Would an influx of battle-tested veterans bring some badly needed sanity to Congress? That’s the view of of the new Warriors for Congress political action committee. Why are veterans the best strategy for reforming Washington, reducing the debt and keeping our nation secure? How many veterans are already running? Who are some of the potential stars in the next freshman class on Capitol Hill? We discuss these questions and more with Melanie Morgan, founder of the Warriors for Congress PAC.
President Obama nominates Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Senate Democrats hail the pick, while Republicans claim she has scant courtroom experience of any kind. Utah Republicans dump Sen. Bennett from the 2010 primary ballot. Singing great Lena Horne dies.
On Monday, President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan is the first nominee in 38 years to have no experience as a judge. Democrats say it is good to have different experiences on the bench but is lack of judicial experience a good thing on the Supreme Court? What can we glean about her judicial philosophy from her time as solicitor general or as dean of the Harvard University Law School? Is it true that Obama had much more radical options for the vacancy on the court? And how should the U.S. Senate proceed on this nomination? We ask Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He also served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
More than a week after record floods devastated countless homes and left some of Nashville’s most famous landmarks badly damaged, a massive cleanup effort is in full swing. What are the biggest needs right now? To what extent has the water receded? How has this tragedy galvanized the community? Are folks there frustrated with the lack of media attention? We ask Jeremy Heidt of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
The new health care laws mandate that employers provide coverage for their workers and impose penalties on those who don’t. But many employers are quickly discovering that it is far cheaper to pay the penalties than provide coverage. Why is that? How big of a surge will we see in companies refusing to extend health coverage to their employees? How much will this trend cost the typical working family? And will there be any remedy to this looming problem? We ask Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute. She will also explain how the new health laws will cost taxpayers even more, now that states are opting out of their share of new government health plans.
The economy adds many new jobs but the unemployment rate rises too. Wall Street was more calm on Friday but still down. Greek debt crisis still spooks investors, but Obama says help is on the way. No British party wins a majority in parliament, triggering the first coalition government in decades. All three Navy SEALs are now exonerated for their handling of an Iraqi terrorist. Out of wedlock births skyrocketing in the U.S. And we mark a momumental anniversary.
A bad stretch on Wall Street briefly descended into sheer chaos on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial average plummeted nearly 1,000 points before gaining much of it back. So why were investors on edge to begin with? How will Thursday’s problems be resolved? How will the Greek debt crisis impact the markets? And will the jobs report have much of an impact in the days ahead? We ask Forbes magazine executive editor Neil Weinberg.
British voters delivered a strong rebuke to the ruling Labour Party on Thursday, but while the Conservatives won the most seats, they did not win a majority. How big of a disappointment is this for the Tories? Will the party be able to find help in taking control of parliament? When will all of this get sorted out? And what role will Queen Elizabeth II have in this process? We ask Amanda Bowman, CEO of Atlantic Bridge and close ally of MP Liam Fox, who may be the next secretary of defense.
The Capitol Steps provide a double feature today as they wonder how Gulf Coast residents feel about the return of FEMA and speculate about why North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il visits China. Our guest is Steps star Elaina Newport.
The Department of Labor reports 290,000 jobs were created in April but the overall unemployment rate actually rose to 9.9 percent. So how encouraging are the additional jobs? What should the numbers look like now that the economy has grown substantially for the past two quarters? What is the ‘real’ unemployment rate when factoring in part-time workers who would like to be full-time and those who have given hopes of finding work? How will the new health care laws stifle job creation? And how does the immigration debate influence the jobs picture? We ask Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the Department of Labor and former chief of staff for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
