February 23, 2012

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House, Senate to vote on payroll tax deal

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Congress reaches payroll tax deal STORY HIGHLIGHTS Obama is poised to sign the tax cut agreement once it passes House and Senate votes could come on Friday The compromise raises the deficit by $89 billion over 10 years, the CBO says The deal extends payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits, and "doc fix" Washington (CNN) -- A bipartisan agreement to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits while avoiding a fee cut for Medicare doctors for the rest of the year could come to final House and Senate votes on Friday. The measure is a top priority for the White House. President Barack Obama issued a statement Thursday urging Congress to send it to him without delay and has said he will sign it as soon as it reaches his desk. "I thank the many Americans who lent their voices to this debate in recent months," Obama said in reference to his calls for people to pressure their elected representatives to pass the deal. "You made all the difference." However, none of the three Republican senators on the 20-member House-Senate conference committee that negotiated the compromise signed it, signaling possible GOP resistance when the measure comes up in the Senate. Other panel members including Senate Democrats and members of both parties in the House signed the deal to provide the needed majority for approval. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, earlier called the deal "a fair agreement and one that I support," while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said: "I don't see a scenario where our members will vote against it." Senate Democratic leaders also expressed support for the deal and noted the apparent split over it between Republicans in the Senate and House. "I don't get how not one Senate Republican conferee would sign a deal negotiated by their own party and endorsed by Speaker Boehner," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, told reporters. Each party's top member on the conference committee also endorsed the plan, with Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana calling it "very good for the country" while GOP Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan said he was "confident this can be concluded ... and we're moving forward." The roughly $100 billion payroll tax cut, a key part of Obama's economic recovery plan, has reduced how much 160 million American workers pay into Social Security on their first $110,100 in wages. Instead of paying in 6.2%, they've been paying 4.2% for the past year and two months -- a break worth about $83 a month for someone making $50,000. The agreement came together this week after House Republicans dropped a key demand Monday, saying they would accept the extended payroll tax cut without including spending cuts elsewhere to pay the $100 billion cost. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the agreement would increase the federal deficit by $89 billion over 10 years, mostly through decreased tax revenue. Boehner defended the decision to move forward … [Read more...]

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Analysis: A deep divide over the nation’s course ahead

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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(Phatforums News / USA Today) --- TAMPA – President Obama's populist-flavored State of the Union Address on Monday night and the harsh reaction of Republican leaders to it reflect more than Washington's typical partisan divide. Their sharply divergent views about the causes of the country's problems and the solutions to them are part of the most fundamental debate in a generation or more, perhaps even since the New Deal era, over what the government can and should do at a time of economic pain. That deep disagreement isn't likely to be narrowed before November. PHOTOS: 2012 State of the Union BLOG: Highlights from the president's speech MORE: Readers weigh in on state of the U.S. The gulf between the two sides and the capital's partisan vitriol undercut the traditional role of the State of the Union — that is, as an account of the legislative priorities the president will pursue this year. Instead, with limited prospects of major legislation passing, the speech and the reaction are election-year arguments that each side hopes will persuade voters to endorse its view of the world. In his address to a joint session of Congress, Obama portrayed the Republicans as advocates of what he has called "you're-on-your-own economics," determined to protect the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama declared, "or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules." Speech transcripts President Obama: State of the Union Address Indiana Gov. Daniels: GOP response Republicans accused Obama of promoting class warfare and stoking the politics of envy. "No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in the formal Republican response. "We Americans are all in the same boat." Earlier in the day, at an overflow rally in Sarasota, Fla., GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich derided Obama as "a Saul Alinsky radical," a reference to an iconic Chicago community organizer. Mitt Romney, campaigning here in front of a banner that said "Obama isn't working," described the president as an economic naif who wants to transform the United States into "a European-style social welfare state." The task for a first-term president delivering his fourth-year State of the Union always requires striking a delicate rhetorical balance, especially at a time of travail, between bragging about achievements and acknowledging setbacks. In his 1996 address — after his party suffered historic losses in the 1994 midterms —President Clinton said "the era of big government is over," drawing more applause from Republicans than fellow Democrats. In his 2004 State of the Union, … [Read more...]

