meeting was set up for NBA — for all the minority bankers. Just like you have a representative for the chamber of commerce or for the Realtors, etc., that’s what the meeting was for.”

The report also states that Waters approached Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, to say that she was “in a predicament because her husband had been involved in the bank, but ‘OneUnited people’ were coming to her for help.”

Waters, “according to [Frank] … knew she should say no, but it bothered her. It was clear to [Frank] that this was a ‘conflict of interest problem.’”

Frank’s advice to Waters, the report states, was to ‘stay out of it.’”

In the Tom Joyner Show interview Tuesday, Waters admitted she had spoken to Frank, but described the circumstances much differently than the report.

“I didn’t go to him for advice. I went to him and told him, ‘These are your constituents. They are headquartered in your district and they are now trying to find TARP. We’re representing the National Bankers Association,’” Waters said.

“So then I said, ‘Perhaps you need to take a look at this’ and he said, ‘Fine. Don’t worry. You don’t have anything to do with this. I will take care of it.’ And, as a result of that, he started to work on it.” she said.

The report released Monday stated that Waters “agreed to refrain from advocating on behalf of OneUnited,” but failed to instruct her chief of staff, Mikael Moore, from doing so.

Following the September 9 meeting between Treasury and National Bankers Association officials, Moore “was actively involved in assisting OneUnited representatives with their request for capital from Treasury and crafting legislation to authorize Treasury to grant the request” for financial assistance, the report said.

“Reasonable” people could construe Moore’s “continued involvement in assisting OneUnited as the dispensing of special favors or privileges to OneUnited,” the report concluded.

Waters refuted that allegation as well Tuesday.

“If you’re going to wrap this all around creating these violations because I failed to supervise my staff, it doesn’t hold water, they don’t have any proof of that and I maintain that I want to go to trial or whatever they want to call it — adjudicatory hearing — because I think I don’t deserve this,” she said.

Waters is the second high-ranking Democrat now facing a public ethics trial this fall. New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, the former chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has been accused of 13 violations of House rules involving alleged financial wrongdoing and harming the credibility of Congress.

The prospect of inquiries into the two high-profile Democrats has compounded the fears of congressional Democrats nervous about their prospects in mid-term elections in November.

The growing likelihood of trials for Waters and Rangel also adds the explosive element of race to the political equation. Both representatives are leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, and OneUnited Bank is one of the largest minority-owned banks in America.

Waters alluded to race Tuesday on Joyner’s show, which is broadcast over the Internet on BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“The OCE [Office of Congressional Ethics] is poorly constructed. You don’t know who is charging you with what or brought a claim against you or who brought the information to the OCE… of all the information claimed or accusations brought to them, they think that African-Americans are the only ones who they move further with investigation on,” she said.

CNN’s Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Waters to address ethics charges

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Former Sen. Ted Stevens remembered

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was killed in a plane crash Monday. Stevens served more time in the U.S. Senate than any Republican in history.

Colleagues from his Senate days and others who knew him remembered Stevens on Tuesday, as news of his death was confirmed.

President Barack Obama

“A decorated World War II veteran, Senator Ted Stevens devoted his career to serving the people of Alaska and fighting for our men and women in uniform. Michelle and I extend our condolences to the entire Stevens family and to the families of those who perished alongside Senator Stevens in this terrible accident.”

President George H.W. Bush

“Barbara and I mourn the tragic loss of Senator Ted Stevens, a respected friend of longstanding, and send our most sincere condolences to his family. Ted Stevens loved the Senate; he loved Alaska; and he loved his family — and he will be dearly missed.”

Gov. Sean Parnell, (R) Alaska

“Senator Ted Stevens fought hard for our future in Alaska. He was larger than life. Ted was a lion who retreated before nothing. He was a devoted husband… a loving father. His impact on Alaska will live on in future generations.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, (R) Alaska

“(Monday) night, Alaska lost a hero and I lost a dear friend. The thought of losing Ted Stevens, a man who was known to business and community leaders, Native chiefs and everyday Alaskans as ‘Uncle Ted,’ is too difficult to fathom. His entire life was dedicated to public service — from his days as a pilot in World War II to his four decades of service in the United States Senate. He truly was the greatest of the ‘Greatest Generation.’ The love and respect that Alaskans of all persuasions feel toward Ted Stevens is on a par with what the American people felt towards leaders such as John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ronald Reagan. Ted had the vision of a John Kennedy that Alaskans are an exceptional people who would achieve great things in his lifetime; the compassion of a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in devoting his life to alleviating the Third World conditions that plagued Alaska’s Native people; and the unwavering strength of a Ronald Reagan whether fighting for the men and women of our military or for Alaska’s right to develop ANWR and its abundant natural resources.”

