GOP Spending Cuts Would Affect Millions of People

According to reports, millions of taxpayers are likely to be affected by the spending cuts promised by Republicans in Congress. Those who stand to lose: low-income students and the disabled. This is sure to make the GOP popular…

From the Associated Press:

Low-income students may get smaller grants and the newly disabled might have to wait longer for their benefits. And just about every politician is going to get an earful from the local PTA if school aid gets whacked.

Republicans are finding it's one thing to issue a blanket promise to cut spending, an entirely different matter when you actually take the scissors to $1 of every $6 spent by agencies like the IRS, the FBI, NASA and the National Park Service. Federal layoffs would be unavoidable, the White House warns.

That's the real-world impact of House Republicans' campaign promise to cut $100 billion from the budgets of domestic agencies. Next week, they plan to vote on a resolution setting appropriations for the rest of the year at 2008 pre-recession levels. before President Barack Obama took office.

The vote will be largely symbolic. The actual cuts would have to be made in appropriations bills that would have to clear a 60-vote hurdle in the Senate, where Republicans hold only 47 seats.

The $100 billion promise, contained in the GOP's "Pledge to America" campaign manifesto, is based on cuts from Obama's budget recommendations for 2011, but the actual savings in returning to Bush-era levels would be a little less since the government is operating at last year's slightly lower budget.

Still, compared with 2010 rates and assuming a full year of implementation, Republicans are promising to cut up to $84 billion from nine appropriations bills, cuts that would average 18 percent. Some Republicans, especially in the Senate, may join Democrats in balking when they see their size.

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Survey: Americans Mixed on GOP, Health Plans

According to a new Associated Press-Gfk poll, a slight majority of taxpayers (53%) support the campaign promise of many newly elected Republican leaders: to extend all of Bush tax cuts. However, they do not support a repeal of Obama's health care legislation.

CBN.com reports

Forty-four percent feel that only taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year should receive the cuts.

As for Obamacare, only 39 percent want to see the Republicans fulfill their pledge to kill the new health care law. Instead, 58 percent want it left alone or extended even further.

"I think everybody wants change," said Steven Lamb, 60, a Tenn. state government worker in Nashville who voted Republican last week despite opposing the party's stance on tax cuts and health care.

"I'm tired of what's going on, and the only way to do it is to make a change," he added.

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GOP Calls for Shift as White House Drops Tax Hint

Shortly after President Obama suggested compromising with the new Congress, the Republican leader in the Senate insisted that the White House would have to shift dramatically right for compromise on taxes.

Market Watch reports

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky vowed in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation to keep his party’s focus on attacking government spending and rolling back the newly enacted health-care law.

“Our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government,” the Republican said.

On Wednesday, the president extended an olive branch to the Republicans, saying he’d negotiate with them where he felt possible on issues like energy and tax cuts. On Thursday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that making tax cuts “permanent” is not a good idea, leaving the clear implication that doing so on a temporary basis would be possible.

Wall Street was paying keen attention to any talk of a possible deal on taxes, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other benchmarks tracking U.S. stocks rallied.

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Obama: GOP 'Holding Middle Class Tax Relief Hostage'

From ABCNews.com:

In his first press conference since May, President Obama talked about the economy and announced that he is appointing University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee to be chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, administration sources tell ABC News.

He took aim at the previous administration and the "partisan minority" that he says are blocking his economic proposals.

"Policies of the previous decades have left our economy weaker and our middle class struggling," the president said.

President Obama acknowledged that progress has been "painfully slow."

"Since I am the president and Democrats have control of the House and the Senate, it's understandable that people are saying, you know, what have you done?" President Obama said. "We've still got a long ways to go."

Obama Keeps Pressure on GOP on Jobless Aid

In an ongoing fight to extend unemployment benefits to thousands of struggling Americans, President Obama is urging Republican Senators to vote in favor of the bill today. Some experts predict they Democratic party already has enough votes to avoid a filibuster, but President Obama reportedly does not want to take any risks. If passed, the bill would provide aid to an estimated 2.5 million unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits have expired.

Once Senate passage of $33.9 billion in extra funds is also approved by the House, a step expected this week, money will begin flowing to jobless workers across the country. California, New York, Florida and Illinois are among the states with the highest numbers of jobless whose benefits have expired. The benefits would be retroactive to June and last through November.

The defeat of the GOP filibuster is considered assured. The move requires 60 votes, a mark Senate Democrats will reach Tuesday after their newest member, Carte Goodwin of West Virginia, is sworn in to take the place of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. A key vote will take place minutes after Goodwin takes his place in the Senate.

