George Wenschhof Bio
Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama held a press conference - nominates Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) - speaks to auto bailout bill and the arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) - Tom Daschle will be the point man in developing and implementing much needed health care reform in the U.S. Previous attempts have been made to implement universal health care and have been met with failure.
Also announced was Dr. Jeanne Lambrew as the new Deputy Director of White House Office of Health Reform.
Obama spoke of the need for short term assistance to the auto industry, especially in light of the recent high unemployment figures. As to Blagojevich, Obama expressed sadness that there were those in public office for personal gain and again called on the Governor to resign. He also said his staff was preparing a list of any contact anyone had with the Governor and that this list would be made available soon. Obama said again he had not had any conversations with the Governor in regard to the vacant Senate seat. Change.gov has more here.
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Senate expected to vote on auto bailout today - we reported yesterday the House passed the 14 Billion bill Wednesday evening by a vote of 337-170. However, Senate minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is leading the opposition in the Senate. The Bush White House has been lobbying Republicans for support. If enough Senate Republicans are not encouraged to support, the bill will fail. TheHill.com has more here.
Negotiations last night focused on additional wage and benefit concessions from the United Auto Workers union. MSNBC.com has more here. Bill fails in Senate on a procedural vote - 52-35. TheHill.com has more here.
Today, the White House issued a statement saying they are considering using funds from the 700 Billion Troubled Assets Relief Program "TARP" to help the troubled automakers. CNN.com has more here.
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Congress votes to put salary of Secretary of State back at pre-January 2007 level - sounds silly doesn't it? Well, it seems it has to do with a little known article in the constitution recently brought to light by "Judicial Watch". A member of Congress is unable to assume a Cabinet position for which they have voted to increase the salary. This happened when President Bush increased the salary of the Secretary of State and Senator Clinton voted on the increase.
Turns out this has happened twice before and each time Congress acted in a similar manner voting to reduce the Cabinet position salary to a former level. One was Ohio Senator William Saxby who became President Nixon's Attorney General and the other was Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen who became President Clinton's Treasury Secretary. CNN.com has more here.
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Yesterday, Obama met with former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and James Baker - you may recall they were the co-chairs of the war-powers commission who recommended changes to the current war powers act. The changes would require increased interaction and cooperation between the executive and legislative branches of government. ABCNews.com has more here.
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Did you ever want to know a little more about Obama campaign manager David Plouffe? - Portfolio.com has an extensive interview here. Plouffe talks about strategy, staying focused and holding staff accountable.
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