Sen. Mark Begich, (D) Alaska

“Alaska has lost one of its greatest statesmen and a true pioneer of our state with the passing of Senator Ted Sevens. Over his four decades of public service in the U.S. Senate, Senator Stevens was a forceful advocate for Alaska who helped transform our state in the challenging years after statehood. Senator Stevens’ many contributions to Alaska are enormous and his legacy of fierce devotion to Alaska will be long-lasting.”

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

“We at NASA are deeply saddened by today’s news that former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and others were killed in a plane crash in Alaska that also injured former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and his son, Kevin. As a longtime supporter of NASA, Sen. Stevens made lasting contributions to our agency and our country. We at NASA mourn his loss and send our deepest condolences to his family, as well as the families and friends of all who perished in the accident. We also send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Sean, Kevin, and other survivors of the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky/Minority Leader

“It is with deep sadness that Elaine and I note the passing of a friend and former colleague, Senator Ted Stevens. In the history of our country, no one man has done more for one state than Ted Stevens. His commitment to the people of Alaska and his nation spanned decades, and he left a lasting mark on both. From his early military service as a pilot in World War II, to his involvement in the statehood of ‘The Last Frontier,’ to his fierce support and defense of our nation’s military, Ted Stevens was always there, fighting for what he believed in, and usually winning. He was a force to be reckoned with, and we will miss him greatly.”

Sen. Daniel Inouye, (D) Hawaii

“Irene and I are deeply saddened by the tragic death of our dear friend, and my brother, Ted Stevens. Our friendship was a very special one. When it came to policy, we disagreed more often than we agreed, but we were never disagreeable with one another. We were always positive and forthright. Senator Stevens and I worked together to ensure that the small non-contiguous states of Hawaii and Alaska were not forgotten by the lower 48 and to ensure that the nation awoke to the importance of the Pacific for our economy and international relations. I will never forget him.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R) Utah

“Today, America lost a legend, a patriot and a gentle warrior who never stopped fighting for his beloved state of Alaska or for what he believed in. Ted Stevens is irreplaceable — his fierce loyalty and spirit remain unrivalled in the United States Senate. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will always live on.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina

“I’m very sad to hear of the passing of former Senator Ted Stevens. Senator Stevens was a decorated World War II veteran, and he was truly loved by the people of Alaska. As the longest serving Republican senator in history, he lived a life of incredible accomplishment. He will be greatly missed.”

Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I) Connecticut

“America has lost a great patriot; the state of Alaska has lost a founding father; and I have lost a dear friend. I am deeply saddened by Ted’s death. I knew him for many years as a valued friend, a neighbor and a colleague. We shared many great experiences and I am grateful for all of the wisdom he offered me personally. I treasure the example he set in his career of devoted service to this country in the United States Army Air Force, the United States Senate, and through the many important causes that he championed for the state of Alaska and throughout our country. We, his colleagues and his friends, were particularly blessed with the opportunity to have learned from Ted, who was always doggedly determined to serve the best interests of the people and state that he loved so much. Our occasional differences on legislative issues never adversely affected our abiding friendship. Ted was a giant of the United States Senate, and at a time of extreme political polarization, he inspired a spirit of bipartisanship by reaching across the aisle.”

Sen. Mary Landrieu, (D) Louisiana

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of my former colleague and friend, Senator Ted Stevens. Ted was a skilled legislator who mastered the art of principled compromise for the betterment of Alaska and the nation.

“I took a trip to Alaska with Ted in 2007 and quickly found his fingerprints in every corner of the state — from Alaska’s largest cities to the most remote Native villages. Ted always said, ‘To hell with politics. Do what is best for Alaska.’ He never apologized for fighting for his state, and Alaska is better for it today. Ted’s work continues to touch the lives of millions of Americans through his strong support for our military, revolutionizing the nation’s fishing industry, his establishment of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and his persistent efforts to achieve American energy independence.”