Nonetheless, President Obama sought to increase pressure on Republicans Monday, appearing in the White House Rose Garden to press his election-year message that the GOP is blocking financial help to struggling Americans.

Continue reading at LA Times.com…

GOP wants website to put policy in hands of voters

Do you think you would be able to make great public policy decisions—possibly better than those made by past and current government officials? Many people think of politics as something that happens despite their opinion on the matter.

If you could Tweet Congress, would you? What issues would you like the House to focus on during this election year? Would you interact on a website that is read by actual government officials? To encourage this type of community and conversation, the House of Representatives’ Republicans are going to launch a new website on Tuesday, June 1st. The new GOP website, Americaspeakingout.com, will make the Republican 2010 midterm policy agenda accessible to Americans. It will also use different types of social media so that Americans can interact and talk about what policies they think Congress should be working on.

According to CNN.com, “the new GOP website is an official government project, supported by leadership staff and funded with taxpayer dollars.” The website aims to give control to voters, and was a team effort by the GOP and Microsoft. After creating a profile, users will choose their username and accumulate “points” every time they submit an idea or engage in an online debate. This will encourage people to visit the website and get involved in politics. California Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy stated that the feedback leaders get from the site will lead to the development of legislation that Republicans will try to enact this year.

Read the full article here.

Dodd to Offer Financial Regulation Bill Without G.O.P.

Fearing that reform was taking to long to come to fruition, Senator Christopher J. Dodd - chairman of the Senate Banking Committee – announced that he would unveil his own financial overhaul plan on Monday. However, what makes this announcement even more surprising is Dodd’s intention to unveil his plan was without negotiation with other members of the Republican party.

Mr. Dodd suggested that he was acting out of a sense of urgency. The House adopted a regulatory overhaul — a priority of the Obama administration — in December on a largely party-line vote. But bipartisan negotiations in the Senate have repeatedly faltered over several critical points, notably the creation of a consumer financial protection agency to regulate mortgages, credit cards and other products.

In an unusual turn, Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, has found himself largely shut out of the negotiations, while another Republican, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, has been directly negotiating with Mr. Dodd.

At a news conference later Thursday morning, Mr. Corker called Mr. Dodd’s plan to proceed with a bill without further negotiations “very disappointing.”

Continue reading at NY Times.com…

Senate Democrats Unveil Jobs Package with Tax Breaks to Entice GOP

According to the Boston Globe, Democratic leaders in the Senate are hoping to round up support from Republican Senators for their job bill by including a series of tax breaks. Congress is hoping to get a final bill to the President’s desk before Congress breaks for the holiday weekend. However, since the 350+ page bill has not been officially released, many conservative Senators are waiting to announce their support for the legislation.

The draft has very few new ideas for creating jobs, other than a $10 billion plan to exempt companies from paying their share of Social Security payroll taxes for new hires who had been unemployed for at least 60 days this year.

The idea, by Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, is regarded as more workable than Obama’s plan for tax credits of up to $5,000 for new hires because it is simpler and gets the tax breaks to businesses faster.

The rest of the measure contains mostly last year’s unfinished business, including renewal of business tax breaks that have expired, an extension of unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies, and a delay in a cut in Medicare payments for doctors.

GOP's New Youth Ambassador: Lady Gaga?

According to CNN Republicans attending a GOP weekly conference meeting earlier in the week were shown a video titled “Just Tax.” The viral video was made with the same tune and style of popular recording artist Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance,” only those words were replaced with “Just Tax”. It was made by 23 year old Peter Cowman, a recent graduate from the university of Washington, and was shown to GOP leaders as an example of how they could reach out to younger voters. Check out the full video below.

GOP Govs Plan Tea Party Sequel

From Politico.com:

Hoping to recapture the grassroots energy of last month’s “tea parties,” Republican Govs. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Rick Perry of Texas will host a tele-town hall Thursday that’s being dubbed “Tea Party 2.0.”

The Republican Governors

Association said it is expecting 30,000 people to participate in the town hall, which will take place roughly one month after the much-publicized anti-tax tea party rallies held in hundreds of locations across the country on April 15, the tax filing deadline.

Sanford and Perry will each speak for several minutes before opening up the town hall to up to an hour-long question and answer session.

RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers said that while the effort Thursday will be on a smaller scale than the April tea party rallies, it still represents “a great opportunity to mobilize that support.”

Both Perry and Sanford are favorites among the tax-averse tea party attendees.

