Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Democrats to push to fill US transport security post

Reuters has the story:

Senate Democrats, spurred by last week's failed attack on a U.S.-bound jetliner, will try to break a deadlock and confirm President Barack Obama's choice to run the Transportation Security Administration, a Senate aide said on Tuesday.

Majority Leader Harry Reid will schedule a vote when the Senate returns in January from its holiday recess to break the hold Republican Senator Jim DeMint put on the nomination of counter-terrorism official Erroll Southers, Reid spokesman Jim Manley said.

"In light of the outrageous and petty move by Senator DeMint, Senator Reid intends to file cloture when we get back," Manley said.

Geoff Davis: hypocrite

Think Progress singles out Geoff Davis for his hypocrisy regarding the economic stimulus package:

Every Republican in the House and nearly every Republican Senator voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus). Although the Congressional Budget Office has credited the stimulus with creating up to 1.6 million jobs, the same GOP politicians who opposed the stimulus have attempted to justify their opposition to the policy by smearing it as a failure. But as ThinkProgress has documented, the same politicians are returning to their districts to take credit for the economic success of the stimulus...

On December 16th, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) sent out a press release hailing $1,044,140 in stimulus money Carroll County school system, while crediting himself for securing the money. “I am pleased that our office was able to assist them in obtaining these funds,” noted Davis in the release. On the same day, Davis blasted a separate release claiming that the stimulus had “failed.”

Who's running the TSA?

There's nobody running the Transportation Security Administration, thanks to the political games of a Republican Senator. McClatchy has the story:

WASHINGTON — An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there was one.

The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union.

As al Qaida claimed responsibility Monday for the thwarted attack and President Barack Obama made a public statement about it, Democrats urged DeMint to drop his objection and allow quick confirmation of nominee Erroll Southers, a counterterrorism expert, when the Senate reconvenes in three weeks.

Editorial comic roundup

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President Obama's weekly address

PBS NewsHour interviews President Obama

President Obama recently sat down with Jim Lehrer of PBS NewsHour. Here's video of the interview:

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

RNC Chairman Steele Using His Title for Profit

The Washington Times has the story:

Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups - an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen.

..."Holy mackerel, I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., RNC chairman under President Reagan and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

...Former Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, who served in that position from 1997 to 2000 and was President George W. Bush's Veterans Affairs secretary from 2005 to 2007, said the job "demands so much of your time that you can work 24/7 and not get everything done, so taking time out to speak for the benefit of one's own bank account is not appropriate."

Obama Announces Savings of $19 Billion

Today the White House issued this press release:

WASHINGTON – As part of his effort to cut waste and improve government performance, President Barack Obama will announce today that federal agencies are on track to save $19 billion through improvements to their contracting and acquisition practices. In addition, the President will announce that the White House will convene private sector leaders next month to solicit their ideas about how government can better use technology to deliver more effective and efficient services to American taxpayers.

"We are here today for a simple reason: at a time when we face not only a fiscal crisis, but also a host of difficult challenges as a nation, business as usual in Washington just won’t do,” said President Obama. “After years of irresponsibility, we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, the same way families do."

Earlier this year, the Administration instructed federal agencies to save $40 billion a year through strengthened contracting practices and management oversight. The work started with 3.5 percent in savings FY 2010 and a further 3.5 percent reduction in FY 2011. Agencies are on track to meet the FY 2010 target, having identified more than $19 billion in savings, in line with the 3.5 percent first-year target.

Also today, the President announced that on January 14, 2010, the White House will host the White House Forum on Modernizing Government. The forum will focus on the significant gap existing between private sector and federal government use of technology to drive productivity and improve service quality.

The President will deliver these remarks after meeting with Nancy Fichtner -- a Fiscal Program Support Clerk at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) -- and the winner of the first-ever SAVE (Securing Americans Value and Efficiency) Award, a contest among federal employees for their ideas on how the government can save money and improve performance.

In just three weeks, OMB received more than 38,000 ideas on how to make government more efficient and effective. OMB staff assessed the ideas, passing back hundreds of the most promising ones to agencies to include in their budget plans. OMB then winnowed the best ideas to a “final four.” The American people were able to rate the “final four” via online voting which concluded December 10. Fichtner, from Loma, Colorado, was voted the winner. Today, she will meet with President Obama, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag, to discuss her proposal. Fichtner, a daughter and granddaughter of veterans, has worked at the Colorado Veterans Administration Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado for almost six years.

