The House debated amendments to a fiscal year 2011 spending bill.
15 hours, 43 minutes | 8,364 Views
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Jim DeMint: President Barack Obama Is Not The Nation's Leader
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) doesn't think President Barack Obama should be considered the leader of the United States of America.
During a speech covering the national debt, earmarks, the 2012 Presidential election and the repeal of the health care law on Thursday, DeMint told members of the D.C. chapter of the conservative Federalist Society, "This whole idea that the President is the leader of our country is a mistake."
DeMint added, "Leadership starts in the homes in the communities, in businesses, in churches. I've lived in a community and I know where the leaders are and it's not in Washington. And this pretense that he's our nation's leader... I'm not just talking about Obama I'm talking about any President."
"A candidate who goes out and makes all these promises about what he's going to do in all areas of our society needs to be removed from consideration," DeMint said to applause from the audience.
"It's pretty clear this President is not going to lead," DeMint explained to his audience. "We've got to replace this President."
Americans are "on our knees in front of China for credit," DeMint told the mostly conservative attendees feasting on fried rice and fortune cookies at Tony Chang's restaurant in the Chinatown section of D.C. "We're on our knees in front of OPEC nations" for energy, DeMint said.
The man known as the most conservative member of the Senate told the audience that conservatives cannot be stuck picking the "least worst Republican" as their nominee to run against Obama.
He also endorsed a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and endorsed alternative ways for states to wean themselves off the federal budget
"The best hope we have right now is what you see Rick Scott doing in Florida" as well as "folks saying we're going to get out of Medicare" and "folks developing alternative currencies -- the federal government doesn't like that," DeMint.
DeMint also said he's been working on energy legislation to allow for more domestic energy production with Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and said he was glad to have Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) by his side in the upper chamber of Congress.
America's problems can be fixed with a "liberation solution," DeMint said, endorsing the elimination of the Department of Education.
"What we need in a Presidential candidate, a Senate candidate, a congressional candidate, are people who are out there selling freedom, selling liberation solutions," DeMint said
What might a government shutdown look like?
By Ed O'Keefe
(File photo: Nancy Andrews/Post)
Updated 2:48 p.m. ET
If President Obama and congressional Republicans fail to agree soon on how to fund the final seven months of the fiscal year, some veterans might not receive benefits checks and other Americans would be unable to apply for Social Security. The State Department might not issue new passports, unemployment statistics would not publish as scheduled, museums and national parks would close, and worse -- piles of elephant manure might pile up in a National Zoo parking lot because workers can't ship it away for composting.
If President Obama and congressional Republicans fail to agree soon on how to fund the final seven months of the fiscal year, some veterans might not receive benefits checks and other Americans would be unable to apply for Social Security. The State Department might not issue new passports, unemployment statistics would not publish as scheduled, museums and national parks would close, and worse -- piles of elephant manure might pile up in a National Zoo parking lot because workers can't ship it away for composting.
Budget disagreements between Bill Clinton and Republicans prompted these incidents in 1995 and 1996, as federal agencies halted operations and stopped paying workers.
Over the course of more than 20 days, about 260,000 District-area federal employees stayed home, or reported for duty only to be sent packing hours later. Security guards roamed the halls forcing out workers who lingered and some frustrated feds sought temporary jobs as bike messengers and waitresses in order to pay holiday bills, according to Post reports from the time.
Agencies retroactively paid workers once the doors reopened, but many government contractors -- paid separately by private employers -- earned nothing during the shutdowns.
Obama and congressional leaders must strike a deal by March 4 in order to keep the government running. Failure to pass a bill could cause an immediate stop to a wide range of federal services.
Depending on the proposal, the GOP is hoping to cut $60 billion to $100 billion, in an effort to trim the deficit and make good on a midterm election pledge to cut government spending. The White House has vowed to veto such plans. Numerous tea party groups have called on lawmakers to force a government shutdown, if necessary, but GOP leadership has vowed not to go that far.
"The government isn't going to shut down," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the second-ranking Senate Republican, insisted Tuesday night. "Nobody is talking about shutting the government down."
Actually, they are, according to sources. Federal agencies are beginning to instruct senior officials to prepare for a possible shutdown, ordering the cancellation of vacations or other personal commitments, said officials not authorized to speak on the record.
Jacob J. Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget, disputed those reports Thursday. "We're planning on reaching the kind of agreements that make it unnecessary to put the American people through a government shutdown. I don't want to either intentionally or unintentionally send any signals that we're planning to the contrary," he said at a luncheon hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
At his press conference Tuesday, Obama also warned against suggestions of a shutdown. "This is not an abstraction," he said. "People don't get their Social Security checks. They don't get their veterans payments. Basic functions shut down. And it -- that, also, would have a adverse effect on our economic recovery."
