US Congress Watch // Current

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3 days ago

Blackwater Protects Obama and Hillary in Afghanistan

During the Democratic primary battle, blasting the private security firm Blackwater USA as a bunch of unaccountable trigger-happy mercenaries was an easy crowd pleaser – particularly after the September 2006 Nisoor Square incident and a subsequent congressional report that stated the company’s use of force was “frequent and extensive”.

Hillary Clinton announced she was sponsoring legislation banning the use of private security contractors. Barack Obama didn’t sign up to this and would not rule out using Blackwater and its ilk. But he made clear his disdain for the outfit, trumpeting in Iowa City last October his proposal for “tougher government reforms than any other candidate in this race – reforms that would eliminate the kind of no-bid contracts that this administration has given to Blackwater”.

He added: “Most contractors act as if the law doesn’t apply to them. Under my plan, if contractors break the law, they will be prosecuted.”

In Pennsylvania in March he stated that “we have to crack down on private contractors like Blackwater, because I don’t believe they should be able to run amok and put our own troops in danger and get paid three or four times or ten times what our soldiers are getting paid”.

So who do you think protected Obama and his fellow senators Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel during their recent and much ballyhooed congressional delegation trip to Afghanistan? Yep, that’s right – Blackwater.

In his Washington Whispers column, the well-connected Paul Bedard reports that Obama was overheard saying that “Blackwater is getting a bad rap”. A fairly startling alleged observation given his previous utterances about the company – though perhaps unsurprising given he was in a war zone and his life was in the hands of Blackwater guards.

A tight-lipped Anne Tyrrell, spokeswoman for Blackwater, said she could neither confirm nor deny that the company had been involved in the visits by the senators to Afghanistan or Iraq. My request to Bill Burton, Obama’s national spokesman, for comment on the Bedard story – including whether the alleged quote or its sentiment was genuine – went unanswered.

But a source familiar with Obama’s security arrangements told me that Blackwater, along with the Secret Service, did pull security for the three senators in Afghanistan, though not Iraq.

Deceiver describes this as Obama’s “Rosie O’Donnell moment” That’s maybe a tad harsh but it will be interesting to see whether Obama’s public position on Blackwater changes as a result of his up-close time with their personnel in Afghanistan.During the Democratic primary battle, blasting the private security firm Blackwater USA as a bunch of unaccountable trigger-happy... more

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3 days ago

The Senate's Bill

I've studied the Senate's health care bill and there are no 'death panels' listed in it either. (Sorry Sarah.)... more

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3 days ago

Landrieu to vote yes on moving health bill forwar

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s hopes of starting debate on health reform got a boost Saturday when Democrats announced... more

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5 days ago

Geithner Prods Congress on Financial Reform

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is pushing Congress to move quickly in overhauling the nation’s badly flawed financial rules, which he says is essential for the health of the economy.

Both the House and Senate are making progress toward revamping the current regulations, but Mr. Geithner said a rapid conclusion is needed to keep the economic recovery on track.

“To ensure the vitality, the strength and the stability of our economy going forward, we must bring our system of financial regulation into the 21st century,” Mr. Geithner said in remarks prepared for an appearance Thursday before the Joint Economic Committee.

Both the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee are working on their own versions of sweeping overhaul plans. But the two panels are taking sharply divergent approaches in some areas.

Both proposals also face sharp opposition from major sectors in the financial industry, casting doubt on how quickly Congress will be able to reach agreement and send a finished bill to the White House.

Mr. Geithner said a crucial principle the administration wants to see adopted is ensuring that firms not be able to escape or avoid oversight by shopping for the most lenient regulator, a situation critics say contributed to the worst financial market crisis in seven decades.

“The fact that investment banks like Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers or other large firms like A.I.G. could escape meaningful consolidated federal supervision simply by virtue of their legal form should be considered unthinkable from now on,” Mr. Geithner said.

