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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

House Republicans Schedule Vote To Cut Funds For School-Based Health Clinics

By Guest Blogger on May 3rd, 2011 at 1:20 pm


Our guest blogger is Annabel Lee Hogg, Special Assistant to the Domestic Policy Team at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)
The House plans to vote today on legislation that would eliminate an expansion of school-based health clinics that was included in the landmark 2010 health care reform law, calling the funding “duplicative and unwarranted.” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) sponsored H.R. 1214, which will repeal mandatory funding for the construction of the centers appropriated in the Affordable Care Act.But school-based health centers are a vital resource for many low-income communities and medically underserved communities. They help ensure that students are ready to learn by providing free health services such as dental, vision, and nutrition services to students during schools hours. While there are already some 2,000 school based health clinics around the country, experts estimate that far more clinics are needed, as the ones already in existence are proving their effectiveness:
The Children’s Aid Society community schools in New York City, which provide access to five full-service SBHCs, demonstrate higher achievement than other city schools on state math assessments and post higher attendance rates. A recent study of ninth graders at high schools in Seattle with SBHCs found that students who used the centers saw an increase in GPA and attendance.
High-risk students that use SBHCs have also been found to be less likely than nonusers to drop out of school and [more likely to] graduate. Sayre High School, a community school with a health clinic formed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, had a graduation rate of 80 percent in 2006-07 — significantly higher than the Philadelphia citywide average of 50 percent.
If the bill passes, it would be particularly devastating for people who live in Burgess’s district. A 2010 report found that up to 40 percent of children in the North Texas Corridor do not have health insurance or access to Medicaid-funded facilities, and in many cases, uninsured children do not even receive basic immunizations.
The centers also help to drive down health-care costs. “Research has shown that school-based health centers provide a cost-effective way to offer health services — lowering inappropriate emergency room use, hospitalizations, and ultimately lowering Medicaid costs,” said Representative John Dingell (D-MI).

