Date: 2/3/2009
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Holder has won confirmation as the first black attorney general, but he’ll have little time to consider his role in history as he decides which Bush administration counterterrorism policies to reverse.
Holder was confirmed 75-21 Monday, with all the opposition coming from Republicans. He will be sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden.
For starters, the new attorney general will learn the secrets of the Office of Legal Counsel, whose lawyers justified the use of controversial interrogation tactics and even declined to provide Bush administration documents to internal Justice Department investigators.
Holder will inherit a Justice Department wracked by Bush administration scandals over politically inspired hirings and firings. He has pledged to restore its reputation.
Holder also will play a major role in the future of terrorism detainees.
President Barack Obama, in a major policy shift, signed an executive order to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. He also created a special task force to review detainee policy; Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will serve as co-chairs.
That panel will look at options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer or release of detainees and report to the president within 180 days.
Holder promised senators he would review why career prosecutors in Washington decided not to prosecute the former head of the department’s Civil Rights Division. An inspector general’s report last month found that Bradley Schlozman, the former head of the division, misled lawmakers about whether he politicized hiring decisions.
Another key question facing Holder is whether to reverse former President George W. Bush’s order that three of his former top aides — Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten — should not testify before Congress about firings of U.S. attorneys. Rove and Miers were former aides when Bush gave his order.
If Obama reverses Bush’s policy, it would create a new legal issue: whether a former president’s order against testifying would still be valid.
The Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program is certain to come under Holder’s scrutiny.
After a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks, Congress last year eased the rules under which the government could wiretap American phone and computer lines to listen for terrorists and spies.
Holder promised one senator that he would re-examine a ruling by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that immigrants facing deportation do not have a right to government-provided lawyers. Holder said he understands the desire to expedite immigration court proceedings, but added that the Constitution also requires that proceedings be fair.
There also could be changes in conducting warrantless surveillance.
Holder’s chief supporter, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the confirmation was a fulfillment of Martin Luther King’s dream that everyone would be judged by the content of their character.
“Come on the right side of history,” said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Obama pitches his plan to reverse economic slide
Date: 1/24/2009
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama took to the airwaves Saturday to promote his economic aid plan in what’s-it-mean-to-me terms: thousands of better schools, lower electricity bills, health coverage for millions who lose insurance.
It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges. As lawmakers consider an $825 billion plan and Obama woos them with an eye toward a second economic package, he used his first radio and Internet address from the White House to update the public about his goals.
“Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,” Obama said in a five-minute address.
“In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
Obama aides have refused to rule out that the administration would seek a second economic recovery plan — even before Congress approves the first — to patch an ailing economy. Some are considering a sequel to assuage members of their own Democratic Party who fret that too little of the money is going toward public works projects that would employ their constituents.
“Look, let’s get one done, and start seeing that impact on the economy before I get into hypotheticals about what we might do later on in the year,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday.
Along with the speech, Obama’s economic team released a report designed to outline tangible benefits of the plan and shore up support. Aides said they wanted people to understand exactly what they could expect if Congress supported the proposed legislation.
The United States lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in any single year since World War II. Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama’s economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value.
That harsh reality has dominated Obama’s first days in office that brought his top economic advisers to the White House on their first Saturday in power to talk about the proposed stimulus package and the federal budget.
A day earlier, he invited Democratic and Republican leaders to the White House to hear their ideas on the economy. At that visit, he did not share the details he released Saturday.
“We presented President Obama with our ideas to jump start the economy through fast-acting tax relief — not slow-moving government spending programs,” House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in the weekly GOP address. “We let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the self-employed keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions of new private-sector jobs.”
Boehner said the Republicans would cut taxes for every taxpayer, dropping even the lowest income tax rates. “That’s up to an extra $3,200 per family every year — money that can be saved, spent or invested in any way you see fit,” Boehner said. He also proposed a tax credit for home purchases, an end of taxation of unemployment benefits and tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new employees.
“We cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity,” Boehner said.