Fichtner’s SAVE Award idea is for veterans leaving VA hospitals to be able to take the medication they have been using there home with them instead of it being thrown away upon discharge. As is the case in most hospitals all across the country, medicine that is used in the hospital is not given to patients to be brought home; instead, it is discarded.

The VA has already begun implementing Fichtner’s idea, and other agencies also are working on SAVE Award entries that were forwarded to them. In addition, OMB Director Orszag will issue guidance today to all federal agency and department heads following up on several government-wide reforms suggested by SAVE Award winners, such as moving more workers to electronic paystubs and saving money on energy costs.

A copy of the contracting reform report can be found here.

How far will Republicans go?

President Obama's weekly address

The President calls on the Senate to allow an up-or-down vote on health insurance reform, and for those opposing reform to stop using parliamentary maneuvers to drag it out.

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

'It's Time to Stop the Lies'

ABC News interviews President Obama

President Obama recently sat down with Charlie Gibson of ABC News. Click the links below to view all four parts of the interview:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

GOP ♥ Wall Street Lobbyists

President Obama on '60 Minutes'

Did you miss last night's 60 Minutes interview of President Obama? Here's the video:

Editorial comic roundup

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President Obama's weekly address

The President explains that while he continues to focus on jobs, it is also profoundly important to address the problems that created this economic mess in the first place.

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

'Climategate' gets fact-checked

The nonpartisan website FactCheck.org has reviewed the so-called "climategate" controversy. Here's what they found:

In late November 2009, more than 1,000 e-mails between scientists at the Climate Research Unit of the U.K.’s University of East Anglia were stolen and made public by an as-yet-unnamed hacker. Climate skeptics are claiming that they show scientific misconduct that amounts to the complete fabrication of man-made global warming. We find that to be unfounded:

• The messages, which span 13 years, show a few scientists in a bad light, being rude or dismissive. An investigation is underway, but there’s still plenty of evidence that the earth is getting warmer and that humans are largely responsible.


• Some critics say the e-mails negate the conclusions of a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but the IPCC report relied on data from a large number of sources, of which CRU was only one.


• E-mails being cited as "smoking guns" have been misrepresented. For instance, one e-mail that refers to "hiding the decline" isn’t talking about a decline in actual temperatures as measured at weather stations. These have continued to rise, and 2009 may turn out to be the fifth warmest year ever recorded. The "decline" actually refers to a problem with recent data from tree rings.

Beshear announces new jobs for NKY

Governor Beshear recently issued this press release:

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear and Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Larry Hayes today announced that DEFENDER Direct Inc., an authorized dealer for ADT Security Services and Dish Network, will open a new call center in Northern Kentucky. The new location project will create 100 new full-time jobs and represents a capital investment in the Commonwealth of more than over $2.3 million.

“We warmly welcome DEFENDER Direct and the 100 new jobs the company will bring to the Commonwealth and Northern Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “Kentucky recently improved its economic development incentive toolbox and DEFENDER Direct is one of the first companies to benefit from the new Kentucky Business Investment program.”

DEFENDER’s newest call center will be located in 14,000 square feet of the Newport Shopping Center at 1727 Monmouth Street, Newport, Ky. The call center is now one of four call centers for the company including its headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind. DEFENDER also has 175 ADT installation branch offices across the U.S. and Canada.

“We considered other markets in the Midwest for our newest call center, but we were particularly impressed with the workforce in Northern Kentucky,” said DEFENDER Chief Operations Officer, John Corliss. “The support and cooperation we received from the City of Newport, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development played a large part in our decision. We are excited to expand our business in Northern Kentucky and work with these organizations.”

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved DEFENDER Direct for tax benefits up to $750,000 under Kentucky’s newest incentive program, the Kentucky Business Investment (KBI) Program. The incentive can be earned over a 10-year period through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments. The maximum annual approved amount to be earned by DEFENDER Direct is $75,000.

“The Newport community appreciates DEFENDER Direct’s confidence in Northern Kentucky’s workforce and the services our city offers the business community,” said Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso. “The Newport Shopping Center provides a convenient location with easy accessibility, including public transportation systems, and is a perfect fit for Newport’s urban core.”