Markey, House Dems Push Obama on Strategic Petroleum Reserve

APR 12, 2011
WASHINGTON (April 12, 2011) – With gas prices approaching the all-time high per gallon in the United States, House Democrats are stepping up their efforts to deploy a small fraction of the nation’s oil reserves to tamp down speculation and reduce prices for American families and small businesses. Today, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is leading an effort with Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and 14 of their House colleagues to push the president to initiate a sale of oil from the fully-stocked reserves.
“As we approach the summer driving season, we must carefully consider our only immediate option to mitigate the runaway increase in prices that we saw in the summer of 2008,” says the letter to President Obama. “We therefore urge you to consider leveraging the SPR to respond to supply disruptions and combat the rapid price escalations resulting from rampant fear and speculation in the oil markets.”
While supplies of gasoline remain at similar levels to this period last year, prices are nearly one dollar more at the pump for regular grade gasoline. Many economists have said that up to $20 of the price of a barrel of oil is currently from speculation in the marketplace that does not reflect true supply and demand. As events unfold in Libya and across the Middle East, prices could continue to spike higher, potentially stultifying the nascent U.S. economic recovery. Therefore, the members of Congress suggest using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve soon.
“[I]n the short term, considering releasing oil from the SPR as we approach the summer driving season could help prevent oil prices from escalating as they did in 2008,” write the lawmakers. “Releasing even a small fraction of that oil could have a significant impact on speculation in the marketplace and on prices.  It would also remind the world that the U.S. is ready, willing and able to use the SPR aggressively and effectively if needed.”
The lawmakers also called attention to a legislative proposal offered in February by Reps. Markey, Welch, DeLauro and others to modernize the SPR by releasing oil from the SPR now and replacing it with refined petroleum product, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, in the longer term. Replacing a small percentage of the oil in the SPR with refined product would put downward pressure on prices in the short term and could also protect more adequately against future disruptions in domestic refining capacity or supply disruptions of heavy crude from countries like Venezuela, the lawmakers say.
# # #
April 12, 2011
The Honorable Barack Obama
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
This month, oil prices have spiked over $108 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as unrest in the Mideast has intensified. This price spike is now directly impacting American consumers, with gasoline prices rising 20 cents in just the past two weeks. Markets are incorporating the increased risk of a prolonged conflict in Libya disrupting two percent of global supply for a sustained period as well as spreading regional tension bringing more supplies into question. While the current supply disruptions highlight the need to strengthen our energy independence over the long-term by developing alternatives to oil, we encourage you to consider utilizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) now -- the only tool we possess which can counter supply disruptions and combat crippling price spikes in the short term.
While Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members with available spare production capacity have pledged to raise production for lost Libyan crude, they also profit from oil price spikes and therefore have little incentive to quickly respond with the increased supply needed to calm markets.  However, one tool that the United States has at its disposal to protect against the threat of supply disruptions and related speculation in the oil markets is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  As we approach the summer driving season, we must carefully consider our only immediate option to mitigate the runaway increase in prices that we saw in the summer of 2008.   We therefore urge you to consider leveraging the SPR to respond to supply disruptions and combat the rapid price escalations resulting from rampant fear and speculation in the oil markets.
Releasing oil from the SPR has a proven record of driving down prices.  When President George H. W. Bush deployed oil from the SPR in 1991, oil prices immediately dropped by more than 33 percent. When President Clinton conducted a timed exchange of oil from the SPR in 2000, it again drove prices down by nearly 19 percent. And when President Bush released oil from the reserve in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, oil prices fell by more than 9 percent. 
Even before this recent spike in oil prices, the Department of Energy was forecasting high gas prices this summer. Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that the nationwide average for regular gasoline would be $3.20 per gallon during the summer driving season, with a 10 percent chance that prices would exceed $4.00 per gallon. In addition, consumers are already facing substantially higher home heating costs this winter. Consumers heating with home heating oil are projected to spend more than 23 percent more this winter. Average expenditures on propane are projected to be more than 9 percent more. 
Right now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 727 million barrels and is filled to capacity. Releasing even a small fraction of that oil could have a significant impact on speculation in the marketplace and on prices.  It would also remind the world that the U.S. is ready, willing and able to use the SPR aggressively and effectively if needed.  The FY2012 budget request already proposes a “$500 million non-emergency sale of SPR oil.” On March 6, 2011, White House Chief of Staff William Daley stated on Meet the Press that “the issue of the reserves is one we’re considering.” We applaud the fact that your Administration is considering utilizing this tool and we encourage you to do so.
One issue deserving further examination would be whether the United States should deploy oil from the SPR now and replace it with refined petroleum product, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, in the longer term. Replacing a small percentage of the oil in the SPR with refined product would not only put downward pressure on prices in the short term but could also protect more adequately against future disruptions in domestic refining capacity or supply disruptions of heavy crude from countries like Venezuela. We therefore encourage you to analyze the impacts of a swap of oil in the SPR for refined product.  
American consumers are already suffering from high energy prices and the effects of the economic downturn. In the long term, we need to develop clean energy alternatives that can reduce our dependence on oil and insulate us from supply shocks. Clean energy, fuel economy and innovation are American made solutions that will end our dangerous reliance on foreign oil and OPEC.  However, in the short term, considering releasing oil from the SPR as we approach the summer driving season could help prevent oil prices from escalating as they did in 2008.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
                                                            Sincerely,
REP. EDWARD J. MARKEY       REP. ROSA DELAURO     REP. PETER WELCH

"Our Obligations to Each Other As Americans": President Obama Welcomes the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride

This afternoon, the South Lawn of the White House was full of veterans, military families, and their bicycles, as the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride came to the White House. The Soldier Ride started as a way to help wounded soldiers recover from their injuries through adaptive cycling. Nearly a decade later, the program has expanded to involve civilians as well, raising money for and promoting the cause of America's wounded warriors.
In welcoming the riders, President Obama said a few words about the beginnings of the Soldier Ride effort:
Today is a reminder -- as Michelle and Jill Biden have already said -- that every American, every single person in this country, can do something to support our remarkable troops and their families. Everybody can do something.
So seven years ago, a bartender from Long Island had the same idea. He wasn’t from a military family. He had never served in the military.  But he knew that he owed our military something. He was just an ordinary American who was grateful for the service of all those who wear the uniform. And he said, “I just wanted to give something back.”
So he jumped on his bike and rode across the country -- over 5,000 miles -- to raise funds and awareness for our wounded warriors. Today, there are Soldier Rides all across America giving our wounded warriors the confidence and support they need to recover. That’s the difference a single person can make. Today we want to thank Chris Carney and everyone from the Wounded Warrior Project for reminding us of our obligations to each other as Americans.
After taking special note of a few individual soldiers with whom he had met before, President Obama thanked the riders for the inspiration they provide him and so many other Americans:
So to all the riders here today, I want to say, as your Commander-in-Chief and as an American, thank you. We are grateful for you. You represent the very best in America. And in your fight to recover and in the ride that you’re about to begin, we see the values and virtues that make our country great.
We may take a hit.  We may endure great loss. But we are a strong and resilient people. We push on. We persevere. We’re confident in our cause. And we know that, like generations of Americans before us, we will emerge stronger than before.
For more information about helping lend a hand to military families in your community, be sure to check out theJoining Forces initiative launched by the First Lady and Dr. Biden. Also, May 21st is Armed Forces Day; you canlearn more about it and share your plans for thanking servicemembers.