Another crucial principle the administration wants to see approved by Congress is to make sure the financial system as a whole is more capable of absorbing shocks and coping with failures. Mr. Geithner said this will require putting a greater focus on the quality of capital that firms are allowed to hold.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/business/economy/20treasury.html?hpwWASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is pushing Congress to move quickly in overhauling the... more

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5 days ago

The Senate Evisceration of Roe v. Wade: Hyde on Steroids

NOW (National Organization for Women) warns that the Senate will vote on an amendment similar to Stupak-Pitts that would prevent millions of women from obtaining insurance coverage for abortion under their version of health care reform, S1796. Is that the bill number or the year they intend to regress to?

It appears advocates will use this amendment to hold health care reform hostage unless this affront against women is included. http://www.capwiz.com/now/issues/alert/?alertid=14342106

This comes on the heals of the passed house Stupak-Pitts, anti-abortion amendment and the more recent mammogram media blitz tactic that blamed the White House for an independent private sector task force recommendation. It appears the health care insurance industry and their friends in Congress are out to target women in an all out effort to discredit health care reform. http://lafilmonline.com/oitsf/?p=74

NOW posted the following to it members on their website:
______________________________________________________
Reportedly, Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Bob Casey (R-Penn.) may offer a version of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to be attached to the Senate bill. That means, in all likelihood, if the Senate adopts this harmful amendment, it will remain in the final Senate-House conference bill and become law. Alternatively, a modified variation of Stupak-Pitts could be incorporated into the bill. Either way, millions of women lose -- big time.

Please Take Action NOW!

The Stupak-Pitts amendment explained:

* The ban on abortion coverage in insurance would apply to both the proposed public option and to private health insurance plans sold in the new regional health insurance exchanges. It is estimated that some 36 million uninsured persons would be purchasing insurance policies through new exchanges and would be eligible for federal affordability subsidies.
* Health insurers may not sell plans that cover abortion to customers who are paying without a subsidy, if even just one person who is receiving the federal affordability credits (the subsidy) were to purchase a plan. In other words, even if you are paying 100 percent of your insurance costs, abortion coverage would not be available in your plan if anyone with affordability credits joins the same plan.
* Women may purchase a separate abortion "rider" for coverage, though many doubt that these riders would be offered by the insurance companies.
* Small companies (fewer than 100 employees) would also likely purchase health insurance through the exchange, but if any of their employees received affordability credits no abortion coverage could be included.
* Eighty-seven percent of employer-based insurance plans now cover abortion services, but if employers withdraw coverage and send their employees to the health insurance exchanges, those employees would likely lose abortion coverage under these new prohibitions.

There may be a modified version of this harmful amendment that is included in the Senate health care reform bill that will be debated next week. We want to make sure that Stupak-Pitts language is not used and that no variation of this harmful amendment is passed. Please send a message to your senators that you oppose any restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion. Thank you for all the work you do for women's rights.
________________________________________________________NOW (National Organization for Women) warns that the Senate will vote on an amendment similar to Stupak-Pitts that would prevent... more

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5 days ago

Senate girds for historic debate on health bill

WASHINGTON - Congressional budget crunchers Thursday said the Democrats' latest health care plan would hold down federal red ink for at least a 20-year stretch, an assessment that boosted the bill's advocates as the Senate moved gingerly toward a historic debate.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that Majority Leader Harry Reid's 10-year, $848-billion bill would produce a net reduction of $130 billion in federal deficits in its first decade. Perhaps more significantly, the legislation would continue to give back over the next 10 years and beyond, the budget umpires said, because "added revenues and costs savings would probably be greater" than the cost of covering uninsured Americans.

The budget office put a big asterisk on its forecast, using words like "imprecision" and "uncertainty" to describe the long-range projection. It noted that, overall, health care spending remains on an unsustainable path.

However, the bill would not make matters any worse, and maybe even a little better.