Michael Steele, RNC Chairman

“It is with deep regret that I learned of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens’ tragic death in (Monday) night’s plane crash in Alaska. Our sympathies go out to the Stevens family and all who have lost a loved one. Senator Stevens had a long and active career serving the people of Alaska in the United States Senate and was revered for his unparalleled effectiveness at fighting for his home state interests. He was a colleague and friend to many in the Senate but he was a champion for the people of Alaska. He will be missed.”

Rep. Dave Obey, (D) Wisconsin

“Ted Stevens and I agreed on issues about once a century, but I always enjoyed and appreciated working with him because you always knew exactly where he stood. There was no guile about him. He devoted his life to the State of Alaska, which he dearly loved, and fought for it every day of his life with conviction and passion.”

Sen. John Cornyn, (R) Texas

“This is a sad day for the state of Alaska and our entire nation. When I came to the Senate in 2002, Ted Stevens was already one of the longest serving Republican senators in history. His public service began with his military service in World War II and ended more than 60 years later. He was a dedicated, passionate and faithful public servant for the people of Alaska. But the role he cherished the most was that of husband, father and grandfather.”

Ken Salazar, secretary of the Interior

“Senator Stevens was a friend and colleague. From his courage in World War II, his work for Alaska statehood and his time at the Department of the Interior to his years of leadership in the U.S. Senate, Senator Stevens left behind a lifetime of service. We have lost a dedicated public servant for our country, the United States Senate, and Alaska.”

Dennis DeConcini, former senator (D) Arizona

DeConcini said he had been contacted by Stevens’ staff to see whether he wanted to go on a trip to China with other former senators in November. “I said yes,” DeConcini said, “and I wrote him a note about it; I said, ‘Thanks for thinking of us, we look forward to seeing you.’” DeConcini said only three days ago he got back a handwritten note from Stevens, saying, “I look forward to seeing you. I’m on my way to a fishing trip in Alaska, I’ll call you when I get back.” DeConcini told CNN’s Rick Sanchez he had dinner with Stevens in April. He praised Stevens for being helpful to Arizona’s veterans and Native Americans. “I’m always indebted to him,” DeConcini said. When asked how Stevens was in April, DeConcini said, “He seemed to be doing relatively well, considering all the tragedies and difficulties he’d been through.” DeConcini said he talked to Stevens not long after charges had been dismissed against him. “He said, ‘Well, those things take a toll on you, Dennis.’ And I said, yeah, I know what you mean.” DeConcini called Stevens a “tough guy. He was a strong man. He believed in his state. Sometimes he went overboard when it came to the ‘Bridge to No Place,’ but I saw the clinics he built for the veterans and Native Americans. …

“We used to kid him. We said they’re going to rename that state ‘Stevens,’ you’ve done so much for ‘em.”

Bob Francis, former NTSB vice chair

“Sen. Stevens was probably the biggest advocate in the Senate for aviation safety. And he basically volunteered the state of Alaska for the test program for the next generation of air traffic control. He was enormously knowledgeable. You can see by the amount of activity that is associated with him in Alaska. But he was always not only in the vanguard of aviation safety in Alaska but nationally.”

Sarah Palin, (R) former Alaskan governor

“It’s with great sadness that Todd and I hear the reports coming in of Senator Ted Stevens’ passing in the plane crash near Dillingham. In our land of towering mountains and larger than life characters, none were larger than the man who in 2000 was voted ‘Alaskan of the Century.’ This decorated World War II pilot was a warrior and a true champion of Alaska. In 40 years of service in the U.S. Senate, he fought tenaciously for Alaska’s future. Alaskans know how much we owe to Senator Stevens, but all Americans owe him a debt of gratitude for his leadership on many issues, including the crucial energy issues that fuel American prosperity. Two years ago, he sat at my kitchen table over a salmon lunch, and we talked about our long anticipated Alaska natural gas pipeline and our mutual commitment to have the Last Frontier’s rich resources contribute to America’s quest for energy independence. Our senator was also known for spearheading efforts to ensure equality in education, and his Title IX legislation allowed girls to be on a level playing field in the athletic arena.”

Jack Gerard, president and CEO American Petroleum Institute

“We are saddened (Tuesday) by the news that former Senator Ted Stevens has died in a plane crash. Ted Stevens loved Alaska and cared deeply about his constituents. He understood the importance of the oil and natural gas industry, and he worked tirelessly to help secure a stronger energy future for Alaskans and all Americans.

