Both parties share advice and expectations for President Obama’s State of the Union message, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner grilled over handling of AIG, Obama looks to scrap return to the moon, Apple debuts new iPad.
The News
Archives for January 2010
New Message, Same Agenda
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady says President Obama’s spending freeze impacts less than 20% of the budget. Brady’s plan calls for an immediate freeze and an aggressive study of which spending programs are wasteful, repetitive or ineffective. Brady also says Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has a problem telling the truth and predicts Geithner will be forced out of the Obama administration sonner rather than later.
U.S. Must ‘Live Within Its Means’
New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett says President Obama’s proposed spending freeze should be implemented immediately. He says Dems are still flailing on health care strategy, and President Obama has not been at all welcoming of Republican ideas on health reform and the economy.
Obama’s Security Blunders
Former Pentagon official K.T. McFarland says President Obama needs to chart a new course on keeping us safe in tonight’s State of the Union address. McFarland says treating terrorists like bank robbers is endangering everyone because we’re not getting any good intel from the enemies we have in custody. She also says Obama has never defined the objective in Afghanistan and has achieved nothing in terms of stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions. She also explains what would change Iran’s dangerous agenda.
Dems Want Obamacare ‘To Go Away’
Larry Haas, former aide to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, gives us a State of the Union preview. Haas says we should expect President Obama to push more job creation measures and deficit reduction, and he will explain why stimulus spending really isn’t a drag on the deficit. Haas says Democrats want to be done with health care but they still want to pass something. He also doesn’t think voters will see Obama’s sudden populist streak as blatantly political.
The News
A bipartisan panel on weapons of mass destruction says the U.S. government gets an ‘F’ on preparedness for a bioterror attack. And the rest of the grades aren’t much better. President Obama proposes a three-year freeze on discretionary spending. The Senate rejects the creation of a bipartisan panel aimed at reducing the deficit.
Will A Spending Freeze Work?
President Obama wants to impose a freeze on all federal spending not related to defense, homeland security or foreign affairs. How much good could that do? Has the government ever actually honored a spending freeze? Why did the Senate kill a bipartisan debt panel? And how much additional debt is Congress about to allow? We ask Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union.
A WMD Failure
On Tuesday, the special commission on weapons of mass destruction concluded the government is failing at understanding and preparing for a bioterror attack. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Randy Larsen is executive director of the commission. He says the government’s woeful preparation for and response to the H1N1 flu shows how unprepared we are for a massive attack that catches us by surprise. Larsen outlines what Congress and President Obama must do – starting tomorrow at the State of the Union address.
The Brink of Fiscal Calamity
Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker says America must start dealing with our debt problem now. He says we are facing $56 trillion in debt right now and it’s quickly getting worse. So what is his prescription? What can Congress do right now? What entitlement reforms are needed? How can we raise more revenue? And what kind of grade does he give President Obama?
A WMD Failure
On Tuesday, the special commission on weapons of mass destruction concluded the government is failing at understanding and preparing for a bioterror attack. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Randy Larsen is executive director of the commission. He says the government’s woeful preparation for and response to the H1N1 flu shows how unprepared we are for a massive attack that catches us by surprise. Larsen outlines what Congress and President Obama must do – starting tomorrow at the State of the Union address.