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Boehner announces deal on payroll tax cut

December 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Cantor: Tax talk will only take an hour STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: House Speaker accepts a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut NEW: Speaker Boehner will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. Obama had urged the House GOP to "reconsider" its opposition to the Senate plan The payroll tax cut is set to expire December 31 What does $40 mean in your household? Let us know in a short video. Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday announced an agreement with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. The deal amounted to a reversal of the opposition by House Republicans of the two-month extension passed by the Senate. According to Republican and Democratic sources, previously recalcitrant House GOP leaders agreed to the short-term extension of the tax break to allow time for further negotiations. Those terms were part of a bipartisan Senate deal that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats demanded the House accept. The deal also includes the addition of legislative language to ease the administrative burden on small businesses implementing the plan, Boehner said in a statement. "We will ask the House and Senate to approve this agreement by unanimous consent before Christmas," Boehner said, indicating the chambers could pass the plan without objection so that members don't have to return to Washington from their holiday recess. The development came hours after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, called for a short-term extension to end the standoff, increasing pressure on House GOP leaders to end their resistance to such a step. Boehner, R-Ohio, initially rejected McConnell's call, instead releasing a statement that reiterated his demand for negotiators to craft an immediate one-year tax cut extension -- something that has been considered extremely unlikely by most congressional observers. With nine days until the payroll tax cut is set to expire, bringing a tax increase averaging $1,000 for American workers, the ongoing impasse pitting the House Republican leadership against the White House, congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans is the kind of political gamesmanship that Americans dislike about Congress, Obama said earlier Thursday. The two-month Senate compromise was passed last Saturday by an 89-10 vote, with strong Republican support, after Senate negotiators were unable to agree on a one-year extension. Boehner has instead demanded negotiations on a one-year extension, arguing that anything shorter would simply prolong the issue and causes uncertainty for American taxpayers and businesses. His stance drew sharp criticism this week, including an editorial in the conservative Wall Street Journal that said House Republicans had lost the political advantage of advocating tax cuts to Obama and the Democrats. On Thursday, McConnell's proposal and calls by other conservative Republicans for the House … [Read more...]

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House Republicans scrap direct vote on Senate payroll tax plan

December 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Pelosi: GOP standing in the way STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: A GOP source says House leaders want an "affirmative" vote NEW: Democrats say Republicans probably lack the votes to defeat the Senate plan The House delays the vote from Monday night until Tuesday Reid says Senate Democrats won't agree to House GOP demands to restart talks Washington (CNN) -- Republicans on the House rules committee have voted to prevent a direct vote Tuesday on a Senate plan favored by Democrats and Senate Republicans to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. By an 8-4 vote Monday night, the GOP-led panel rejected a Democratic amendment that would have held a vote on whether to approve the Senate plan, which is opposed by House Republican leaders. The committee then voted 8-4 in favor of Chairman Rep. David Dreier's proposal for the House to vote Tuesday morning on whether to call for a conference committee with Senate negotiators to work out a compromise on the payroll tax-cut legislation. Republican sources earlier told CNN that a direct vote on the two-month extension would likely be scrapped. Instead, the rules committee decided the House would vote on sending the issue to a conference committee, as well as a "sense of the House" resolution supporting a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut and other benefits in the negotiations Republicans are trying to force with the Senate. The change in the plans by House Republican leaders followed a two-hour meeting with their caucus and indicated confusion over how to proceed in the face of relentless pressure from the White House, Democrats and some Senate Republicans to accept the Senate plan that passed on a bipartisan 89-10 vote. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, told reporters that the effort by House Republicans to avoid a direct vote on the Senate measure probably meant they lacked enough support from their own members to defeat it, as called for by the GOP leadership. "My guess is that they are afraid that their members are not going to stick with them," Pelosi said. In the 434-member chamber, where one seat is vacant, the 242-seat Republican majority can only afford 26 defections to overcome a unified 192-seat Democratic minority. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina said Monday night the party's caucus was 99% in support of the Senate measure. A House GOP leadership aide conceded to CNN that it is a "cleaner message" to simply vote to affirm the House position on extending the payroll tax cut for a year, instead of opposing a two-month extension. Another GOP aide said Republicans now believe it makes more sense for them to have an "affirmative vote" instead of a "negative one." Earlier, House GOP leaders announced that votes on the issue would take place Tuesday instead of Monday night, as originally planned. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-California, told reporters that it was better to hold the votes "not in the dark of night … [Read more...]