Former Sen. Ted Stevens remembered

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Term limits like ‘political junk food’

Posted on July 19, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Anti-establishment candidates are capitalizing on widespread anti-incumbent fervor and proposing term limits as a way to bring the power back to the people.

As political hopefuls try to persuade voters to send them to Congress, they’re also promising they won’t be there long.

Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul said that if elected, he can’t see himself serving more than two terms. In Rhode Island, Democratic congressional hopeful Bill Lynch has proposed a 12-year cap in the House and Senate. And in Maryland, Republican Andy Harris has assured voters that, should he go to the U.S. House, he’ll be out of there by 2023.

It’s a message that polls well and gets applause at campaign rallies, but David King, director of Harvard’s program for Newly Elected Members of the U.S. Congress, said term limits do more harm than good.

“It’s political junk food. It tastes good but hurts the body politic in the long run,” he said.

Advocates and opponents of term limits are after the same thing: keeping the power out of the hands of lobbyists and special interests.

King says term limits do the opposite by taking the business of lawmaking away from elected representatives and giving it to professional staff and lobbyists.

Instead, the elections process needs better campaign finance laws and a more engaged electorate, he said.

“That leads to a situation in which we reward politicians or statesmen or stateswoman who have been around for a long time and are terrific, while at the same time being able to get rid of the low-quality legislators at all levels,” King said.

But Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits, points to the high re-election rates as evidence of the need for term limits.

Re-election rates have hovered around 96 percent in the House and 85 percent in the Senate over the past 10 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The average length of service for lawmakers in the current session of Congress is 5.5 terms in the House and 2.2 terms in the Senate, according to the Congressional Research Service.

“You have a situation where you have a long-standing relationship between special interests and an incumbent who can’t lose, and that is a toxic combination, and that’s most of the Congress,” Blumel said. “Term limits ensure regular, competitive elections. They permit change.”

It’s a debate as old as the Constitution that term-limit supporters hope to amend.

Alexander Hamilton spoke against limits, writing in Federalist Paper No. 72 that, “Nothing appears more plausible at first sight, nor more ill-founded upon close inspection.”

Thomas Jefferson, however, said term limitation, at least of the president, was necessary “to prevent every danger which might arise to American freedom from continuing too long in office.”

If you value rotation in office, like the founders did, we need some kind of codified term limits.
–Philip Blumel, U.S. Term Limits

After the Constitution was drafted, Jefferson said one aspect he disliked was “the abandonment in every instance of the necessity of rotation in office, and most particularly in the case of the President.”

“If you value rotation in office, like the founders did, we need some kind of codified term limits,” Blumel said.

Fifteen states have term limits for state lawmakers. Another six states have agreed to term limits in the past, but the limits were repealed by the legislature or overturned by the courts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Most of the states with term limits got them through a ballot initiative, a process that only 24 states have.

Jennie Bowser, who tracks term limits for the NCSL, said that while voters are generally supportive of term limits, some studies have shown negative effects that aren’t obvious to the average voter, such as a loss of influence in the legislature to the executive branch and a loss of policy champions who spend years building expertise in certain subjects.

“They’re sort of inside the legislature, under-the-dome kind of things that people who are close to the legislature notice … but no legislature has had to go out of business because term limits wrecked them, so it’s not stuff that is visible to voters,” she said.

The new wave of calls for term limits is reminiscent of the lead-up to the 1994 elections. Armed with a legislative agenda called the “Contract with America,” Republicans put forth a message with an emphasis on term limits.

The GOP took back control of the House and Senate for the first time in nearly 50 years, and, for the first time ever, the House voted on legislation that would limit representatives to six two-year terms and senators to two six-year terms.

The vote was 227–204 — a simple majority, but not the two-thirds required for a constitutional amendment.

At the time, 23 states had passed laws imposing term limits on their federal lawmakers, but in May of 1995, two months after the House vote, the Supreme Court ruled that doing so was unconstitutional.

“Allowing individual States to adopt their own qualifications for congressional service would be inconsistent with the Framers’ vision of a uniform National Legislature representing the people of the United States. If the qualifications set forth in the text of the Constitution are to be changed, that text must be amended,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote.

