Obama: Republicans Blocking Votes In The Senate
In this weekend’s YouTube address, President Obama attacked Senate Republicans for blocking votes on unemployment benefits, lifting the cap on corporate liability for oil spills, and on his appointments.
“All we ask for is a simple up or down vote,” Obama said of the unemployment benefits. “That’s what the American people deserve. Just like they deserve an up or down vote on legislation that would hold oil companies accountable for the disasters they cause – a vote that is also being blocked by the Republican leadership in the Senate. Right now, the law places a $75 million cap on the amount oil companies must pay to families and small businesses who suffer economic losses as a result of a spill like the one we’re witnessing in the Gulf Coast. We should remove that cap. But the Republican leadership won’t even allow a debate or a vote.”
Wicker Blasts Obama’s Handling Of Oil Spill
In this weekend’s Republican address, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) criticized President Obama’s handling of the BP oil spill, saying that Obama’s response had been slow and that Obama is now exploiting the issue:
“In his speech Tuesday night, President Obama made it clear that he intends to exploit this crisis to push his liberal agenda for a cap-and-tax scheme. This is a disservice not only to the victims and their families but also to the millions of Gulf Coast residents who are struggling in the wake of the spill,” said Wicker. “Americans increasingly reject the cap-and-tax proposal because it would drive up the cost of energy and force American jobs overseas. The President spent more than a third of his address advocating this national energy tax, revealing his true priorities. Now is not the time to push a controversial, job-killing, partisan agenda through Congress.”
Barton Never Cashed BP Check From December, Records Show
Roll Call reports that Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) didn’t actually cash the campaign contribution that BP’s political action committee gave him: “Barton apologized to CEO Tony Hayward at a Congressional hearing Thursday for the White House’s treatment of the oil company, which he called a'”shakedown.’ For some reason, Barton may not have deposited the $1,000 check BP reported giving him on Dec. 17, 2009. Others not cashing $1,000 checks were: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa).”
Obama Spill Panel Big On Policy, Not Engineering
The Associated Press reports: “The panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is short on technical expertise but long on talking publicly about ‘America’s addiction to oil.’ One member has blogged about it regularly. Only one of the seven commissioners, the dean of Harvard’s engineering and applied sciences school, has a prominent engineering background — but it’s in optics and physics. Another is an environmental scientist with expertise in coastal areas and the after-effects of oil spills. Both are praised by other scientists. The five other commissioners are experts in policy and management.”
A Tricky Balance for Oil-State Politicians
The New York Times reports on how members of Congress from oil-producing states, both Democrats and Republicans, have taken extensive donations from oil interests: “The tightrope walk faced by elected officials from oil and gas states is similar to the New York delegation’s struggles when it comes to legislation to regulate Wall Street banks, or the New Jersey delegation’s sensitivity on legislation related to the pharmaceutical industry. ‘You’ve got this conflict for these folks where they acknowledge the spill is a problem but, with the significant support they get from the industry, are a heck of a lot more reluctant to take aggressive legislative action against the company,’ said Tyson Slocum, who runs the energy program at Public Citizen, a political research and advocacy group.”
Clinton-Era E-Mails Show Kagan’s Political Savvy
The Associated Press reports: “E-mails from Elena Kagan’s work as an aide in the Clinton White House portray the Supreme Court nominee as driven and opinionated, with a flair for political tactics and little tolerance for flowery rhetoric. A review of the tens of thousands of pages of her e-mails released Friday also shows how Kagan often had to place political considerations before policy views. Shortly after Clinton gave his second inaugural address, Kagan e-mailed her boss, Bruce Reed, the director of the Domestic Policy Council, to say she thought one of the president’s marquee lines quoting the prophet Isaiah was “the most preposterously presumptuous line I have ever seen.”
McCaskill Claims Having Two-Thirds Votes To Abolish Secret Holds
The Hill reports: “Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Saturday she’s secured the votes to force a rules change ending the Senate’s practice of secret holds. McCaskill said on Twitter that she had secured the support of two more senators to give her the 67 votes necessary to change the rules in the Senate to abolish the traditional practice of being able to anonymously hold up nominees to positions requiring Senate confirmation.”