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Boehner opposes Senate payroll tax cut bill

December 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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(Phatforums News / USA Today) --- That payroll tax cut extension deal may be unraveling. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said this morning that he and other House Republicans oppose the Senate plan to extend the payroll tax cut for only two months, saying that is "just kicking the can down the road." "How can you do tax policy for two months?" Boehner said on NBC's Meet The Press. "It's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences, and extend this for one year." The House is scheduled to vote Monday on the Senate plan. Boehner said House Republicans want to extend the payroll tax cut for a year, to be financed with cuts in the existing budget. As we've reported, President Obama has signaled he is willing to sign the Senate plan for a two-month extension -- but if the House votes no, there won't be a bill to sign. In the meantime, the tax cut extension that Obama and the Republicans agreed to last year expires at the end of the month -- meaning higher payroll taxes for nearly 160 million Americans. During brief remarks Saturday at the White House, Obama said: "Congress should not go home for vacation until it finds a way to avoid hitting 160 million Americans with a tax hike on January 1st." … [Read more...]

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Congress OKs massive spending plan

December 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Thune: We'll be back 'in two months' STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: The bill is heading to President Obama for his signature The almost $1 trillion spending plan keeps the government funded through September Senate also approves a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut Washington (CNN) -- The Senate on Saturday approved a compromise spending bill to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year -- a day after the bill won approval from the House of Representatives. The bill now heads to President Obama for his signature. The almost $1 trillion measure passed on a 296-121 vote in the House on Friday, before heading to the Senate where it passed 67-32-- averting a partial government shutdown as a deadline loomed at midnight Friday. A one-day continuing resolution was passed by the Senate on Friday and signed by President Barack Obama to keep the government funded through Saturday's vote. Senators on Saturday also voted to extend the payroll tax cut by two months, after both sides were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for a full year. The two major pieces of legislation were linked this week in political maneuvering involving the White House and Senate leaders. Congressional negotiators signed off on the government appropriations plan Thursday night. The giant spending package appropriates money for the rest of fiscal year 2012, which ends September 30, at levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling agreement in August. Obama and Democrats have pushed for the separate measure that would prevent the payroll tax cut enacted last year from expiring at the end of this month. A Democratic effort to delay action on the spending plan -- which was agreed to by a bipartisan conference committee -- until resolution of the payroll tax cut issue fell apart in talks between party leaders that began Wednesday night. With House approval of the spending plan, the onus of legislative action fell on the Senate, where a deep partisan divide had stalled progress on the payroll tax-cut measure until negotiations began in earnest Thursday. The Senate talks involve extending the payroll tax cut and other provisions that expire at the end of the year, including an extension of unemployment benefits and an increase in payments to doctors who provide Medicare services. Democrats want these programs to be extended through 2012, but they had floated the idea of a fallback two-month extension to ensure there will be no negative impact on Americans if Congress fails to reach a broader deal. A Senate Democratic leadership aide said the two-month extension would clear the way for further negotiations on a larger deal. But House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that any attempt for a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits would get altered in the House, in particular by adding a controversial provision to speed government approval … [Read more...]

