Democratic News Chatter 3-28-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today in his weekly address to the nation, President Barack Obama talks about the dangerous flooding possibilities facing Americans in N. Dakota, S. Dakota, and Minnesota. The Red River is expected to crest on Sunday. He also speaks of opportunities for Americans to volunteer to serve and help their communities.

download .mp3 or HD .mp4 (57.1 Mb) also available here read transcript

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Obama 3.55 Trillion Budget vote in House and Senate expected next week - It passed through the Senate Budget Committee late Thursday evening. Chair of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad (D-ND) will appear tomorrow morning on CNN's "State of The Union". Both the House and the Senate trimmed the total funds slightly, but not significantly. CNN.com has more here. In spite of the massive projected deficit of 1.75 trillion in the first year, the budget is expected to pass.

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President Obama nominates former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus for Secretary of Navy - He is another Clintonista who served as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994-1996. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Auto Task Force to announce Monday additional aid to auto industry - GM and Chrysler have already received 17.4 billion in funds and have asked for an additional 22 billion. Auto suppliers also received 5 billion. Reuters.com has more here. The Obama administration does not want the automakers to face bankruptcy so expect the funds to be provided with additional conditions of restructuring on the part of the companies.

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Democratic Chatter 3-26-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama will answer questions from you - in a online town hall meeting, the president will answer questions on the economy that were previously submitted online beginning at 11:30 AM ET. WhiteHouse.gov will have his answers here.

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5.5 million receiving unemployment - the figures were up slightly from the previous report from the Labor Department. The Commerce Department also released the year end report for 2008 which showed what everyone already knew - the economy had shrank 6.3%. You can read more here. Pay attention to the unemployment claims as we are heading into a traditional seasonal employment gain period. A bad sign would be continued rising unemployment claims.

Meanwhile, unless the Dow Jones tanks big time today and tomorrow, this will mark the third straight week in gains. Too early to get excited and it is still at 50% of it's high mark. However, this is a good sign.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will appear before Congress today - he will be proposing new regulatory measures needed to prevent future financial collapses. The president alluded to this in his address to the nation Tuesday night. CNN.com has some of the details here. Expect financial institutions, such as A.I.G., to fall under regulatory control similar to banks. They are presently outside of the system. Also expect some talk about the size of Banks. Remember the breakup of monopolies after the "Great Depression"? The U.S. financial system should not be put in a situation where a Bank is too big to fail.

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Obama's Budget voted out of House committee - it will go to the full House for consideration next week. Minor changes were made, but the budget still equals 3.45 trillion. The vote was 24-15 with all the Democrats voting in favor and all the Republicans on the committee voting against the budget. TheHill.com has more here.

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Chrysler and GM ask for additional Billions - the auto Industry Task force established by President Obama is set to provide an additional 22 Billion to the auto makers. Also expected are some guidelines and a timeline for those changes to be made. The Obama administration does not want to see them enter into bankruptcy. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Senate votes not there to pass Emplyee Free Choice Act - it is becoming increasingly likely the bill will not be presented for a vote until after the 2010 midterm elections. The bill which would make it easier for workers to form unions does not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to prevent a filibuster. Senator Arlen Specter(R-Pa.) who is facing a tough reelection campaign has already signaled his opposition to the bill. Politico.com has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 3-21-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama in his weekly address to the nation discusses how his proposed budget is equal to the task before us.

download .mp3 or .mp4 also available here read transcript

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Meanwhile, the Congressional budget Office (CBO) reports the deficits under the Obama budget would equal 9.3 trillion - this is one-third larger than the projections coming from the Obama administration. Expect the 2010 budget battle to heat up soon. TheHill.com has more here.

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Then, Senator John McCain (R-Az.) followed with a statement saying the budget proposed by President Obama is a "threat to the nation" - he went on to say how the budget threatens the future of our children and grandchildren. With that statement, the budget battle is now engaged. CNN.com has more here.

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Also Yesterday, federal regulators took over two credit unions with combined assets of 57 billion - The U.S. Central Credit Union and the Western Corporate Federal Credit Union are considered the two largest credit unions in the country. McClatchydc.com has more here.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to announce next week his toxic asset plan -Geithner and the White House had better hope he does a better job than he has to date in explaining his plan to the public or else Geithner is sure to be gone. The plan has been hinted at previously and involves the private sector investing with the government to buy troubled mortgages. Let's see how the roll out goes next week and let's hope it works to help stabilize the financial system. Politico.com has more here.

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