In order to pass a constitutional amendment on term limits, the House and Senate would have to pass legislation with a two-thirds majority, and then three-fourths of the state legislatures would have to ratify it.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint introduced a bill to limit lawmakers to six years in the House and 12 years in the Senate.

DeMint’s bill has yet to come up for a vote, but for Blumel, the outlook is good.

… Sometimes instinct and anger take us in the wrong direction.
–David King, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
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“There are periods in history where term limits are at the fore, and if the people of the country want them and demand them now, we have as good a chance as any that we ever had to have them. So it’s an exciting time,” he said.

But King says that even if the idea had the support of the president and Congress, he is confident that the American public would reject it.

“The evidence after 20 years of this in state legislatures is crystal clear: term limits empower special interests, lobbyists and long-time staffers and they work against the interests of the American people,” he said.

The reason the issue polls well, King said, is because there hasn’t been a vigorous dialogue about it.

“People are reacting by their instinct and anger, which is understandable. But sometimes instinct and anger take us in the wrong direction,” he said.

Term limits like ‘political junk food’

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Congress returns, but where to begin?

Posted on July 12, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Lawmakers return from a weeklong break on Monday with a full plate of unfinished business awaiting them.

There’s a lot to tackle, but not a lot of time to do it. Congress is in session for four weeks before a monthlong recess. After that, members of Congress will turn their attention toward campaigning for the November midterm elections.

Here’s a look at some of the items on Congress’ to-do list:

Financial reform

President Obama wanted lawmakers to wrap up financial reform before they hit the road for the Fourth of July break, but the bill failed to make it out of the Senate.

The bill, which comes after more than 18 months of negotiation and debate, aims to strengthen consumer protection, shine a light on complex financial products and establish a new process for shutting down giant financial firms in trouble.

Senate Democrats need the support of some moderate Republicans to get the 60 votes needed to end any filibuster against the measure. The death of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, and opposition by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, leaves the Democrats with a maximum of 57 votes toward passage.

CNNMoney: Congress fixes Wall Street — and orders up 68 studies

Unemployment benefits

By the time Congress returns to work, 2.1 million unemployed Americans will have lost their jobless benefits. That’s because lawmakers failed to pass an extension before leaving town.

Lawmakers have been trying to pass a bill that would push the deadline until the end of November. But Senate Republicans have blocked the measure, saying they would support it only if it is paid for.

White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that Congress has a responsibility to extend the benefits.

“The Republicans met that responsibility each time under President Bush, when he asked for extended unemployment insurance. They ought to do it now. Let’s not play politics with this issue,” Axelrod said on ABC’s “This Week.”

The House of Representatives approved a bill to extend the benefits just before lawmakers went home for the recess. Senate Democrats plan to take up the measure again after Byrd’s replacement is named, which might happen as soon as this week.

CNNMoney: Congress is back; so is the spending debate

Bush tax cuts

The tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends them. Obama had promised to make them permanent for the majority of Americans. But the reality of the federal budget’s impending shortfalls is making that a hard promise to keep.

The jury is out on when Congress will take up formal legislation on the issue. Since the legislative agenda is so backlogged, especially in the Senate, a tax-cut extension bill might not come up for a vote until after the midterm elections.

Asked whether Congress should take the issue up before the November contests, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “Look, I don’t know what Congress’ schedule is.

“I know what the president has in mind. And that is — for middle-class Americans who have borne the brunt of this economic calamity, we’re certainly not going to raise taxes on them,” he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

CNNMoney: Bush tax cuts up in the air

Energy legislation

Comprehensive energy and climate change legislation is another item on Obama’s wish list, but it faces an uphill battle in Congress. Obama met with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the issue last month.

“There was agreement on the sense of urgency required to move forward with legislation, and the president is confident that we will be able to get something done this year,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

The House has passed its own sweeping energy bill that includes a cap-and-trade system in which a price is set for greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and polluters can obtain and trade credits for emissions over a set threshold.

The three leading Senate proposals include:

• The aggressive measure by Sens. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, that would cap carbon emissions and create a system for trading carbon credits.

• A scaled-down version of cap-and-trade that would directly refund revenues raised under the program back to consumers, being offered by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

• And a measure already approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would mandate increases in alternative energy sources and open new areas of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

War funding legislation

The House narrowly passed a spending bill before recess that includes $37 billion to fund the war in Afghanistan. The Senate approved a version of the Pentagon spending bill, but it does not include the nonwar funding that’s in the House bill, including $10 billion to help states avoid teacher layoffs and $1 billion for summer jobs.