"It is interesting to see this come up again," said Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association, which represents thousands of the government's career managers. "It seems the last shutdowns didn't leave a negative enough impression on Americans if lawmakers are entertaining the thought of them once again."
Some of Bonosaro's members reached Wednesday, who asked not to be identified, recalled awkwardly deciding in 1995 which "essential" employees could work through the impasse and which "non-essential" personnel had to go home.
"The main impact was a vast amount of work associated with building shutdown plans and determining exactly who was and wasn't essential, and all the morale issues associated with the fear of impending implementation of those plans," one SEA member said in an e-mail. "I worked hard to get as many as possible of our then-1,200 or so employees deemed essential as I could, and that helped with morale."
Even if non-essential workers wanted to work without pay, they could face fines of up to $5,000 or up to two years in prison for violating a federal law that prohibits agencies from accepting volunteer labor.
So how might it work this time? It obviously won't be quite the same, saidStan Collender, a longtime budget analyst.
"Instead of checks being mailed, they're now transferred electronically. But you've also got other things that didn't exist before like Homeland Security," he said. "There would have to be some reevaluation from last time. Those are big policy decisions. The next level down is to tell every agency to start preparing for a shutdown. Who gets to come in, who doesn't? What additional help do you need for security and computer systems?"
Stores and restaurants near federal buildings relying on daytime foot traffic would suffer and Metrorail revenues would plummet from lower ridership. It would be as if the movie industry shut down Hollywood, or if the auto industry temporarily closed shop in Detroit.
Government contracting firms are already mobilizing and preparing for potential disruptions, according to Stan Soloway, president of theProfessional Services Council, which represents hundreds of mid-sized contracting firms.
"We want our folks to be as prepared as possible," Soloway said. "That doesn't mean it's going to happen, but it's not outside the realm of possibility either, so we can't ignore it."
Calculating the potential savings from a shutdown are difficult, primarily because agencies historically pay back workers for time lost and might spend more to compensate for lost productivity, according to Post reports from the period.
Cities and states relying on federal funds would also have to spend unavailable cash. During the Nov. 1995 shutdown, the District of Columbia saved about $1.2 million daily by keeping some offices closed, but concurrently spent $4.4 million to cover the salaries of 26,000 employees normally paid with federal funds. At the same time, Maryland's state government spent $1.4 million a day to cover the salaries of 9,680 state workers also paid with federal dollars.
The president is given wide discretion to determine which agencies and programs continue operations during shutdowns, meaning many employees of the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice,State and Veterans Affairs would keep working in order to keep national security and defense concerns running smoothly. In 1995, Clinton signed a special appropriations bill that kept 12,000 Agriculture Department workers on the job.
Other self-funding agencies would also open for business. The U.S. Mint, which finances its operations through a special fund, would still produce coins, and neither snow nor rain nor threat of shutdown would keep postal workers from their appointed rounds.
And even if the waste piles up in the parking lot, it's likely zoo workers would feed and care for the animals, just as they did the last time.
Researcher Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
BREAKING: John Boehner's Threat To Shut Down Gov't Without Any Negotiation Receives Important Endorsement From...
February 17, 2011
Palin: Government Shutdown May Help Fight Rising Debt
By Lisa Lerer - Feb 17, 2011 3:16 PM ET
·
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, weighing a presidential bid next year, said she opposes raising the U.S. debt ceiling and welcomes a government shutdown in the fight over federal spending.
Speaking today to business executives and civic leaders in Woodbury, New York, Palin said Republicans shouldn’t be deterred by Democratic “scare tactics” over a possible government shutdown.
It would force President Barack Obama to work with Republicans, she said. “Not necessarily would that be a bad thing on either side.”
The U.S. debt is projected by the Treasury Department to reach its authorized ceiling of $14.3 trillion within a few months, setting the stage for a congressional showdown over lifting the borrowing limit. Also, current government funding runs out March 4 as lawmakers battle over the budget for the rest of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
Raising the debt ceiling isn’t the answer, Palin said as she took questions from a meeting held by the Long Island Business Association, one of New York’s largest business groups.
“To me, all that’s going to do is create this allowance for more big spenders to get in there,” she said. “It’s an overstatement to say that we are even making a dent in the national debt,” she said. Obama’s “spending plan does add to the debt, and it does allow in the next 10 years, still, deficit spending.”
Obama on Feb. 14 proposed a $3.7 trillion budget for next fiscal year. Republicans said they will demand deeper cuts.
Palin said she hasn’t made up her mind about running for president in 2012. She said her decision last week to hire a chief of staff was intended to help better organize her professional life.
“To tell you the truth, Todd is getting tired of doing it all for me,” she said, referring to her husband.