“Northern Kentucky Tri-ED is actively marketing our region to a variety of businesses in target industries,” said Steve Pendery, Campbell County Judge Executive and Tri-ED Executive Committee member. “We appreciate DEFENDER Direct’s confidence in our region and will work with the company to ensure the new center’s success.”

Interested applicants should visit www.defenderdirect.com or call the company’s job line at 888-260-4473 for more information about working at DEFENDER.

A community profile for Northern Kentucky can be viewed at http://thinkkentucky.com/EDIS/cmnty/index.aspx?cw=049.

If the insurance companies win, we lose

Obama Announces Proposals for Job Growth

President Obama just issued this press release:

Today, the President laid out some of the broad steps that he believes should be at the heart of our efforts to help put Americans back to work and get businesses hiring again. This announcement is part of the President’s ongoing effort to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth. The President views every bill through the prism of job growth and will continue to explore additional approaches as well. These measures are part of the overall policy designed to not just create jobs in the short run but also shift America away from consumption-driven growth to a focus on enhancing the competitiveness of America’s businesses, encouraging investment, and promoting exports.

The bold and difficult steps the President took to stabilize the financial system have reduced the cost of TARP by more than $200 billion, providing additional resources for job creation and for deficit reduction.

I. THREE KEY AREAS FOR ACCELERATING JOB GROWTH
1. Helping Small Businesses Expand Investment, Hire Workers and Access Credit

• Tax cuts to support additional business investment next year – with a particular focus on struggling small businesses – with much of the cost recouped over time.
  
  
  • Zero capital gains for small businesses: To encourage investment by small businesses and improve their access to capital, the Administration is calling for a one-year elimination of the tax on capital gains from new investments in small business stock. The Recovery Act allowed a 75% exclusion from capital gains taxes on small business investments.
  
  
  • Extension of enhanced expensing provisions for small businesses: The Administration is also calling for the extension through 2010 of the Recovery Act provision that allows small businesses to immediately expense up to $250,000 of qualified investment.
  
  
  • Extension of Recovery Act bonus depreciation tax incentive: To give businesses an incentive to invest, the Administration is calling for extending the Recovery Act provision that accelerates the rate at which business can deduct the cost of capital expenditures. This provision will put more than $20 billion in the hands of businesses in 2010, while enabling Treasury to recoup much of the funding as business regain their strength.


• A new tax cut for small businesses to encourage hiring in 2010. Although the economy is now growing again, many businesses remain reluctant to hire. In this economic environment, an employment tax cut for small businesses has the potential to accelerate the pace of hiring. The Administration believes it is important to provide a short-term tax incentive to encourage small business hiring and support employment, and will work with Congress to design a provision that accomplishes these goals.


• Eliminating fees and increasing guarantees for small businesses that borrow through major SBA programs in 2010. The President called for the elimination of fees and an increase in guarantees for loans through the Small Business Administration, a measure that extends provisions in the Recovery Act through the end of 2010. In addition, the President called for continued Treasury efforts to use the TARP to support small business lending.

2. Investing in America’s Roads, Bridges and Infrastructure

• Additional investment in highways, transit, rail, aviation and water. The President is calling for new investments in a wide range of infrastructure, designed to get out the door as quickly as possible while continuing a sustained effort at creating jobs and improving America’s productivity.


• Support for merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars. The Administration supports financing infrastructure investments in new ways, allowing projects to be selected on merit and leveraging money with a combination of grants and loans as was done through the Recovery Act’s TIGER program.

3. Creating Jobs Through Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Investments

• New incentives for consumers who invest in energy efficient retrofits in their homes. Smart, targeted investments in energy efficiency can help create jobs while improving our energy security and saving consumers money. The President today called on Congress to consider a new program to provide rebates for consumers who make energy efficiency retrofits. Such a program will harness the power of the private sector to help drive consumers to make cost-saving investments in their homes.