Obama also plans to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with Republican leaders, his latest move to bring along his rival party to pass an economic package that has GOP support. On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden and economic adviser Larry Summers were to appear on the morning talk shows, as was Boehner.
Many of the goals in the speech and report were familiar from Obama’s two-year campaign, such as shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care. Other parts added specifics.
Obama’s recovery package aims to:
—double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources. That is an ambitious goal, given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.
—upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.
—save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
—triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
—tighten security at 90 major ports.
The plan would spend at least 75 percent of the total cost — or more than $600 billion — within the first 18 months, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed.
There is heavy emphasis on public works projects, which have lagged as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance such as Medicaid and children’s health insurance. Obama’s plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.
Obama’s plan would also provide health care coverage for 8.5 million people who lose their insurance when they either lose or shift jobs.
“It’s a plan that will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next few years” and recognizes “there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done,” he said.
But Obama cautioned again against expecting instant results: “No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time.”
___
On the Net:
Obama video: www.whitehouse.gov
Obama economics report: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/Documents/recover
y_plan_metrics —report.pdf
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama took to the airwaves Saturday to promote his economic aid plan in what’s-it-mean-to-me terms: thousands of better schools, lower electricity bills, health coverage for millions who lose insurance.
It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges. As lawmakers consider an $825 billion plan and Obama woos them with an eye toward a second economic package, he used his first radio and Internet address from the White House to update the public about his goals.
“Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,” Obama said in a five-minute address.
“In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
Obama aides have refused to rule out that the administration would seek a second economic recovery plan — even before Congress approves the first — to patch an ailing economy. Some are considering a sequel to assuage members of their own Democratic Party who fret that too little of the money is going toward public works projects that would employ their constituents.
“Look, let’s get one done, and start seeing that impact on the economy before I get into hypotheticals about what we might do later on in the year,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday.
Along with the speech, Obama’s economic team released a report designed to outline tangible benefits of the plan and shore up support. Aides said they wanted people to understand exactly what they could expect if Congress supported the proposed legislation.
The United States lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in any single year since World War II. Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama’s economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value.
That harsh reality has dominated Obama’s first days in office that brought his top economic advisers to the White House on their first Saturday in power to talk about the proposed stimulus package and the federal budget.
A day earlier, he invited Democratic and Republican leaders to the White House to hear their ideas on the economy. At that visit, he did not share the details he released Saturday.
“We presented President Obama with our ideas to jump start the economy through fast-acting tax relief — not slow-moving government spending programs,” House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in the weekly GOP address. “We let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the self-employed keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions of new private-sector jobs.”
Boehner said the Republicans would cut taxes for every taxpayer, dropping even the lowest income tax rates. “That’s up to an extra $3,200 per family every year — money that can be saved, spent or invested in any way you see fit,” Boehner said. He also proposed a tax credit for home purchases, an end of taxation of unemployment benefits and tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new employees.
“We cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity,” Boehner said.
Obama also plans to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with Republican leaders, his latest move to bring along his rival party to pass an economic package that has GOP support. On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden and economic adviser Larry Summers were to appear on the morning talk shows, as was Boehner.
Many of the goals in the speech and report were familiar from Obama’s two-year campaign, such as shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care. Other parts added specifics.
Obama’s recovery package aims to:
—double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources. That is an ambitious goal, given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.
—upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.
—save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
—triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
—tighten security at 90 major ports.
The plan would spend at least 75 percent of the total cost — or more than $600 billion — within the first 18 months, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed.
There is heavy emphasis on public works projects, which have lagged as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance such as Medicaid and children’s health insurance. Obama’s plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.
Obama’s plan would also provide health care coverage for 8.5 million people who lose their insurance when they either lose or shift jobs.
“It’s a plan that will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next few years” and recognizes “there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done,” he said.
But Obama cautioned again against expecting instant results: “No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time.”
___
On the Net:
Obama video: www.whitehouse.gov
Obama economics report: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/Documents/recover
y_plan_metrics —report.pdf
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