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Palestinians attack Gingrich comment on ‘invented’ people

December 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Gingrich: Palestinians are 'invented' STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: The Palestinian prime minister and other leaders attack the remarks Gingrich called the Palestinians are an "invented" people Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat says the comments are "racist" A fellow Republican presidential contender has also criticized the comments (CNN) -- Senior Palestinian leaders on Saturday strongly criticized comments by Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians are an "invented" people, calling them ignorant and racist. Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the Gingrich remark was "the most racist statement I've ever seen." Erakat, who has negotiated in talks with Israel and the United States, said the remarks show "how really despicable things can get" in American politics. "Such thinking should be an alarm and concern for the world," Erakat said. Gingrich made the comments in an interview that aired Friday with The Jewish Channel, a U.S. cable channel. "I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state," Gingrich said in the interview. "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, who are historically part of the Arab community." He added, "And they had a chance to go many places and for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s. I think it's tragic." Gingrich in bull's-eye at GOP showdown His comments, seemingly off the path from United States foreign policy supporting a two-state solution in the Middle East, come days after Gingrich attended a forum sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C., and as the current crop of GOP candidates compete for the Jewish vote. Palestinians including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Gingrich needs to reexamine the history books. "The Palestinian people inhabited the land since the dawn of history, and intend to remain in it until the end times," Fayyad said Saturday at an event in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "People like Gingrich must consult history, as it seems that all what he knows about the region is the history of the Ottoman era." Fayyad said "despite oppression, occupation, and assaults, the Palestinian people remain steadfast in their historic land, and will achieve their legitimate rights." An executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hanan Ashrawi, said Gingrich has "lost touch with reality." The statements show "ignorance and bigotry" and are "a cheap way to win (the) pro-Israel vote," Ashrawi told Voice of Palestine radio, in comments reported by the Palestinian Authority-controlled WAFA news agency. Fatah Revolutionary Council member Dimitri Diliani said Gingrich's remarks reflect "the ignorant, provocative, and racist nature of Mr. Gingrich," according to WAFA. Then and … [Read more...]

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Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Blagojevich: Time to be strong STORY HIGHLIGHTS Blagojevich apologizes, acknowledges crimes were committed "It comes late," U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel says Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 corruption charges The former governor was accused of trying to profit from Barack Obama's Senate seat Chicago (CNN) -- A federal judge sentenced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to 14 years in prison for corruption convictions Wednesday. Blagojevich, who turns 55 Saturday, must start serving his prison term within 90 days, the judge ordered. He must also pay a $20,000 fine. "This is the time to be strong," Blagojevich told reporters as he left the Chicago federal courthouse. "This is the time to fight through adversity. This is the time for me to be strong for my children." The sentence followed a dramatic apology by Blagojevich to his state, his family and the judge, in which he said he is "unbelievably sorry." "I've had plenty of time to reflect on all that's happened," Blagojevich said. "I'm here convicted of crimes, and I am accepting of it, acknowledge it." "It comes late," U.S. District Judge James Zagel said before imposing the prison sentence. Zagel noted that Blagojevich did not resign as governor despite the indictments, but if he had it might have helped show he accepted responsibility. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was accused of trying to profit as he considered whom to appoint to succeed Barack Obama when he vacated his Senate seat to move to the White House. "There is a line between routine politics, horse trading and campaign politics," Blagojevich said. "I thought they were permissible and I was mistaken." He was convicted of corruption in June after a jury returned 17 guilty verdicts against him. Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 15 to 20 years, but his lawyers called that excessive and asked the judge for leniency on Tuesday, even as they admitted for the first time that crimes were committed. "He asked for a job in return (for Obama's former U.S. Senate seat). That's all he did at first. We accept that that's a crime," Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky said, according to CNN affiliate WLS. "He did it and he should not have done it (but) that crime does not call for a 15-year jail sentence." "Blagojevich betrayed the trust and faith that Illinois voters placed in him, feeding great public frustration, cynicism and disengagement among citizens," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said after the sentencing. "People have the right to expect that their elected leaders will honor the oath they swear to, and this sentence shows that the justice system will stand up to protect their expectations." A corrupt governor can be "more damaging than any other office in the United States, except that of the president," Judge Zagel said before announcing the sentence. "When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn, disfigured and not easily repaired," … [Read more...]

