By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 29, 2009; 6:09 PM

The Democratically controlled Congress today easily approved a $3.4 trillion spending plan, setting the stage for President Obama to pursue the first major overhaul of the nation’s health care system in a generation, along with other far-reaching domestic initiatives.

Despite a persistent recession and soaring budget deficits, Democrats overwhelmingly endorsed the president’s request for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending over the next decade for college loans, early childhood education programs, benefits for military veterans and investments in renewable energy aimed at reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Lawmakers also agreed to use a powerful procedural tool known as reconciliation to advance the president’s proposal to expand health coverage for the uninsured, handing the new administration a huge victory on its 100th day in office.REST OF ARTICLE.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 20 earmarking senators and the value of their solo earmarks:

1) Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. — $122,804,900

2) Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. — $114,484,250

3) Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. — $85,691,491

4) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. — $76,899,425

5) Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. — $75,908,475

6) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska — $74,000,750

7) Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa — $66,860,000

8 ) Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. — $53,133,500

9) Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — $51,186,000

10) Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii — $46,380,205

11) Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — $39,228,250

12) Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. — $36,547,100

13) Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt. — $36,161,125

14) Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. — $35,577,250

15) Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. — $27,169,750

16) Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. — $26,628,613

17) Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. — $25,320,000

18) Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. — $23,832,000

19) Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — $21,952,250

20) Former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. — $19,588,625

SOURCE

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

Published: February 13, 2009

WASHINGTON — Congress on Friday approved a $787 billion economic stimulus measure, meeting the crushing mid-February deadline that Democrats had set for adopting the centerpiece of President Obama’s early agenda but without quelling the partisan divisions in Washington. Not a single House Republican voted for the bill.

The vote in the House was 246 to 183, with just 7 Democrats joining all 176 Republicans in opposition. In the Senate, the vote of 60 to 38 was similarly partisan. Only three centrist Republicans joined 55 Democrats and two independents in favor.

The Senate finally adopted the bill at 10:47 p.m. after what appeared to be the longest Congressional vote in history.

REST OF ARTICLE

The Republicans forgot they are now in the minority and their votes aren’t actually needed or as important as they want to believe they are.  It will be partisan business as usual going forward and I predict the blame for that will rest entirely on the shoulders of the Republicans.

Emboldened by his victory on the stimulus package — but chastened by the pothole-pocked road that got him there — -President Barack Obama and his aides are plunging ahead on a large and expensive agenda that virtually assures 2009 will be marked by intense partisan battles about the size and role of government.

White House aides say they have concluded that Obama too frequently lost control of the debate and his own image during the stimulus battle. By this reckoning, the story became too much about failed efforts at bipartisanship and Washington deal-making, and not enough about the president’s public salesmanship.

For Obama’s next act, the program is the same as he has been planning for months: New Deal-style plans to rescue struggling homeowners and rewrite regulations on the financial markets, plus a budget proposal that lays the groundwork for sweeping health care reform.

But the strategy to promote these items is getting an emergency overhaul. Obama plans to travel more and campaign more in an effort to pressure lawmakers with public support, rather than worrying about whether he can win over Republican votes in Congress.

REST OF ARTICLE

It is said that the worth of society can be measured by the manner in which it treats its weakest member. (origin unknown)

The fact that the baby boomer generation is now reaching retirement age shouldn’t come as a surprise and the government should have been prepared…..regardless of the financial burden, the government in all good conscience cannot and should not break faith with a whole generation who paid into the Social Security system.   Baby boomers should not be made to feel as if the government is doing them a big favor by living up to the promises of a system they have been required to pay into.

The tightening of the federal budget should start with slashing the huge amount of money spent in corporate welfare.

By Lori Montgomery

Monday, February 2, 2009; Page A01

It’s the holy grail of Washington politics: a federal budget that generates ample funds through a simpler and fairer tax code, defuses the spending time bomb for health and retirement programs, and supports the nation’s economy during the worst downturn in generations.