@whitehouse

The White House May 4, 2011


President Obama welcomes the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride: http://wh.gov/Cb5  Photo:




President Barack Obama, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, center-right, and Assistant Veteran Affairs Secretary Tammy Duckworth, right, welcome the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride on the South Lawn of the White House, May 4, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Our new DNC Chairwoman

@DWStweets

D Wasserman Schultz May 4, 2011


Honored and humbled to receive the gavel at the DNC. Together, we will win the future.
Joined the OFA phone bank in N. VA this morning
Rallied OFA volunteers in N. VA this morning
Rallied OFA volunteers in N. VA this morning

Obama: I won't release bin Laden death photos

May 4, 2011 1:24 PM
  •  

By
Brian Montopoli




cbsnews. Pres Obama interview

Updated 6:19 p.m. Eastern Time
In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes" conducted today, President Obama said he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.
"It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president.
"We don't trot out this stuff as trophies," Mr. Obama added. "The fact of the matter is, this is somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received."
The president said he had discussed the issue with his intelligence team, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that they agree with the decision. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Mr. Obama made the decision today. 
President Obama interviewed on "60 Minutes," May 4, 2011.
 (Credit: CBS)
In explaining his choice not to release the photo, Mr. Obama said that "we don't need to spike the football." He said that "given the graphic nature of these photos it would create a national security risk." 
The president told Kroft he saw the photos following the raid on the compound and knew that bin Laden had been killed. 
"We discussed this internally," he said. "Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain that this was him. We've done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden."
When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said "we we monitoring worldwide reaction."
"There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead," he said. "Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference." 
"There are going to be some folks who deny it," he added. "The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."
Asked about the decision Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Carney said "there are obviously arguments to be made on either side."
"The fact of the matter is, as the president described, these are graphic photographs of someone who was shot in the face -- the head, rather," he said. "It is not in our national security interests to allow those images, as has been in the past been the case, to become icons to rally opinion against the United States. The president's number one priority is the safety and security of American citizens at home and Americans abroad. There is no need to release these photographs to establish Osama bin Laden's identity. And he saw no other compelling reason to release them, given the potential for national security risks. And further, because he believes, as he said so clearly, this is not who we are." (See video at left.)
"He wanted to hear the opinions of others, but he was very clear about his view on this," Carney added. "And, obviously, his decision is categorical." He said it applied to "all visual evidence" of bin Laden's death, including video of his burial at sea. 
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, called the decision a "mistake."
President Obama interviewed on "60 Minutes," May 4, 2011. 
(Credit: CBS News)
"The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death," he said.
Neil Livingstone, Chairman and CEO of Executive Action and author of nine books on terrorism, also disagreed with the decision. 
"If we can't conclusively demonstrate that indeed he is dead there will be those who say he is still out there," he told CBS News. "Al Qaeda might even try to keep his legacy going and say 'they got someone else, they didn't really get him.'"
Sarah Palin registered his disapproval on Twitter.
"Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission," she wrote.
Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said earlier in the day that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo. 
"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," Rogers said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."
"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the Internet," Rogers continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaeda has been eliminated."
 President Obama in the Situation Room
President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the East Room of the White House on the mission against Osama bin Laden, May 1, 2011.
 (Credit: White House/Pete Souza)
Skeptics have called on the United States to release photos of bin Laden, who officials say was shot in the face during a raid on his compound, in order to prove that the al Qaeda leader is really dead. 
The White House had said it was debating whether to release the photographs. CIA director Leon Panetta told CBS News Tuesday that he thought a photo would be released, though he said the White House would make the final decision. 
"I've had it described to me and it does sound very gruesome," he said. "Remember, bin Laden was shot twice at close range, once in the chest and once in the head, right above his left eye, and that bullet opened his skull, exposing the brain, and it also blew out his eye. So these are not going to be pictures for the squeamish."
Two Republican senators -- Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, a member of the Armed Services Committee - told CBS News Wednesday they had seen post-mortem photographs of bin Laden. No Democrats have said they have seen the images.
Photoshopped images purporting to show bin Laden after he was killed have already surfaced on the Internet. Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA, who had claimed to have seen the actual post-mortem photos, said Wednesday that he had been fooled by one such false image. It appears Ayotte and Chambliss may also have been duped. 