• Expansion of successful oversubscribed Recovery Act programs to leverage private investment in energy efficiency and create clean energy manufacturing jobs. The Recovery Act included historic investments that have helped to build the foundation for a clean energy economy. The Administration supports expanding programs for which additional federal dollars will leverage private investment and create jobs quickly, such as industrial energy efficiency investments and tax incentives for investing in renewable manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

II. A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO JOB CREATION THROUGH STEWARDSHIP OF TARP AND OVERALL FISCAL DISCIPLINE
These steps are part of the President’s overall approach to fiscal discipline. This includes:

• Freeing up resources from stabilizing Wall Street and putting them to work on Main Street. Because of the Administration’s stewardship of the TARP program – combined with our broader efforts to revive the economy – we now expect the cost to be at least $200 billion less than anticipated as recently as August. Indeed, since the Obama Administration has taken office, only $7 billion has been provided in assistance to banks, compared to $114 billion in capital that banks subject to the “stress test” have raised from the private sector. These savings will allow us to pay down the deficit faster than was anticipated while also investing funds that would have gone to banks in job creating efforts instead.


• An overall approach to fiscal discipline in the budget. Although additional resources are needed in the short-run to address the unemployment crisis, the Administration is committed to doing what we need to bring the medium-term deficit under control – and is exploring a range of steps to take as part of the FY2011 budget process. An additional important component of returning to fiscal responsibility is passing health reform legislation that not only reduces the deficit but also reduces the long-term growth rate of health care costs.

III. AN ONGOING FOCUS ON JOB CREATION
In addition to the proposals outlined above, the Administration will be working with Congress to ensure that those hit hardest by this economic crisis continue to receive the support they need. This includes: extending unemployment insurance for Americans who are struggling to find jobs, extending the Recovery Act provision that helps out-of-work Americans keep their health insurance through COBRA, providing an additional $250 Economic Recovery Payment to our seniors and veterans, and taking steps to ensure that state and local governments are not forced to lay-off teachers, police officers and other key personnel at this critical time.

These steps will build on the efforts that the Administration has already taken to accelerate the pace of job growth, including tax cuts for struggling businesses, an expanded homebuyer credit, additional unemployment insurance to one million Americans, and the Cash for Clunkers program. The Administration is also continuing to pursue efforts to increase the competitiveness of U.S. businesses and strengthen their capacity to export to overseas markets.

Here's video of President Obama's remarks at the Brookings Institution:

An Affordable Truth

Be sure to read today's column by Paul Krugman:

As a recent study by McKinsey & Company showed, there are many ways [for businesses] to reduce emissions at relatively low cost: improved insulation; more efficient appliances; more fuel-efficient cars and trucks; greater use of solar, wind and nuclear power; and much, much more. And you can be sure that given the right incentives, people would find many tricks the study missed.

The truth is that conservatives who predict economic doom if we try to fight climate change are betraying their own principles. They claim to believe that capitalism is infinitely adaptable, that the magic of the marketplace can deal with any problem. But for some reason they insist that cap and trade — a system specifically designed to bring the power of market incentives to bear on environmental problems — can’t work.

Well, they’re wrong — again. For we’ve been here before.

Editorial comic roundup

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President Obama's weekly address

Following the best jobs numbers since 2007, the President recognizes that such trends are cold comfort to those who are struggling and pledges to continue pushing forward towards positive job growth.

Good News on Premiums

Today's New York Times includes this editorial about the costs of health reform:

The health insurance industry frightened Americans — and gave Republicans a shrill talking point — when it declared in October that proposed reform legislation would drive up insurance costs for virtually everyone by as much as thousands of dollars a year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office persuasively contradicted that claim this week.

Undaunted, the industry issued a rebuttal report, claiming again that premiums would soar. We find this second industry report no more persuasive than the first.

In its long-awaited study, the C.B.O. estimates that most Americans would pay the same or less in premiums in 2016, after reforms have kicked in, than they would pay under current law. Those who work for large employers (more than 50 workers) would, on average, see their premiums hold steady or drop by up to 3 percent per person covered. Those who work for small employers would also not see much change — anywhere from a 1 percent increase to a 2 percent reduction.

Governor Beshear's weekly address

Click here for a version of this video with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Poll: 60 percent favor public option

Here's the story via The Hill:

A new poll released Thursday shows that a solid majority of Americans favor the inclusion of a public health insurance option in healthcare reform legislation.

...60 percent of respondents said they would like a public option under any healthcare reform legislation, according to the latest Thompson Reuters survey.

Medicare credibility: Republicans don't have any

Obama on the Way Forward in Afghanistan

In case you missed President Obama's speech last night, here's the video:



Also, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on this morning's talk shows to discuss the administration's strategy. Click the links below to watch each video:

Good Morning America

The Today Show

The Early Show

New ad from Americans United for Change