Speaker Boehner Praises Wis. Gov’s “Courageous Action,” Rips President’s Failure to Lead
February 17, 2011 4:44 PM
ABC News’ John R. Parkinson reports:
Speaker of the House John Boehner today credited Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker for taking “courageous action” and “daring to speak the truth” about his state’s financial difficulties and ripped President Obama for criticizing Walker’s proposed reforms and failing to show leadership on the economy.
Boehner reacted Thursday to President Obama’s interview with a Milwaukee television station in which the president criticized Walker for unleashing “an assault on unions.”
“Republicans in Congress – and reform-minded GOP governors like Scott Walker…are daring to speak the truth about the dire fiscal challenges Americans face at all levels of government, and daring to commit themselves to solutions that will liberate our economy and help put our citizens on a path to prosperity,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement Thursday. “I’m disappointed that instead of providing similar leadership from the White House, the president has chosen to attack leaders such as Gov. Walker, who are listening to the people and confronting problems that have been neglected for years at the expense of jobs and economic growth.”
In an interview taped Wednesday that aired Thursday, President Obama told WTMJ that Walker's effort to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state employees was an “assault on unions.”
"Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions," Obama said. "I think everybody's got to make some adjustments, but I think it's also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens."
Boehner said the president’s comments fail to demonstrate leadership on the economy.
“This is not the way you begin an ‘adult conversation’ in America about solutions to the fiscal challenges that are destroying jobs in our country,” Boehner stated. “Rather than shouting down those in office who speak honestly about the challenges we face, the president and his advisors should lead. Until they do, they are not focusing on jobs, and they are not listening to the American people who put them in power.”
Walker has proposed an emergency budget repair bill to help balance Wisconsin’s state budget, but thousands of teachers and state employees swarmed the capitol in Madison today to protest a planned state Senate vote on a measure to cut Wisconsin public worker pensions and curb collective bargaining rights. The vote stalled, however, afterSenate Democrats apparently fled the state.
President Obama was interviewed Wednesday by local television stations in Cincinnati, Richmond and Milwaukee -- the three media markets of Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan.
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney denied that the three interviews were anything more than a coincidence.
“[President Obama] has meetings with Americans around the country, and this is just part of that process,” Carney said. “Those are important states, important parts of the country. And he's very eager to talk to and reach out to Americans in all parts of the country to explain what he's doing on the budget, explain his vision for the future, the need to reduce spending reasonably, promote economic growth and invest in the areas that will help us compete in a very competitive environment in the 21st century.”
Never poke a badger in the eye
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Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:56 PM EST
This video from inside the Wisconsin state capitol building is not the kind of thing you're likely to see on TV. This is what your friend sends you after they get back, so you can see what you missed. Its pure homemade-ness lets you see how big a deal this Wisconsin standoff has become -- big. As former Senator Russ Feingold told us last night, this is what happens when you poke a badger in the eye.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, has demanded givebacks on wages and benefits from state employees. Mr. Walker also wants to take away their union's right to collective bargaining. Senate Democrats are boycotting the vote. Most of them are said to have left the state rather than give the Republican majority a quorum to hold a vote and pass the "budget repair bill." The Senate majority leader has said he'll use State Patrol officers to track them down if he must.
We'll have much more on this tonight, including a report from the capitol and -- if we can wrangle it -- an interview with a Wisconsin state senator in an undisclosed location (adding: this is a go). Until then, read up on this WisPolitics blog.
(Below, students protesting at Logan High School in La Crosse. Photo: Jeremy Jensen. Send more, please.)
Budget Battle:Democrats Who Left State are Located
By The WTMJ News Team
MADISON - Democratic State Senators who protested the budget repair bill by leaving the state have been found.
The lawmakers are in the Best Western Clock Tower Resort in Rockford Illinois.
Law enforcement officials have been looking for at least one Democratic senator to bring in for a quorum required for a fiscal measure, but Democratic Senator Jon Erpenbach confirmed to Newsradio 620 WTMJ that he and all of his Democratic colleagues boarded a bus and left the state.
"We're not in Wisconsin right now," Erpenbach said. "The reason why we're doing this is because there are some jurisdictional issues that we'd be dealing with."
The Senate's Sergeant at Arms cannot compel Senators' attendance in an open session if they are outside of state lines.
According to the Twitter account of Democrat State Senator Chris Larson from Bay View, "For those looking for us, we are right here, standing with the people of Wisconsin."
When asked by TODAY'S TMJ4's Tom Murray why he would not divulge his location, he said "I don't want those details to take away from the message being sent by the people of Wisconsin."