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Breaking News: Cain suspends Presidential Bid

December 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Cain to decide on presidential run soon STORY HIGHLIGHTS The fate of his presidential bid will be announced after talks with his wife, Cain says He sends a message to supporters, asking for prayers and contributions Cain's Iowa support is in single digits, the Des Moines Register reports Cain's campaign has been dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and an affair ATLANTA (CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain is expected to address the future of his presidential campaign Saturday at the scheduled opening of a Georgia campaign headquarters. "Tomorrow in Atlanta, I will be making an announcement," he said Friday at a town hall meeting in Rock Hill, South Carolina. "But nobody's going to get me to make that prematurely, that's all there is to that." He said the announcement will "clarify ... exactly what the next steps are" for the campaign. Cain's once-surging bid for the Republican presidential nomination has become hobbled in recent weeks by allegations of sexual harassment and, most recently, an Atlanta woman's claim that they carried on a 13-year affair. At Friday's town hall, Cain said he was reassessing his campaign "because of all this media firestorm stuff," adding, "my wife and family comes first." But he gave no indication during the session that he planned to suspend his campaign, which he had said Thursday in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader's editorial board was an option. His campaign also pressed ahead with initiatives, sending out requests for prayers and financial contributions and unveiling a "Women for Cain" website that the organization described as an "online national fellowship of women dedicated to helping elect Herman Cain as the next president of the United States." Cain has acknowledged that Ginger White's allegations have led to a drop in campaign contributions, and a Des Moines Register poll shows his support among likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers has fallen to 8%, down from 23% in October. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 points, the newspaper said. Respondents said they were most concerned that Cain does not understand important issues, but said the allegations against him contribute to their concern, the newspaper said. This week, White told the news media that she and Cain engaged in an on-and-off affair for more than 13 years. She described the affair as "very casual." Two women -- Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar -- previously accused Cain of sexually harassing them in the 1990s while he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Two other women also have said Cain sexually harassed them while they worked at the association, but they have declined to be identified. Cain told the Union Leader that he repeatedly gave White money to help her with "month-to-month bills and expenses." But he denied the relationship was sexual, as White contends. He said the two were friends. "I send checks to a lot … [Read more...]

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Obama: Thanksgiving spirit can help nation meet challenges

November 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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(Phatforums News / USA Today) --- President Obama delivered a Thanksgiving message this morning, and said the spirit of the holiday can help Americans deal with the nation's economic and political problems. "If we support each other, and look out for each other, and remember that we're all in this together, then I know that we too will overcome the challenges of our time," Obama said. The president sent special Thanksgiving greetings to U.S. troops overseas, telling them "the American people are thinking of you today. And when you come home, we intend to make sure that we serve you as well as you're serving America." Obama also paid tribute to volunteers who are serving Thanksgiving meals to the poor and homeless. "This sense of mutual responsibility -- the idea that I am my brother's keeper; that I am my sister's keeper -- has always been a part of what makes our country special," he said. Referring to the bad economy, Obama said, "I know that for many of you, this Thanksgiving is more difficult than most." But he said the nation's problems will be solved with patience and perseverance. "The problems we face didn't develop overnight, and we won't solve them overnight," Obama said. "But we will solve them. All it takes is for each of us to do our part." While Americans worry about "all the partisanship and gridlock" in Washington, Obama asked listeners to "think about what's happening at this very moment: Americans from all walks of life are coming together as one people, grateful for the blessings of family, community, and country." Obama's remarks: From my family to yours, I'd like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. Like millions of Americans, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will spend the day eating great food, watching a little football, and reflecting on how truly lucky we truly are. As Americans, each of us has our own list of things and people to be thankful for. But there are some blessings we all share. We're especially grateful for the men and women who defend our country overseas. To all the service members eating Thanksgiving dinner far from your families: the American people are thinking of you today. And when you come home, we intend to make sure that we serve you as well as you're serving America. We're also grateful for the Americans who are taking time out of their holiday to serve in soup kitchens and shelters, making sure their neighbors have a hot meal and a place to stay. This sense of mutual responsibility -- the idea that I am my brother's keeper; that I am my sister's keeper -- has always been a part of what makes our country special. And it's one of the reasons the Thanksgiving tradition has endured. The very first Thanksgiving was a celebration of community during a time of great hardship, and we have followed that example ever since. Even when the fate of our union was far from certain -- during a Civil War, two World Wars, a Great Depression -- Americans drew strength … [Read more...]

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