With President Barack Obama pledging to tamp down ruinous health care costs, Democrats took the new CBO estimates to the bank, while skipping over the caveats. Preparing for a noontime rally with supporters, Reid, D-Nev., said the legislation would "save lives, save money and save Medicare."

The CBO said Reid's bill would extend coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans, after subsidies to make premiums more affordable start flowing in 2014. That's one year later than in the House Democratic bill — and well into the next presidential term. Postponing the subsidies by one year allowed Reid to offer somewhat more generous assistance to defray the cost of insurance premiums.

Facing a key floor vote Saturday, Republicans remained unflinching in their opposition.

"Now it's America's turn, and this will not be a short debate," warned Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. "Higher premiums, tax increases and Medicare cuts to pay for more government. The American people know that is not reform."

Reid's bill relies on cuts in future Medicare spending to cover costs, as well as on higher payroll taxes for the well-off, a new levy on patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery, and a laundry list of other taxes, fees and penalties.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34034975/ns/politics-health_care_reform/WASHINGTON - Congressional budget crunchers Thursday said the Democrats' latest health care plan would hold down federal red... more

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6 days ago

Reid Unveils Senate Health Care Reform Bill

WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders in the Senate unveiled their proposal on Wednesday for overhauling the health care system, outlining landmark legislation that they said would cover most of the uninsured while reducing the federal budget deficit.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said at an evening news conference that the legislation, which represents President Obama’s signature domestic initiative and will be subject to lengthy and heated debate on the Senate floor, would impose new regulations on insurers, extend coverage to 31 million people who currently do not have any and add new benefits to Medicare.

But he said the bill, despite a price tag of $849 billion over 10 years, would still reduce projected budget deficits by $127 billion over a decade because the costs would be more than offset by new taxes and reductions in government spending, particularly on Medicare.

Democrats expressed confidence that they would have the votes necessary to move forward when the legislation hits its first test in the Senate, probably on Saturday, in the form of a procedural hurdle that will require a united front from all 58 Democrats and the two independents aligned with them.

Mr. Reid wrote the legislation over the past several weeks, combining portions of two previous bills adopted by Senate committees. The House passed its version of the health care legislation earlier this month.

The official cost analysis of the new Senate bill by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also was not immediately available, but if the cost projection holds up, it would meet Mr. Obama’s requirement that the bill’s costs be held to about $900 billion.

Calling the bill “impressive,” the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said: “This legislation meets the president’s objectives, provides protection from insurance companies, contains true cost controls and extends coverage to working families.”

“We all know that this legislation is tremendously important,” Mr. Reid said at the news conference. “Why? Because it saves lives, it saves money.”

The measure includes a government-run insurance plan, or public option, with a provision allowing states to opt out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/health/policy/19health.htmlWASHINGTON – Democratic leaders in the Senate unveiled their proposal on Wednesday for overhauling the health care system,... more

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6 days ago

CBO: Senate health plan to cost $849B, reduces deficit by $127B

The Senate's top Democrat on Wednesday prepared to unveil a new health care bill that aims to meet President Barack... more

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7 days ago

Reid Close to Unveiling Health Care Reform Bill

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said Tuesday that he was close to unveiling his health care bill and that... more

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8 days ago

Uninsured ER patients twice as likely to die

Uninsured patients with traumatic injuries, such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds, were almost twice as likely to die in... more

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8 days ago

Senate begins tackling health bill: Reid Committed to Public Option

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV.) intends to introduce health care reform legislation before the Thanksgiving recess. Mr.... more

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9 days ago

Abortions OK for Rich Republicans

The Stupak Amendment passed last week along with HR3962 would effectively prohibit abortions for the poor that can't afford... more

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10 days ago

Democrat-Led healthcare reform could make things WORSE

WHOO! The Democrats in Congress passed a bill! Healthcare for all! Awesome! Right? ...right?

asherp
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4 comments

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10 days ago

White House to Push Immigration Reform in 2010

The Obama administration will insist on measures to give legal status to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants as it pushes... more

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7 comments

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11 days ago

Breaking up is hard to do

When it comes to understanding the real economy and the struggles of ordinary Americans, Senator Bernie Sanders always seems to be... more

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18 days ago

Sign of the Apocalypse...Government to rent your foreclosed home back to you......