Senate Republicans and some fiscally conservative Democrats oppose the nonwar spending, and it’s unclear how the issue will be resolved.

Small-business jobs bill

The House passed a version of the small-business jobs bill, which includes tax breaks and loans for small businesses. The Senate is expected to move ahead with its version this week. This is one piece of legislation that could have strong bipartisan support.

Food safety bill

The House passed a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration more authority over the country’s food supply, including more frequent inspections of processing plants and more resources and authority to trace outbreaks of E. coli and other illnesses.

The Senate could vote on its version of the bill before the August recess.

Campaign spending limits

The House passed the Disclose Act, a bill that would require most independent groups that pay for campaign ads to disclose their donors.

House narrowly passes campaign spending disclosure bill

The bill was pushed by House Democrats to respond to a Supreme Court ruling in January that struck down key provisions of campaign finance laws restricting spending by corporations, unions and independent groups.

Some Republicans complained the bill touted by Democrats as promoting transparency was written behind closed doors and would violate the right to free speech.

Senate action is unclear.

Oil disaster response

As House and Senate committees investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, a number of bills could come up for final congressional votes. One would remove the $75 million cap on an oil company’s liability for spill damages. Another bill that has passed in the House would allow family members of workers killed on the BP rig to pursue noneconomic damages.

Immigration reform

Despite Obama’s renewed push, Congress hasn’t done much to indicate immigration reform is a top priority. The president met with members of Congress before and after his speech on immigration at the beginning of July, and his position is that the bill can only pass with Republican help.

Adviser: Obama wants GOP votes on immigration

Supreme Court confirmation

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to meet Tuesday to consider the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, though Republicans could invoke their right to delay the vote for a week.

Committee Democrats outnumber Republicans, so the panel is expected to send her nomination to the full Senate, and Kagan is expected to be confirmed before the August recess.

CNN’s Lisa Desjardins and Kristi Keck and CNNMoney’s Jennifer Liberto, Tami Luhby and Jeanne Sahadi contributed to this report.

Congress returns, but where to begin?

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Ron Paul ponders politics, 2012 run

Posted on July 8, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — When Rep. Ron Paul walked into Hy-Vee Hall last month, a single blue sign with a simple message was placed near the escalator that took him upstairs to a fundraiser attended by 300 Republican activists.

It read: “President Ron Paul 2012.”

The sign was symbolic in many ways: Even as Iowa Republicans are focused on midterm elections, the 2012 presidential contest is not far from their minds. And it was just three years ago that Paul did not receive an invitation to participate in a presidential candidate forum held in this very building.

The sight of the Texas congressman riding the escalator up to address this group of influential Republicans was illustrative of how he has risen from a little-known congressman and afterthought presidential candidate to the national spokesman on libertarian philosophy.

All of this comes from a man who has no illusions that he can win his party’s presidential nomination, but that won’t stop him from running again in 2012 if he decides to do so.

“It is probably hard to believe, but I look at it a little bit differently than others,” Paul said in an interview during his recent visit to Iowa. “I don’t expect to be president. I don’t expect to be. That doesn’t mean I won’t run for president, but I am really energized when I think we make inroads … to broaden the outreach on the philosophy I have been talking about for 40 years.”

Video: Rep. Paul talks about GOP rifts

His advocacy of limited government, disdain for the Federal Reserve and belief that the U.S. should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan has attracted an eclectic following of young people, anti-war activists and those wary of government intrusion.

Paul began his 2008 White House run as a third-tier candidate, a gadfly with little support and even less money. Paul was never considered a serious frontrunner for the GOP nomination, but an explosion of support in the fall of 2007, fueled by online contributions, carried him into Iowa. There, he received 10 percent of the vote in the caucuses. He officially ended his presidential campaign in June 2008, well after Sen. John McCain had received enough support to win the Republican nomination.

“I don’t ever take personal credit as much as being in the right place at the right time and maybe saying the right things,” Paul said. “I have said the same things for 30 years when it came to financial bubbles. See, the business cycle theory is what motivated me to get into politics.”

