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| Jack Nicklaus Awarded Congressional Gold Medal Pix Via Wikipedia |
Yesterday, Senate Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward on their Buffett Tax bill, S. 2230. The vote was 51-45. The vote followed party lines with Democrats voting for an Republicans voting against except for two votes, Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted with Democrats to allow the measure to proceed and Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor voted to block it.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-OH) said the clash shows “who is listening to the American people and focusing on their priorities. President Obama wants higher taxes; Republicans want more jobs.” As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has repeatedly pointed out, “By wasting so much time on this political gimmick that even Democrats admit won’t solve our larger problems, it’s shown the president is more interested in misleading people than he is in leading.”
Also yesterday the Senate voted 91-3 to confirm Stephanie Thacker to be a judge for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This morning the Senate has already voted and passed 74-22 on a motion to proceed to S. 1789, the postal reform bill.
Yesterday the House did convene in the afternoon but did not vote on any major bills. They did to vote (374-4) to award the a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship in golf. Really important business. Just saying -- Military die in service of their country they get no Congressional medals -- Nicklaus lives a life of playing golf where he is required to show good sportsmanship and he gets a Congressional Medal. Looks like the Nicklaus' supporters were trying to get one award for "The Golden Bear" that will most likely never be broken by Tiger Woods. I like golf and I like Jack Nicklaus and his love of the sport, but these type awards evidences that reality in Congress often leaves something to be desired.
The House reconvened this morning and then went into recess until noon. Potential bills they may consider:
HR 4089 — Recreational hunting, fishing and shooting
Draft — Highway bill
HR 9 — Tax cuts for small businesses
Yesterday. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform conducted its the first hearing on incidents of wasteful spending by the General Services Administration including the "fun time - team building party" in Vegas. Jeff Neely, former regional commissioner of the Public Buildings Service took the 5th Amendment on every questions. the hearings continue today.
In an analysis piece today, National Journal writes, “Under continued attack from Republicans for high oil and gasoline prices, President Obama unveiled on Tuesday a slate of measures to crack down on financial speculation in energy-futures trading, which Democrats say helps drive up prices. But while a Rose Garden announcement gave the president a platform to be seen calling for action on fuel prices, it’s not clear whether financial speculation is even a major contributor to oil and gasoline prices—or whether the administration’s proposals could have any real impact on the price at the pump. . . . ‘More than anything, today’s announcement serves a political purpose: It offers the president a way to assure voters that he is looking out for their interests,’ wrote Kevin Book, an analyst for Clearview Energy Partners, in a note to clients.”
Of course, President Obama and Democrats are blaming “speculators” for high oil and gasoline prices, which is the same excuse they give every year as they continue to oppose common sense policies that would expand American energy production. National Journal points out, “In 2008, an investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission concluded that speculation has little effect on the price of oil, which is still largely driven by the fundamentals of supply and demand.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell observed this morning, “[W]e hear that the President is announcing some kind of task force on oil speculation today. In other words, the same thing Washington Democrats always call for when gas prices go up. If I were to guess, I’d say today’s proposal by the President probably polls pretty well. But I guarantee you it won’t do a thing to lower the price of gas at the pump. It never has in the past. White House officials admit as much. Why it would it now?
“The Democrats’ favorite policy advisor,” Leader McConnell continued, “Warren Buffet, weighed in on the issue a few years ago. Asked about the role that speculation in the oil markets plays in determining price, he said, ‘It’s not speculation, its supply and demand.’ But of course that’s not the point for this White House. President Obama only seems to care about Warren Buffett’s opinion if it polls well. The President’s goal here isn’t to do something about the problem. It’s to make people think he’s doing something about the problem, until the next crisis comes along.”
Interestingly, President Obama himself warned about this kind of political pledge-making just last month. In his weekly address, Obama said, “[A]ny career politician who promises some three-point plan for two-dollar gas – they’re not looking for a solution. They’re just looking for your vote.” Yet today the White House released a “Fact Sheet” detailing “The President’s Five-Part Plan” on oil markets.
As Leader McConnell said, “We’ve got a President who told us he was a different kind of politician doing the same old things and using the same talking points politicians in Washington have been peddling for years. I mean, weren’t these kinds of gimmicks and stale talking points precisely the kind of thing President Obama campaigned against? I thought he was offering something new and different. I think the Associated Press summed up the President’s latest proposal pretty well this morning. ‘The White House plan, which Obama was to unveil Tuesday,’ the AP said, ‘is more likely to draw sharp election-year distinctions with Republicans than to have an immediate effect on prices at the pump.’ It’s more about drawing a distinction. . . . The sad truth is, it’s all politics all the time in this White House. They’re out of ideas. They’ve got nothing new to offer. Today’s announcement is all the proof you need of that.”
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