Senator Roberts Pushes for Fair, Simple Tax Code

May 03 2011

Senator Roberts Pushes for Fair, Simple Tax Code
WASHINGTON, D.C.— At a Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) raised concerns over who pays taxes and whether the tax code is fair to hard-working American taxpayers.
“The answer to our country’s fiscal spending binge, is not for taxpayers to foot even more of the bill, especially when more than half of all American households in 2009 paid no income taxes at all,” said Roberts. “So we ask ourselves what the purpose of the tax code is, to raise revenue, to support the government, or do we see it as a major mechanism for wealth redistribution and whether or not that is appropriate? Our nation is filled with hard-working and capable people who deserve to succeed in all their endeavors and who, furthermore, deserve to have a fair and simple tax system that helps them accomplish these things. I have long supported efforts to make the tax code simpler and fairer for all taxpayers. At this point in time, all options for reform must be put on the table for consideration and debate.”
During today’s hearing on whether the distribution of tax burdens and benefits are equitable, a new analysis by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Tax was unveiled. The committee estimates that 51% of American households did not pay any federal income tax in 2009. While many of these households paid other taxes, such as payroll, excise, and state and local taxes, the fact that 49% of American households shoulder the burden for all of federal income tax owed raises concerns about fairness in the tax code.
You can click here to listen to Senator Roberts question the panel about the tax code at the hearing.
You can click here to listen to Senator Roberts question the panel at the hearing or press play below.

Washington should not be making decisions about our kids’ schooling

 
By Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) - 05/03/11 06:31 PM ET
Congress passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2001 to address the growing evidence that many children in America were not receiving quality instruction. The goal of this law was to improve the transparency of how our schools were performing, so that no student was overlooked under broad labels of “good” and “bad” schools. One of the lasting, positive legacies of NCLB is the recognition that the performance of every student counts. Although NCLB exposed shortcomings in many schools, the fixes it prescribed, such as Adequate Yearly Progress, were implemented with very little flexibility and did not recognize the varying levels of successes and challenges our nation’s 95,000 schools might have. We now have proof that centralizing this planning at the federal level does not work. Schools in New York City look very different than schools in my home state of Wyoming. They require very different resources, improvement strategies and measures of success.
After passage of last year’s heavy-handed healthcare reform legislation, America cannot afford another similar federal government takeover of our nation’s schools. Instead of designing a system in which the Department of Education becomes a federal school board and the secretary of Education acts as America’s superintendent, shackling our states with rigid federal mandates, states should determine high standards that prepare students for college and competitive careers. This is why I am working with Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), with support from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, to fix No Child Left Behind. States should have the tools and flexibility they need so their local schools can provide our children with the best possible education they deserve.

I believe we should empower parents with up-to-date information they can understand about their child’s progress in school and the quality of the education they are receiving. Useful information like this will help parents, teachers, principals and taxpayers focus on when and where school improvements are needed. The success of our future generation depends on the quality of our schools today.
America’s role as a global leader in innovation depends on a skilled and educated workforce, especially with the fierce competition from emerging economies like China and India that are putting an increased focus on math and science. It is crucial that America’s students graduate from high school with the important knowledge and skills needed to attend college and enter the workforce without remediation. We must understand, however, that not every student will ultimately choose a four-year college or university as the next step after high school. Whether these students pursue certificates in a specific trade, a two-year degree later as an adult, or some other route, the goal should be the same: to ensure that these students are equally prepared and held to the same high expectations. This is critical toward addressing our nation’s staggering dropout rate, which stands at more than 6,000 students every day. Students who leave school early will collectively face more than $74 million in lost wages over their lifetime. At this rate America will find itself without the talent it needs to take on the high-skilled, high-paying jobs that will play an important part of the increasingly globalized economy.
Our nation’s struggling schools need the flexibility to implement standards that help every student succeed, without burdensome federal regulations. We do not need bureaucrats in Washington acting as the nation’s school board. The challenge facing Congress will be to take the important lessons learned from No Child Left Behind and allow states to implement education programs that best meet their unique needs. Partnering with states on how children are educated, rather than deciding for them, should be a lesson plan that even Washington can approve.
Enzi is the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Voters Dislike GOP Plan to Change Medicare, Medicaid