On this night in Des Moines, Paul stuck to his talking points. He never mentioned a possible presidential run in 2012. Instead, Paul spoke of limited government and the need for government officials to follow the Constitution, which just so happened to be the theme of the Iowa GOP’s fundraiser. Paul’s address was bookended by standing ovations.

“I have been excited about and what he is talking about,” John Bowery, a Republican from Shenandoah, Iowa, said after Paul’s speech. “I am sorry he didn’t get more attention in 2008. I don’t know if he is going to run in 2012. If someone like him does, I will be all for it.”

Paul is an enigma in the Republican Party. He champions less government and a socially conservative philosophy, which would seem to play well with GOP base voters such as Bowery.

Yet Paul, who was the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee in 1988, doesn’t embrace the Republican brand. Party leaders and the GOP establishment types are not so smitten with him either. This is problematic in a presidential run, where well-oiled political machines are needed in key states to help build support and get-out-the-vote efforts in primaries and caucuses.

He does credit the Republican Party for sharpening its focus on the economy, but he doesn’t speak in terms of “we” but rather “they.”

“I think that the Republicans have, whether it is out of merit or accidental, they are in a good position right now mainly because they have talked about economics,” Paul said. “And their talk is good about watching the spending and watching the deficits and people are concerned about runaway government.”

I haven’t ruled it out, but I have no plans to do it.
–Ron Paul, on 2012 run
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But Paul does express some skepticism that GOP promises of reforming Washington and cutting government might just be talk.

“I think they have the subject right, and they talk about it,” he said. “I think where they are going to come up short maybe not before the election, but afterwards.

“Where are they going to cut? Do they have a plan to cut? It is easy to vote against the spending when you are in opposition. But where are they going to cut? And I think that is what I have talked about … especially these past four years. And that is where we challenged the Republicans.”

Last month’s trip to Iowa was his third to the state since November 2009, so it begs the question: Is Paul trying to lay the groundwork for a 2012 White House run?

“I am very serious about thinking about it all the time,” Paul said about his possible presidential aspirations. “My answer is always the same thing: You know I haven’t ruled it out, but I have no plans to do it.”

For now, Paul will continue to travel the country to promote his philosophy, while his 2008 presidential campaign operation has morphed into the Campaign for Liberty, a 500,000-member organization that promotes libertarian views.

Paul also has a small political action committee that doles out contributions to “liberty-based candidates,” a spokesman said.

Ron Paul ponders politics, 2012 run

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Obama more emotional on fatherhood in 2008

Posted on June 21, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — The day after official Father’s Day festivities, President Obama used his bully pulpit to stress the importance of responsible parenting at events in Washington.

The commander in chief, or perhaps father in chief, said Monday that, “without hesitation, the most challenging, most fulfilling, most important job I will have during my time on this Earth is to be Sasha and Malia’s father.”

Obama marks Father’s Day with launch of mentoring program

On Father’s Day 2008, Obama took a more pointed tone when delivering a controversial speech on fatherhood. Before a predominantly African-American audience, then-candidate Obama chastised absentee fathers, specifically addressing black men in the community, saying, “We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. …Too many fathers are MIA, too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men.”

Obama continues to talk openly about being abandoned by his father as a child. During my interview with him in July 2008, the candidate unleashed the kind of raw emotion, insight and color we rarely see from him today as president.

Video: Obama: ‘Be a good father’

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Here is our conversation:

Suzanne Malveaux: Your father was largely absent, how did that impact you?

Barack Obama: Well, you know, I think it had a profound impact except, you know, more as an object lesson of what it’s like growing up without a father in the house.

My father had a reputation of being this larger than life figure: charismatic, very smart and very engaging. And all of those things were true. He was part of that first generation of Africans who moved West to get an education and intended to bring it back to develop their country. And he made a great impression on people, but he also was a tragic figure not only because he didn’t stay with my mother and me, but he generally had trouble providing stability for his other children and his subsequent wives. And he was somebody who was incredibly brilliant, but also because of the tensions from leaping from a small African village to Harvard and being part of this modern world, he never resolved those tensions.

He fought, when he got back to Kenya, against tribalism and nepotism, but was ultimately consumed by it and blackballed from the government, ended up having a serious drinking problem, was in a severe car accident and ended up dying a tragic and bitter man.