WASHINGTON, DC -- Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) today announced the establishment of a new National Real Estate Owned (REO) Rental Policy... more

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12 days ago

Business Groups ‘Worried’ About The Effects Of Banning The Importation Of Goods Made With Child Labor

One of the worst abuses in the international labor markets is the use of child labor. The most recent report on the issue by the International Labor Organization found that as of 2004 more than 218 million children were engaged in illegal work, as defined by international treaties. It’s estimated that 126 million of these children were engaged in hazardous work such as “mining or handling chemicals.”

In order to combat the issue, the Senate Finance Committee has included sections in S.1631, the Customs Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2009, that would ban the importation of goods made “with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions.” Such a measure by the world’s largest importer would strike a crucial blow against the use of child and slave labor.

Business groups and their lobbyists, however, are not taking kindly to the measures. The D.C.-based business newsletter “Inside U.S. Trade” reports that business groups are “worried” about the effects of such a provision, and they expect to see industry lobbyists and foreign governments profiting from child labor to form an “ad hoc” coalition to oppose it:

Business groups are worried by the potential effects of provisions banning the import of all goods made with convict labor, forced labor, or forced or indentured child labor that were included in a customs bill sponsored by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA)

Business sources say this reporting requirement could cause DHS to more actively seek out imported products made with child labor, forced labor or convict labor. [...]

Sources conceded that this was a sensitive issue because industry groups do not want to be seen as opposing strict measures guarding against human rights abuses. However, one source did expect a push from lobbyists closer to the finance committee mark-up of the bill, and speculated that U.S. industry groups and foreign governments could form ad hoc coalitions to help send a united message.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/12/business-worried-child-labor/One of the worst abuses in the international labor markets is the use of child labor. The most recent report on the issue by the... more

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12 days ago

Sen. David Vitter (R) protects the Formaldehyde industry from EPA investigation

In May, President Obama nominated a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's... more

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12 days ago

ACORN sues Congress for defunding it; Group says Congress bowed to Fox News

The community organizing group ACORN, recently walloped by conservative activists who posed as a prostitute and a pimp and tried to get employees to incriminate themselves, is suing Congress for defunding its organization.

The group has teamed with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who has filed suit on their behalf. It argues that Congress' move infringed on their Fifth Amendment right to due process, and their First Amendment right to freedom of association.

The complaint was filed this morning in the U.S. District Court of New York.

From a release issued to RAW STORY:

"Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a case challenging Congress’s unconstitutional defunding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The case charges Congress with violating the Bill of Attainder provision in the U.S. Constitution, violating the Fifth Amendment right to due process, and infringing on the First Amendment right to freedom of association by targeting affiliated and allied organizations, as well."

CCR attorneys say members of Congress violated the Constitution by declaring an organization guilty of a crime and punishing it and its members without benefit of a trial.

Said CCR Cooperating Attorney Jules Lobel, “It's not the job of Congress to be the judge, jury, and executioner. We have due process in this country, and our Constitution forbids lawmakers from singling out a person or group for punishment without a fair investigation and trial. Congress, as well as individuals and organizations must abide by the rule of law.”

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from reallocating funds designated for the organization and its affiliates and a preliminary injunction to stop Congress from singling out a single organization for punishment without proper investigation or due process.

The plaintiffs are ACORN, the ACORN Institute, and the New York ACORN Housing Company. The suit is ACORN v. USA and was filed in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.

more at link...

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/acorn-sues-congress-defunding/The community organizing group ACORN, recently walloped by conservative activists who posed as a prostitute and a pimp and tried... more