Republicans have some selling to do.
Changes to Medicare and Medicaid remain wildly unpopular and more than two-thirds of registered voters want to repeal Bush-era tax cuts for households that make more than $250,000 a year, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.
More than twice as many voters oppose efforts to change Medicare than those who favor limiting benefits under the popular health-care program for seniors. And a distinct majority opposes new limits on Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor.
What’s worse for the GOP, the numbers don’t change much when voters were told how much federal spending Medicare and Medicaid consume.
Quinnipiac told half of the 1,408 registered voters the university polled that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending consume 60% of the budget. The other half weren’t. Among those who were told, 70% opposed efforts to change Medicare, compared with the 75% who weren’t told. For Medicaid, 57% of the first group opposed limits, compared with the 59% of the control group that also opposed changes. The only significant change came on the question of defense spending, with support for cuts increasing by 7% when voters were told how much the government spends on the military.
“So much for the idea that if the public only understood the budget numbers they would be much more amenable to reductions,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of polling at the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Except for defense spending.”
The House Republicans’ budget would turn Medicaid into a system of block grants to the states and transform Medicare from a fee-for-service program to a menu of subsidized private insurance plans for people under the age of 55. Many GOP lawmakers got an earful from their constituents about the budget blueprint during a recently concluded two-week recess.
In addition, 69% of the voters polled favor repealing Bush-era tax breaks on households than earn more than $250,000. Republicans would keep the current rates indefinitely, while President Barack Obama has promised to raise them for people whose income exceeds $250,000.

Portman Unveils Senate Republican Jobs Plan

May 03, 2011


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) unveiled the Senate Republican Jobs Plan, a blueprint Senate Republicans developed to create private sector growth and strengthen the economy.
“This is a pro-growth, pro-jobs plan that will create the environment necessary to get Americans back to work and ensure that American businesses are competitive globally,” said Portman, who led the GOP conference in the development of the plan after speaking with small business owners, workers, and economic development groups in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.
“Families and small businesses are weighed down by record debt and deficit, high taxes, burdensome regulations, and a costly health care plan that raises costs and reduces coverage.  This approach by Washington adds uncertainty for investors and costs for job creators.  The Senate Republican Jobs Plan puts us on a path to an environment where families and small businesses can succeed, not just get by,” Portman said.
The Senate Republican Jobs Plan focuses on budget, tax, regulatory, workforce, trade, energy, and health care proposals that form the basis of a pro-growth plan to foster American private sector job creation and turn the economy around.
“In contrast to the plan proposed by Senate Republicans, Washington has turned to more government spending, higher taxes, while pushing for overly burdensome regulations on job creators and manufacturers – slowing our economic recovery.  We’ve already learned from experience that we can’t spend our way to prosperity. Instead, we must encourage employers to invest in their companies, hire new workers and enable them to compete globally, which is what the Senate Republican Jobs plan will do,” Portman added.