Related stories: • Local School Districts Close From Teachers Out • Senate Set To Pass Budget/Union Bill • MTEA Asks Milwaukee Schools To Close, But MPS Stays Open • Barrett: "Never Seen Anything Like This" • Majority Leader Explains Need for 'Flexibility' • Gov. Walker on Budget Bill, In His Own Words • Budget Repair Bill Supports Less Vocal Than Opponents • Archbishop Listecki Weighs In on Repair Bill • President: Walker Bill "Seems Like More Of An Assault on Unions" Related audio: Click on the links below to hear Newsradio 620 WTMJ "Wisconsin Afternoon News" exclusive interviews about the budget/union bill • Governor Scott Walker • Madison Democratic State Senator Jon Erpenbach • Madison Teachers Union Executive Director John Matthews |
"The senate is now under a call of the house, and we will try to find the members who decided not to show up for work today. We will stand informal pending the resolution of the call of the house," said State Senator Mike Ellis.
A staff member for Senator Lena Taylor (D.-Milwaukee) said that office staffers cannot even leave their office because of the commotion inside the Capitol.
With the Democrats gone, not enough Senators are available for a quorum to vote on the bill.
"We do not have the three-fifths" said Ellis to cheers in the crowd.
"We will leave the call of the house on until we receive enough members to continue to do business. I don't know how long that will take."
"Once we have enough people to continue to work, if they're still in the building, you will hear this bell and the Senate will be reconvened."
The wait could happen for as long as hours, or even days, until a Democratic senator comes in.
The proposal has been the focus of intense protests at the Statehouse for three days. As Republicans tried to begin Senate business Thursday, observers in the gallery screamed "Freedom! Democracy! Unions!"
Republicans hold a 19-14 majority, but they need at least one Democrat to be present before taking a vote on the bill.
Democratic Minority Leader Mark Miller released a statement on behalf of all Democrats urging Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans to listen to opponents of the measure and seek a compromise. His statement did not address where Democrats were or when they planned to return.
Bill opponents in the Senate gallery cheered when Senate President Mike Ellis announced that there were not enough senators present to proceed.
The bill came to the Senate after the Legislature's budget committee endorsed it just before midnight Wednesday.
Walker and Republican leaders have said they have the votes to pass the plan.
That didn't stop thousands of protesters from clogging the hallway outside the Senate chamber beating on drums, holding signs deriding Walker and pleading for lawmakers to kill the bill. Protesters also demonstrated outside the homes of some lawmakers.
Hundreds of teachers called in sick, forcing a number of school districts to cancel classes. Madison schools, the state's second-largest district with 24,000 students, closed for a second day as teachers poured into the Capitol.
Hundreds more people, many of them students from the nearby University of Wisconsin, slept in the rotunda for a second night.
"We are all willing to come to the table, we've have all been willing from day one," said Madison teacher Rita Miller. "But you can't take A, B, C, D and everything we've worked for in one fell swoop."
The head of the 98,000-member statewide teachers union called on all Wisconsin residents to come to the Capitol on Thursday for the votes in the Senate and Assembly.
"Our goal is not to close schools, but instead to remain vigilant in our efforts to be heard," said Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.
But so far, Democrats have been powerless to stop the bill.
"The story around the world is the rush to democracy," said Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch of Poplar. "The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process."
In addition to eliminating collective bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage -- increases Walker calls "modest" compared with those in the private sector.
Republican leaders said they expected Wisconsin residents would be pleased with the savings the bill would achieve -- $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
"I think the taxpayers will support this idea," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said.
Wisconsin has long been a bastion for workers' rights. It was the first state to grant collective bargaining rights to public employees more than a half-century ago. And the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was founded in 1936 in Madison.
But when voters elected Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of the state's labor history.
Under Walker's plan, state employees' share of pension and health care costs would go up by an average of 8 percent.
Unions still could represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.
In exchange for bearing more costs and losing bargaining leverage, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Walker has threatened to order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Wisconsin lawmakers go MIA
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Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:35 PM EST
Andy Manis/AP
Protesters pack out the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin on Thursday, demonstrating against Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers.
Ferris Bueller would be proud. Not only did 14 Democratic lawmakers boycott a vote on thecontroversial anti-union bill, they straight-up left the state!
It’s like skipping class on test-day. Sen. Jon Erpenbach says the group did it to force negotiations over the Republican-backed bill, which would strip most public employees of their collective-bargaining rights. They want to slow down the bill because it's "tearing the state apart."
Erpenbach wouldn’t say where they all went. Personally, my guess is they left Madison for nearby outlet mecca frequented by many Midwesterners, Gurnee Mills. Then again, where does a Senator go when they ditch?
Senate Republicans can't vote on the bill unless at least one Democrat is present. Police could be dispatched to find them, but it's unclear if they would have the authority to cross state lines.
Senate Democrats score one point for creativity.
House Session Feb 15, 2011
The House began consideration of H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.
13 hours, 12 minutes | 471 Views
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