Sanford, who attended a tea party in Charleston, gained national notice for his high-profile battle with the White House over his resistance to federal stimulus funds designated for his state. The fate of those funds remains undecided as Sanford continues to battle with state lawmakers over how much of the $350 million in funds allocated for South Carolina his state will accept.

Perry spoke at three tea parties across Texas and helped promote the rallies during numerous radio and television interviews prior to the events.

The Texas governor generated widespread publicity after endorsing a state House resolution reaffirming the state’s sovereignty, a veiled shot at the president’s stimulus package.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Perry said at the time.

Perry drew praise from the conservative media for the move, but was widely derided by the left for suggesting that Texas may consider seceding from the union in protest of the stimulus.

Ayers said both governors “heard the frustration” of the tea party attendees and “understand that our Republican governors are the best positioned to lead on these issues."

The RGA, Ayers said, is hoping to use the town hall as a springboard for organizing support and fundraising for key gubernatorial races this year in Virginia and New Jersey.

“We don’t have to wait until 2010 to send a message to Democrats in Washington that they are spending too much and borrowing too much,” he said. “We’ll have an opportunity to do that this year.”

GOP Stripped Flu Pandemic Preparedness From Stimulus

From The Nation.com:

When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year's emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse -- with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.

But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans -- led by Maine Senator Susan Collins -- aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey's attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

And partisan attacks on his efforts seem not just creepy, but dangerous.

The current swine flu outbreak is not a pandemic, and there is reason to hope that it can be contained.

But it has already believed to have killed more than 100 people in a neighboring country and sickened dozens of Americans -- causing the closing of schools and other public facilities in U.S. cities.

What’s Brewing Next for the Tea Party Movement?

From Pajamasmedia.com:

The American tea party movement bears more resemblance to a rolling block party than a unified organized movement or cause. And that’s precisely why I love it. These people are nice. They’re smart. They come from all walks of life. And they’re sincere. I’ve met hard-hat wearing construction managers, accountants, schoolteachers, the unemployed, retirees, and even the nicest anarchist couple who are worried about their kids’ futures.

And the numbers of protests and protesters continue to stagger, from the consistent low hundreds to the thousands — in all types of political and meteorological climates.

But I’m wondering what’s next for this two-month-old movement, born of outrage and concern at what is arguably a very sudden and very abrupt left turn in America’s moral and economic direction.

Before discussing the future of the movement, we have to make an attempt to understand and demystify it.

Contrary to more than a few conspiracy theories being floated in the left-wing blogosphere, and counter to modern media mythmaking, the American tea party movement is a very un-A.C.O.R.N.-like, decentralized, non-Rick Santelli endorsed outpouring of conservative values and libertarian ideals. I’ve witnessed no one in Indian or Revolutionary War costumes. No Rush Limbaugh grabbing the bullhorn to utter the F-word (failure). I’ve seen very little in the way of actual tea.

In fact, all the tea partyers I’ve met think astroturfing is some sort of Arena League football penalty, rather than a term for grassroots political organizing conducted by some committee of dirty tricks. It’s ridiculous to think the GOP could Astroturf these events, because that would require a coherent message, credible leadership, and a nimble organizational and technological infrastructure.

No, the tea parties reflect the greatest characteristics of Americana: passion, resourcefulness, respect, pitching-in, and commitment to our founding principles. They could just as easily turn into barn raisings or quilting bees.

GOP Blocks Tax & Renewable Energy Package

According to another article form the Associated Press, “for the fourth time this summer Republicans stopped the Senate from taking up wide-ranging legislation that extends tax breaks for teachers, businesses and parents and provides tax credits to an array of renewable energy entrepreneurs.

Major business groups, usual GOP allies, have implored Congress to act on the tax credits, many which expired at the end of last year or will run out at the end of this year. But for many Republicans, it's a matter or principle and politics: many oppose what they say are new tax increases to pay for parts of the package and nearly all say the Senate's only business now is acting on an energy bill that promotes drilling and other measures to boost domestic oil supply.

The White House, citing new taxes and other objections to the bill, threatened a presidential veto.

The vote Wednesday was 51-43, nine short of the 60 needed to begin floor debate.

‘All the Republicans want to do is not pay for anything and we know the House would not accept that,’ said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., anticipating the defeat.

But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said his party sees a ‘need to dispose of the pending energy bill to help bring down the price of gas at the pump before turning to other matters.’

The bill would extend some $18 billion worth of renewable energy tax credits, helping out investors in wind and solar power, clean coal, plug-in electric vehicles and a variety of others.”