Senate Republican Jobs Plan
An outline for creating American jobs and prosperity
Begin Living Within Our Means
 Require a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
 Require a Statutory Spending Limit.
 Cut Spending to Immediately and Substantially Reduce Deficits.
Reform Tax Code To Spur Economic Growth
 Simplify and Reduce Business and Individual Tax Rates.
 Make Research and Development Tax Credit Permanent.
 Extend and Make Permanent the Small Business Investment Tax Incentive.
 Reduce Taxes on Capital Gains and Dividends.
Unburden The Economy From Washington Regulations
 Codify the President’s Proposal to Require Cost Benefit Analysis in the Formulation of
Regulations.
 Support passage of S.299 REINS Act.
 Prohibit EPA from Regulating Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act.
Create Competitive Workforce
 Reform Federal Retraining Programs.
 Stop Card-Check.
Increase Exports To Create More Jobs
 Ratify Three Pending Export-Opening Agreements.
 Provide Trade Promotion Authority for the President.
Power America’s Economy
 Lift the Outer Continental Shelf Prohibitions.
 Increase Federal Loan Guarantee Authority for Nuclear Power.
 Require Greater Access to Federal Lands for Exploration of Resources.
Adopt Common Sense Health Care Solutions
 Repeal ObamaCare.
 Enact Meaningful Medical Malpractice Reform.
 Allow for Purchases of Insurance Across State Lines.
 Provide Additional Risk Pools for Small Business.
 Strengthen Health Savings Accounts and Patient-Centric Health Care