So when I think about his impact on me there are some superficial things. He went to take me, when I was 10 years old, to see a jazz concert, and I became a real jazz buff after that. He gave me my first basketball, and it was only later that I realized that that had been the case and might have been part of the reason why I became so obsessed with playing basketball. But for the most part what I understood from him was an absence, and I vowed that when I became a father one of the most important things that I could is be a presence in my children’s lives.

Malveaux: That visit when you were 10 years old at that time — was there anything in your 10-year-old mind that you thought you could do to get him to stay?

Obama: No, I don’t think that’s how 10-year-olds think. If you’ve got this person that suddenly shows up and says, “I’m your father and I’m going to tell you what to do,” and you don’t have any sense of who this person is and you don’t necessarily have a deep bond of trust with him. I don’t think your reaction is how do I get him to stay? I think the reaction may be, what’s this guy doing here? And who does he think he is?

So it was only during the course of that month, by the end of that month that I started to open myself up to understanding who he was, but then he was gone. I never saw him again. That was the last time I saw him. He would write to me occasionally. He wrote me letters, and we would talk on the phone intermittently, but it was not until I traveled to Kenya and heard from relatives of who he had been and the story that he had lived that I think that I fully was able to understand him and obviously in some ways understand myself.

Malveaux: You said, “Every man is trying to live up to his father’s expectations or make up for his mistakes and in my case both may be true.” Can you explain?

Obama: If you don’t have a father there, it means you’re always grappling against this image that you don’t fully understand. If you have a father in the house, you’re going to have arguments; there are going to be tensions, you’re going to see his flaws but also see his good qualities, and so there’s something very concrete against which you can learn from and match up to.

In my case, you had this person who was almost a myth in our family about how smart he was, about how well he did in school, how well-spoken he was and so forth. So that was something to live up to — high expectations.

On the other hand, here’s somebody who wasn’t there and that I would come to learn was an alcoholic and somebody who had not treated his family well. So that was something that you felt that you had to make up for. And I think that certainly in the early part of my life grappling with that legacy was part of who I was and is still part of who I am.

Obama more emotional on fatherhood in 2008

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Obama speech on BP oil spill a call to action for clean energy

Posted on June 16, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

By

Linda Feldmann,

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Recovery head has business, government background

Posted on June 16, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who will develop a long-term plan for the restoration of the states affected by the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, is a former governor of Mississippi whom the White House has called a proven leader.

The 61-year-old Mabus was selected by President Obama on Tuesday to help draw up the government’s plan for recovery efforts in conjunction with officials in the Gulf Coast states.

“The plan will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists, and other Gulf residents. And BP will pay for the impact this spill has had on the region,” Obama said in a nationwide address from the Oval Office.

Last year when Mabus was selected to lead the Navy, the Obama administration released a statement that said: “The president nominated Governor Mabus to be secretary of the Navy because he has the proven leadership and experience our nation needs to serve in this important position.”

Video: Obama’s plan to battle disaster

Video: New Orleans evaluates Obama promise

Video: Another oil disaster?

Video: Oil execs taken to task over safety

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Mabus was born and raised in Mississippi, attending college at the University of Mississippi. He earned a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University before enlisting in the Navy near the end of the Vietnam War. He served as a surface warfare officer on the USS Little Rock in 1971 and 1972. After the Navy he attended Harvard Law School.

The Democrat was elected to office for the first time in 1983, becoming Mississippi’s state auditor. Five years later, Mabus became governor at age 39, the youngest state leader in the nation at the time, according to the Mississippi Historical Society.

Mabus was named one of Fortune magazine’s Top 10 education governors in 1990, according to his biography on National Governors Association website. He was defeated in his re-election bid by Kirk Fordice.

In 1994, Mabus was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia where he served for two years before returning to Mississippi to become a businessman.

His divorce in 2000 made national headlines because it involved secret recordings of conversations with an Episcopal priest and his first wife, Julie Hines. During the recordings, she revealed an affair, and the tapes helped Mabus win legal custody of the couple’s two daughters, according to the New York Times. They share physical custody.

Hines sued the priest and the church, citing privacy rights, but the suit was dismissed in 2006, the Times reported.

Mabus led Foamex, a maker of cushion products, out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007, according to his biography on the Defense department’s website.

He was chosen by Obama to be Secretary of the Navy in May 2009.

Recovery head has business, government background

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