I/II. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061705855.html?hpid=topnews
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061705855.html?hpid=topnews>Apparently blood isn't thicker than oil Dana Milbank<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/dana+milbank/> Friday, June 18, 2010 Everybody knew there would be a spectacle when BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, came to testify before Congress. Capitol Police lined the driveway to the Rayburn building, scores of photographers staked out every corner, and aspiring hecklers slept in line overnight to be assured they would get a seat in the hearing room. But what nobody could have anticipated is that the spectacle would have little to do with the Englishman at the witness table. The radioactivity came, rather, from the top row of the dais, whereJoe Barton<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Joe_L._Barton>, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, gave a most unusual opening statement. "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," the Texan said of BP's offer, under pressure from President Obama<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Barack_Obama>, to set aside $20 billion to pay damages to Gulf Coast residents ruined by the oil spill. "I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown." Heads of the other committee members spun, cartoon-like, in the direction of Barton. Rep. Diana DeGette<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Diana_DeGette>(D-Colo.) froze, her coffee cup suspended equidistant between tabletop and lips. Henry Waxman <http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Henry_A._Waxman>(D-Calif.), the panel chairman, scrunched his face and shook his head as though he had just witnessed a bloody wreck. In a sense, he had. And Barton wasn't done. The $20 billion BP would pay to those who are now out of work because of the spill is a "slush fund," he said. Then he did the unthinkable: He apologized to the man whose company is destroying a large piece of the nation. "I apologize," he said, adding that he doesn't "want to live in a country" that does such things to poor BP. There, in front of the cameras, one of the most senior Republicans in the House had suffered an acute attack of Obama Derangement Syndrome. The president had just secured from a British oil company a promise to set aside $20 billion to help devastated Americans -- and Barton had sided with the firm that has devastated the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly, the hearing was not about Hayward. Rep. Ed Markey<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Henry_A._Waxman> (D-Mass.) chucked his opening statement and instead gave an extemporaneous address rebuking Barton. Rep. Michael Burgess<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Michael_C._Burgess> (Tex.), the ranking Republican on the subcommittee conducting the hearing, felt the need to tell Hayward: "I am not going to apologize to you." Even Hayward distanced himself from the man who had just apologized to him. "I certainly didn't think it was a slush fund," the executive said. II. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061705548.html?hpid=topnews Jobs bill blocked in Senate Lori Montgomery and Brady Dennis<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/lori+montgomery+and+brady+dennis/> Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 18, 2010 The Senate effectively rejected a slimmed-down package of jobless benefits and state aid late Thursday, rebuffing President Obama<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Barack_Obama>'s call for urgent action to bolster the economic recovery. Sens. Ben Nelson <http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Ben_Nelson> (D-Neb.) and Joseph I. Lieberman<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Joseph_I._Lieberman> (I-Conn.) voted with a united Republican caucus<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/politicsglossary/Congressional/caucus/> to block the approximately $120 billion package. The measure needed 60 votes to advance, but garnered only 56. Democratic leaders, who had predicted victory less than 24 hours earlier, vowed not to give up on the measure, but acknowledged that they have no clear path to securing the one or two Republican votes needed to push it to final passage. Though the sprawling package contains a number of must-pass provisions, Republicans have been steadfast in their opposition, insisting that the full cost of the measure be covered by cutting existing government programs. "Americans are frustrated with the amount of spending and borrowing around here," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Mitch_McConnell> (R-Ky.) said after the vote. "Let's not wave on through legislation that is going to worsen the deficit and dig an even deeper hole than we are in." With midterm elections<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/politicsglossary/election/midterm-election/> looming this fall, conservative Democrats also had voiced opposition to the size of the package and its impact on deficits, already driven to record levels by government spending to combat the recession. But congressional leaders have struggled to pare the legislation back. The measure would protect doctors from a steep cut in Medicare rates scheduled to take effect Friday and extend emergency unemployment benefits that support more than 5 million people. Without congressional action, an estimated 1.2 million people will stop receiving checks by the end of the month, according to independent estimates. The package also would extend some expired tax breaks for businesses and individuals, including the hugely popular research and development tax credit. And it would raise taxes on oil companies, multinational corporations and investment partnerships. During the past month, Democratic leaders have winnowed the overall price tag down from $200 billion and reduced its impact on the deficit by two-thirds. The House narrowly approved the package and sent it to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry M. Reid<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Harry_M._Reid> (D-Nev.) has been trying to add $24 billion in aid to state governments, a top Obama priority designed to avert thousands of state layoffs and prevent the 9.7 percent unemployment rate from shooting even higher. To squeeze in that extra cash, Reid has hacked away at other pieces of the package. The latest version would protect doctors from the Medicare pay cut for six months rather than the 19 months approved by the House, for example, and it would dock $25 from the checks of all 15 million people who receive unemployment benefits, repealing a boost approved in last year's stimulus legislation. The resulting measure, unveiled late Wednesday, would add $55 billion to deficits over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/politicsglossary/legislative/Congressional-Budget-Office/>. And with that, Democrats believed they had secured the votes of at least two Republicans: Sens. Olympia J. Snowe<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Olympia_J._Snowe> (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.). But any deal unraveled during a long day of talks Thursday, leaving Democrats frustrated and perplexed. "We thought we had enough votes to pass this," Reid told reporters, adding that Lieberman had been prepared to come on board. He and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Max_Baucus> (D-Mont.) said they would regroup Friday. But aides said the path forward would not become clear until next week at the earliest. "The vast majority of Americans want us to create jobs, to help pull us out of this recession," Baucus said. "The bottom line is we're going to keep trying, because that's what the American people want us to do." White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage blamed Republican obstructionism for the bill's failure. "These measures are vital to our nation's families and our economic recovery, and the President urges those opposing these measures to end this obstruction and stand on the side of the American people," Brundage said. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. 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