Our Nation’s Debt: The Warnings Are Too Loud To Ignore

Press Releases

May 04 2011


Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the necessity to reduce the nation’s ruinous federal debt:
“Though lawmakers returned to Washington this week amidst news of a signal achievement in the war on terror, we also return to many critical debates about the situation here at home.
“Gas prices are straining budgets and threatening to stall the economic rebound we’ve all been waiting for. Millions of men and women across the country still can’t find a job.
“And the two major parties have now presented competing visions of our economic future.
“Republicans have shown that we are committed to creating an environment in which the private-sector can flourish and create the jobs Americans need. As part of that effort, we outlined a comprehensive jobs agenda yesterday.
“And today we’ll oppose prematurely ending debate on the Small Business bill. The other side has refused to allow votes on some of the best ideas Republicans have offered for creating jobs as a part of this legislation, including an important amendment by the ranking member of the Small Business Committee, Senator Snowe. And we intend to oppose their efforts to short circuit this debate until they do.
“Republicans are also committed to stopping the administration’s inexcusable war on American energy at a time of near-record gas prices. And we’re committed to repealing the Democrat health care bill that is already raising costs and destroying jobs.
“But hovering above all of this is a growing fear about our nation’s debt.
“The administration knows this. That’s the reason for tomorrow’s debt meeting at the White House.
“So this morning I’d like to start there — because anyone who’s felt even the slightest twinge of pain from the recession has a vested interest in this debate.
“Here’s why: if we don’t act to reduce our debt, this country could very well experience a crisis that makes the economic meltdown of 2008 look like a slow day on Wall Street.
“That’s not my conclusion.
“That’s the conclusion of the Democrat co-chair of President Obama’s own debt commission, a man who has spent the last year looking at this issue from every conceivable angle and who’s now telling anybody who’ll listen that America faces, in his words, `the most predictable economic crisis in history.’
“Few of us saw the last crisis materialize. This one we can see. And a growing number of people now recognize that the upcoming vote on the debt limit provides us with the single best opportunity we have to avoid this crisis before it strikes.
“This is the moment to get serious about preventing this approaching crisis, and to show the world that we can come together and not for the sake of party, but for all Americans. 
“The world is waiting for America to get its fiscal house in order. The fact that members of both major parties are now showing a willingness to do it is an encouraging sign.
“But if we’re actually going to do this, more Democrats in Washington have to acknowledge the problem — and the urgency of addressing it now, in a serious way.
“Now, I realize that for some people that’s a difficult thing to do.  We are all grateful to the President’s decisiveness over the weekend in going after Osama bin Laden. He’s to be congratulated for it. Yet over the past two years, we’ve had many crises. And all too often, it seemed the hardest decision for the President wasn’t whether to solve these crises, but whether or not to give a speech about them.
“Last year, we waited for weeks to hear the President’s position on one of the biggest ecological disasters in history. And throughout this past winter and spring, we waited to hear what he thought about a debt that had spiraled so out of control that America’s economic outlook has been downgraded to `negative’ for the first time ever.
“We can’t wait for the President on this one.
“The consequences of sweeping our problems under the rug again are just too great.
“So let me clear: As even some Democrats have conceded, a failure to do anything meaningful about the debt would be far more harmful to our economic future than a failure to raise the debt limit.
“The warnings are simply too loud to ignore.
“In early 2008 most of us had no idea we were headed for a financial crisis. Only a few prophetic voices were saying anything about the dangers in the housing market.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen the painful consequences of that crisis: unemployment lines; lost savings; millions of homes foreclosed.
“And despite this largely unforeseen economic catastrophe, the American people have dug in. They’ve worked harder. They’ve tried to drag the country back to fiscal health.
“It hasn’t been easy, but they’ve struggled every day to get us back on our feet.
“What I’m saying this morning is that the danger posed by the debt is not uncertain.
“It’s coming right at us.
 “It is, as the co-chair of the President’s Debt Commission put it, the most predictable crisis in history. And anyone who is more concerned about raising the debt ceiling than in using this debate as an opportunity to prevent this most predictable crisis will answer for it. The American people will make sure of it.
 "Some may continue to deny that we need to do something about the debt — that the only thing we need to do is raise the debt limit and leave it at that. They want people to think this is all just some political exercise, and that we all just vote according to the President’s political affiliation anyway.
“Those days are over.
“Anyone who continues to pretend otherwise isn’t just deluding themselves.
“They’re deluding the American people.
“There isn’t a single one of us who hasn’t vowed to do everything in our power to prevent the next crisis from happening. Now we know for certain that it’s on the way — unless we act to prevent it. Raising the debt limit alone won’t prevent this crisis. It avoids it.
“And that’s why the only way we can claim we’ve actually done something meaningful in this debate is to insist on meaningful reforms as the price of our vote.
“Yes, we’ve had clean debt limit votes before.
“That was before S&P gave us a negative outlook for the first time ever and told us we risked a downgrade unless we get our fiscal house in order. That was before the world’s largest private holder of U.S. treasuries dumped its share of U.S. debt.
“That was before a commission that has spent a year studying this issue told us we’re headed for ruin, unless we act to prevent it. That was before this administration added trillions to the debt and submitted a budget plan this year that called for another $13 trillion in debt over the next 10 years alone. The crisis is here. The time to act is now.
“Mr. President, we hear a lot from Administration officials about what a catastrophe it would be if we didn’t raise the debt limit. And there may very well be some merit to that argument. But what good would it do to just raise the limit and wait for disaster to strike? We might as well tell people to move to the second floor in case of a fire on the first.
“My constituents don’t have the jobs to lose, Mr. President. Kentucky doesn’t have the wealth to give away. We’ve seen the consequences of a recession we didn’t predict. There is no excuse not to do everything in our power to prevent one we know is coming.
“So let me suggest a way forward in this debate. 
“Number one: Pitting one group of Americans against another isn’t going to solve the problem. In fact, it’s part of the problem. We all know it’s going to take all of us working together to get out of this crisis. Let’s act like it.
“Number two: There aren’t enough taxes that Americans, rich or poor, can pay to sustain the kind of spending Democrats in Washington want. The President may say he wants to tax the rich. But sooner or later he’s going to have to tax everybody else to pay for his plans. What’s more, we all know that raising taxes would stall the rebound we all claim to want. So let’s just admit we don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.
“Three: We all know entitlements need to be a part of this discussion. It’s about time everyone starts acknowledging it. I’ve seen the ads about lawmakers voting to end Medicare. Let’s be honest and admit that nobody’s talking about taking anybody’s Medicare. Frankly, it’s pathetic to claim otherwise. It only makes the problems harder to solve.
“Four: Let’s discuss the art of the possible. We all know tax increases won’t pass the House because of the damage they’d do to family budgets and businesses — and a bipartisan majority here in the Senate opposes raising taxes on families, energy production and small businesses across America. So let’s set that aside and find common ground.
“Everyone has a stake in this debate. If we face up to it like adults, we’ll not only prevent a crisis, we’ll preserve our common way of life. And we’ll show the world the United States can solve its problems head on.
“Millions of Americans are looking for work and struggling everyday to rebuild their lives. Families and small businesses are being squeezed by gas prices, and an administration that refuses do anything about it.
“We’ll have debates about this in the days ahead — and Republicans will continue to make the case for tapping our own energy resources. We’ll make the case against new taxes and regulations and a health care law that’s stifling jobs and creating new burdens.
“But all these efforts rise and fall on whether we do something about our debt.
“It’s time to show we can tackle the big stuff. The stakes are too high to let this debate come and go without acting. Denying the problem won’t solve it. Avoiding the problem until the next election won’t solve it. Giving speeches about the problem won’t solve it. The time has come to act.”