George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama's FY 2010 Budget to receive plenty of scrutiny - the summary for the fiscal year which begins October 1, 2009 was released yesterday. Full details of the budget will not be available until April. The total may reach 3.55 Trillion with the deficit near 1.75 Trillion. CNN.com has more here.
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President Obama proposes 1 Trillion in tax increases over the next decade on the wealthiest of Americans and companies - set to begin in 2011, this will reverse the Bush administration's policy and revert back to rates present during the Clinton administration. The highest rates of 33% and 35% would be increased to 36% and 39.6%. Capital gains tax would be increased from 15% to 20%. It is estimated this will affect 2.6 million taxpayers. The Republican trickle down theory has never proven to work. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Vice president Joe Biden will be in Philadelphia today to chair the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force - the meeting will include many members of the Cabinet from Labor, Energy, Agriculture, HUD, Education and Transportation. The meeting will be held at the William B. Irwin Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania. WhiteHouse.gov has more here.
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Washington D.C. close to receiving vote in Congress - the only city without a vote in Congress moved a little closer yesterday when the Senate voted 61-37 to add a floor vote to their Representative. Currently, their Representative could serve on House committees, but have no vote on the floor. The bill still needs to pass the House and is expected to do so easily. The strange part is a amendment attached to the senate bill repealing all of the gun control laws in the district. Expect this to be removed as the bill is reconciled. The Washington Post has more here.
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CPAC set to hold straw poll for Republican Presidential candidates tomorrow - The Conservative Political Action Conference will conclude their three day meeting with the announcement of the results of who won the straw poll. The contenders for the dubious honor are all former or current Governors. The usual suspects include Jindal, Palin, Huckabee, Romney, Sanford, and Pawlenty. First, I wonder who will win and second, I wonder if the winner will flaunt the honor - egaad! MSNBC.com has more here.
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Democratic Party Leaders not happy with Obama plan for withdrawal from Iraq - the issue is not the extension from 16 to 19 months but rather the change from all troops to two-thirds of the troops. The 50,000 Troops planned to remain in Iraq has angered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calf.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), and Senator Charles Schumer (NY). Stay Tuned. Politico.com has more here.
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Special envoy George Mitchell in Israel for talk with Leaders - Israel's recent election was extremely close resulting in the more hard liner Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not believe in Palestinian statehood, being designated as Prime Minister. The moderate Tzipi Livni who lost the close election has not agreed to work as part of the Netanyahu government. This is the second trip in the last month for Mitchell who met with both Livni and Netanyahu yesterday. You can read more here.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-27-2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-22-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Yesterday, President Barack Obama spoke of how he intends to reduce the budget deficit - this comes after a slew of government spending. Reuters.com has more here.
The anticipated annual deficit will be at least 1.5 Trillion this year alone and will most likely be higher after all the Stimulus bill funds and TARP funds have been added to the total. Using the White House projections, cutting this in half would still leave a annual deficit of 750 billion. The national debt will exceed 12 Trillion at the end of this fiscal year and appears it will reach 15 Trillion by the end of President Obama's first term.
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Tuesday night, President Obama will address Congress - this will be similar to a state of the union address and will be televised in prime time. Speculation abounds as to what he will focus in during his speech. Obviously, the economy will be the number one issue, but also look for him to speak on how his administration has moved quickly to send special envoys and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton around the world to begin the process of repairing the damage done by the previous George W. Bush administration. McClatchydc.com adds their speculation as to what the president will address in his speech here.
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Washington D.C. voting rights bill moving closer to passage - D.C. remains the only U.S. city without representation in Congress. Interestingly, D.C. currently is allowed a delegate similar to Guam, Puerto Rico and American Samoa but those delegates are only able to serve on committees and are unable to vote. This bill would give D.C. a Representative in Congress and add a fourth to the state of Utah. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill next week and the House in March. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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The Stimulus bill receives discussion at the annual meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) in Washington - the overwhelming majority of Governors, including Ed Rendell (D-PA), who is the chair of the NGA are thankful for the stimulus funds which will begin flowing to the states. The funds will help in education, health care and road improvements as well as help reduce the massive lay-offs that would have occurred. A few republican Governors dissented led by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who said he would refuse the funds for extending unemployment benefits while he would accept other funding from the Stimulus bill. Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) also said he felt the bill was wasteful. MSNBC.com has more here.
Many of these Governors are on the "Talking Heads" shows this morning. We have the scheduled guest list for the shows here.
The White House will host the Governors annual dinner tonight and the band will be "Earth, Wind and Fire".
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-12-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President Barack Obama heads to Illinois to continue to sell his Stimulus bill - his first stop is East Peoria and a Caterpillar plant. Then, he is off to Springfield to speak at a Banquet celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. You can read more here.
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House-Senate conference committee reaches compromise on Stimulus bill - within 24 hours of when the Senate voted to approve the bill, agreement on a 789 Billion compromise bill was reached. Some of the breakdown of the spending is as follows: 275 billion on tax relief, 150 billion on new building and infrastructure and 54 billion for aid to states. It is anticipated the bill will be signed by the President no later than Monday. The NY Times has more here.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. Budget Deficit reaches 529 Billion in just the first four months of the year - the federal fiscal year begins in October. The deficit for the month of January alone was 83.8 billion. When the stimulus bill is added, the deficit spending for this year could reach 2 Trillion. This would be added to the existing national debt of 10.7 Trillion. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Clinton expected to name Stephen Bosworth special envoy to North Korea - he is a former state department official. CNN.com has more here. Interesting to follow some of the nuances of the special envoy announcements. George Mitchell (Middle East) and Richard Holbrooke (Afghanistan/Pakistan) were both announced by President Obama. When Mitchell returned from a recent trip to the Middle East, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared in a photo-op with the President and Mitchell when Mitchell briefed the President on his trip.
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D.C. voting rights bill clears Senate committee - for some time the District has been lobbying for representation in Congress. in 2007, the bill fell three votes short of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster in the Senate. This would give D.C. one House seat. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee voted 11-1 to send the bill for a full Senate vote. The lone Senator to vote against the bill was John McCain (R-Az.). The Washington Post has more here.
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