Partisan battle lines already being drawn as economic slump appears to worsen
Los Angeles Times Oct 16, 08 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Congress’ partisan battle over the Wall Street bailout could look amateur compared to what lies ahead, the Los Angeles Times reports, as lawmakers consider a second stimulus package to keep the nation out of a steep recession. Republicans want tax cuts, while Democrats are pushing infrastructure projects and other federal spending—and relief might have to wait until after the election.
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ANALYSIS
Adding pet projects could cost support of conservative Blue Dog Dems
Politico Oct 2, 08 2:41 PM CDT
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The Senate’s version of the bailout bill is loaded with provisions specifically designed to sweeten the pot for House dissenters, Politico reports, including $3.3 billion for rural schools, equal health coverage for the mentally ill, and a suspension of the Alternative Minimum Tax. These changes may win over House Republicans, but have infuriated fiscally conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats.
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Alaska guv fails the earmarks-per-day test she applies to Obama
Wall Street Journal Sep 15, 08 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Sarah Palin called them "un-American" and John McCain denied again Friday that she requested them as governor of Alaska. But the Wall Street Journal , doing the math on earmarks, finds that Palin sought $453 million of them for her state since taking office, including $197 million in the current fiscal year. And using the same calculation she applies to Barack Obama—earmark dollars sought per day in office—her record is worse than his.
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Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto McCain's 'pork list' 3 times
Los Angeles Times Sep 3, 08 7:57 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto John McCain's "pork list" of objectionable spending three times while Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the Los Angeles Times reports. McCain's lists came as part of his long campaign against the earmarking system in which members of Congress can chuck cash at pet projects with little or no scrutiny.
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Candidate calls pork-pushers 'symptom of a disease'
Politico Aug 21, 08 8:58 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Calling lobbyists “the symptom of a disease,” John McCain railed against earmarking and pork-barrel spending yesterday, telling Politico that members of his administration would be barred from lobbying after life at the White House. Some of McCain’s top campaign aides are former lobbyists, and the senator has already pledged that none of his current staff will return to the influence game.
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OPINION
Indicted Republican senator 'disgraced himself and his office'
National Review Jul 30, 08 1:16 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Newly indicted Ted Stevens should resign as soon as possible, write the editors of the National Review . The Alaskan senator, who is accused of seven counts of making false statements, legally “deserves the benefit of the doubt—but not from an ethical standpoint,” they note. “The facts that have emerged over the course of the federal investigation into his personal finances are damning enough on their own.”
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Opinion
Stevens bullied his way into power, and now maybe to disgrace
Washington Post Jul 30, 08 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Few tears were shed on Capital Hill when Ted Stevens was indicted yesterday. Alaska’s celebrated senator spent 4 decades bullying Congress, writes Michael Crowley in the Washington Post, rising ever higher in the ranks by making politics personal. “I'm a mean, miserable SOB,” he’d boast, sporting his trademark Incredible Hulk tie. The message was clear: You wouldn’t like Stevens when he's angry.
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Opinion
Lawmakers refuse to face widespread 'edifice complex'
Wall Street Journal Jul 19, 08 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Not long ago, a lawmaker had to be dead to put his or her name on something, but these days every two-bit representative in Congress has a building, bridge, or monument, complains John Fund in the Wall Street Journal. These “honors” are almost always paid for with tax dollars, but rarely get voted down; vanity seems to enjoy wide bipartisan support.
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More about:
Congress
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pork barrel spending
Legislators pledged to shrink such spending last year
Washington Post Jun 13, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Though Congress vowed last year to reduce earmarking—the process of directing funds to projects at home with little scrutiny—recently there’s been a jump in such spending, the Washington Post reports. A House defense bill’s earmarked funds rose 29% last month, and the Senate bill looks as though it will follow the trend. “Parties talk a good game,” said an analyst, “but at first opportunity, the House larded up.”
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Candidate lays out slate of economic initiatives
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Apr 15, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain used a tax day appearance to propose a summer “gas tax holiday,” calling his plan to suspend the 18-cent levy “an immediate economic stimulus.” Among other economic initiatives the candidate outlined today were upping prescription drug premiums for wealthy retirees, declaring a moratorium on discretionary spending, and protecting college students' financial aid, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
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W.Va. rules the roost in earmarks as $2.8B in tasty meat comes under scrutiny
Chicago Tribune Apr 2, 08 2:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Fiscal responsibility and vegetarianism took a hit today with the release of the 2008 Oinkers, awarded by a Washington watchdog group for the "most egregious and blatant examples of pork." Sen. Robert Byrd landed the top award for earmarking $386 million for West Virginia, but Alaska was the least kosher state, with $555.54 in earmarks per citizen, reports the Chicago Tribune .
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Congress passes budget plans to roll back tax cuts
CNN Mar 14, 08 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Senate soundly rejected a bid to ban pork barrel spending for a year last night, despite the support of all three presidential candidates who returned to DC for a day of heavy voting, CNN reports. Both the House and Senate also passed budget plans—largely symbolic moves in an election year—that would allow many of President Bush's tax cuts to expire in about three years.
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OBIT
Crusading Democrat took on big business in long Senate career
Cleveland Plain Dealer Mar 13, 08 3:20 AM CDT
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Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum has died at home at the age of 90, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer . The Democrat, his views shaped by the Great Depression and FDR's policies, fought hard for the rights of workers during a political career that began in 1943. Colleagues nicknamed the self-made millionaire "Senator No" after he used his mastery of Senate rules to block special interest bills and save taxpayers billions.
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