President Obama and congressional Democrats have high ambitions to chart such a course, and say that they hope to strike a grand bargain with Republicans to bring taxes and government spending back into balance over the next few years, taming budget deficits that threaten to spiral out of control.

That goal has never been more urgent. The Senate opens debate today on a nearly $900 billion plan to pull the nation out of recession. If passed, it would send this year’s budget deficit — the annual gap between spending and income — soaring toward a record $1.4 trillion, or nearly 10 percent of overall economic output, a level not seen since the end of World War II. The growing gap is rapidly driving up the national debt, causing lawmakers and budget experts to fret that the nation could be overwhelmed by mounting interest payments to private creditors even as it struggles to cover the skyrocketing cost of caring for retiring baby boomers.

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By Paul Kane and Michael Shear

Wednesday, January 28, 2009; 6:23 PM

With no Republican support, the House approved an $819 billion stimulus plan that will serve as the cornerstone of President Obama’s efforts to resuscitate the economy, an early victory for the new president but still a disappointment because of the lack of Republican votes.

The measure passed 244 to 188, with 11 Democrats and 177 Republicans voting against it.

The two-year economic package includes $275 billion in tax cuts and more than $550 billion in domestic spending on roads and bridges, alternative-energy development, health-care technology, unemployment assistance, and aid to states and local governments. It would also provide up to $500 per year in tax relief for most workers and more than $300 billion in aid to states for funding to help rebuild schools, provide health-care to the poor and reconstruct highways and bridges.

REST OF ARTICLE

By Amanda Ruggeri Amanda Ruggeri – Tue Jan 27, 4:49 pm ET

In an attempt to whip up support for the $825 billion stimulus package on the eve of its vote in the House, governors and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came out today to emphasize the necessity of a key portion of the package–its aid to states.

More than $200 billion of the current package, which is due to reach the floor of the House for a vote tomorrow, would go to states and localities. That includes $87 billion in federal money to state Medicaid programs, about $120 billion to education, and $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.

That’s a smart investment, says Pelosi, because every dollar in state aid creates $1.38 in economic activity.

SOURCE

I honestly don’t believe anyone can broker peace between the two factions BUT the two factions. If Israel and the Palestinians don’t desire peace enough to find a compromise and solution I don’t believe anyone can do it for them.

As for Dennis Kucinich’s comment….just what is an appropriate response to rockets being fired on Israel? What would the U.S. response be if Cuba were to start launching rockets into Florida?

When it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict there are always more questions than answers.

Kucinich criticizes Israel; wants U.N. probe

By Ian Swanson

Posted: 12/29/08 01:48 PM [ET]

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is calling for a United Nations investigation into Israel’s attacks on Gaza, criticizing Israel for a disproportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks.

The criticism stands in stark contrast to the statements of other Democrats, who have offered near-unanimous support for Israel amid the latest violence in the Middle East.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democrats have blamed Hamas for the violence, which has left more than 300 people in Gaza dead. One person in Israel has been killed by a Hamas rocket.

Kucinich likened the Israeli attacks on Gaza to its war with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in 2006. In both cases, he said, civilian populations were attacked and “countless innocents” were killed or injured.

via TheHill.com.

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

Published: December 23, 2008

ALBANY — Resistance is emerging among Democratic officials against Caroline Kennedy as she pursues Hillary Rodham Clinton’s seat in the United States Senate, with Gov. David A. Paterson bristling over suggestions that her selection is inevitable, according to his advisers, and other leading Democrats concerned that she is too beholden to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The governor is frustrated and chagrined, the advisers said, because he believes that he extended Ms. Kennedy the chance to demonstrate her qualifications but that her operatives have exploited the opportunity to convey a sense that she is all but appointed already. He views this as an attempt to box him in, the advisers said.

“You have people going around saying, ‘Oh yeah, it’s a done deal,’ ” said one of the advisers, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the selection process and did not want to anger the governor. “The quickest way to not get something you want is to step into somebody’s face.”

NYTimes.com.