Clem’s Chronicles: Jobs/Afghanistan/Health Care Reform/Deficit

Happy Thanksgving week folks. Here's tonight's news……

THE ECONOMY/JOBS-Green shoots. We’ve been hearing about “green shoots” for awhile now, those tantalizing examples of an economy on the rebound. While good/less bad economic news  has recently outpaced bad news, there’s the sticky situation of millions of Americans out of work who could care less what color the shoots are…they just want a job.  President Obama, back from his Asia trip, made sure those Americans have not been forgotten. After today’s Cabinet meeting, the President said in part: “Our economy is growing for the first time in more than a year, and we know that economic growth is a prerequisite for job growth.  But, having said that, what I emphasize today is we cannot sit back and be satisfied, given the extraordinarily high unemployment levels that we've seen.  We have only taken the first step in curing our economy and making sure that it is moving on the right track.  And I will not rest until businesses are investing again and businesses are hiring again and people have work again.” Betsy Stark, filing for WORLD NEWS, notes “it’s a new tune for an Administration that has been focused so heavily on health care reform and the war in Afghanistan, even as unemployment has topped ten percent and the under-employment rate has exceeded 17 percent.” And it’s a tune that’s likely to be played again-Stark reminds that “next week the White House will convene a job summit that will bring together policymakers, economists and business owners to talk about the best way to jumpstart hiring. The challenge will be to come up with ideas that don’t further add to the nation’s debit, which has just surpassed $12 trillion.”

THE ECONOMY/BRIGHT SIGNS-Speaking of jobs, some good news today from U.S. economists that doesn’t exclude those seeking work. Dan Arnall: “Forty-eight of the nation’s leading business economists say the recovery from the recession might not be as lackluster as they originally thought. In a report released today, the National Association of Business Economics says the consensus amongst professional econo-watchers is beginning to get rosier. Overall, economists believe the ‘jobless recovery’ might become a ‘job-y’ one in the next few months. And while that won’t mean a substantial reduction in the nation’s unemployment rate anytime soon, it will be nice to be seeing more hiring than firing. The consumer likely won’t be back anytime soon, but housing prices should start showing consistent positive growth, the overall economy as measured by the GDP should be showing solid growth next year and corporate profits and the stock market should be posting healthy gains through 2010 according to the report.” Arnall also tells us about some good housing news released today-“The original expiration of the first-time home buyers credit helped push up sales of pre-owned homes by 10.1% last month – a significantly bigger boost than economists were expecting. According to the National Association of Realtors monthly report, sales of existing homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million units during October. Economists were expecting to see a rate of 5.7 million units. This is the fastest pace of sales since February 2007 and is an astounding 23.5% above the level from a year ago (the height of the credit crisis).”

HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL-Quite a lot of attention was paid to the Senate over the weekend and the Democrats’ “big victory”-defeating Republican attempts to not bring the health care reform bill to the floor for debate.But as Jon Karl noted in his WORLD NEWS piece, “reality is quickly settling in…if you take the statements of all Democratic Senators at their word, it’s hard to see how anything can pass.” And for once, this has nothing to do with the Republicans. While sixty senators voted to moved forward on the health care reform bill, they all are not looking for the same elements within the bill. Karl explains: “Four who voted ‘yes’ said flatly they’ll vote ‘no’ next time if the bill still includes a government-run insurance program.” So take out that public option and your problem is solved! Not so fast counters Karl: “There are at least two Democrats who say they’ll likely vote against any bill without a public option.” Not exactly a perfect scenario for Majority Leader Reid to get the bill passed. But it gets worse….Karl adds that “Even if a compromise is struck on the public option, there are differences among Democrats on coverage for illegal immigrants and abortion, which may prove the toughest to resolve.” 

CRIB RECALL-The largest crib recall in U.S. history announced late this afternoon. 2.1 million cribs made by the Stork Craft Company.Lisa Stark, reporting for WORLD NEWS, notes “the cribs are linked to four suffocation deaths. They have a side that drops down and were manufactured from January 1993 until last month.” The drop-side is the issue-Stark says that the “problem occurs when parts break or are lost or if the crib is misassembled.” Ann Brown, the former Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission adds further “The hardware can crack, a depression is made in the bed, and the baby’s head gets caught in that depression and the baby can strangle and die.”
This is not the first problems associated with cribs-Stark notes that “in the past five years, there’s been nearly 5 million cribs recalled for a range of problems.” Stark asks and answers the “why so many issues?” question….Stark: “There’s a patchwork of standards when it comes to baby products. Some are mandatory regulations, but there are also voluntary standards and that can make it difficult to ensure a product is always as safe as it needs to be.” Before you can utter “FIX THAT”, Stark tells us that “a new law passed last year now requires safety testing and allows the government to set tougher mandatory standards for children’s products.” Which doesn’t mean it’s sorted out yet…Stark adds that “tougher regulations have been proposed for both baby bath seats and toddler walkers. Still on the drawing board…new rules for safer cribs.”

AFGHANISTAN-President Obama is meeting with his national security team tonight. Martha Raddatz tells us it’s the president’s “ninth and possibly final meeting…before announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan.” Some ballpark figures have been discussed-Raddatz: “Officials tell ABC NEWS (the plan) will likely call for between 30 and 40 thousand additional US troops, and several thousand NATO troops on top of that.” Tonight’s meeting, Raddatz notes “is focused on an exit strategy-with the President pressing for detailed plans on how long it would take for Afghan troops to take over.” Today-another fly in the ointment. Raddatz: “The powerful Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee(Representative David Obey) is warning that sending more troops would doom the President’s domestic initiatives.” Raddatz continues: “It is estimated that it would cost one billion dollars for every 1000 troops each year. Congressman Obey told ABC’s Jon Karl that if the president asks for more troops, he will demand a new tax.” Obey noted to Karl that “I want to know how they are going to (pay for it) in a way that doesn’t eliminate our ability to rebuild our own economy.”

POTUS DEFICIT ISSUES:   In addition to the health care debate and Afghanistan, weighing heavily on the President’s mind is the nation’s ballooning debt, currently at an all-time-high of more than $12 trillion.  The military strategy for Afghanistan is expected to increase government spending and to boost the economy the administration is considering spending to increase jobs. “This debt crisis occurs just as the first baby boomers turn 65 and retire – demanding Medicare and Social Security,” Jake Tapper reported on WORLD NEWS.  So where is the money for all this going to come from? Robert Bixby with the Concord Coalition tells ABC News “the federal government is going to be under a lot of pressure to find the cash to make these promised benefits to baby boomers and there are only so many places you can go: you’re either going to have to raise taxes for it or cut other programs.”  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told Tapper the health care reform bill “over the next 10-year period cuts about $130 billion, according to the Senate bill, out of the deficit.”  Tapper: “that’s $13 billion a year…that’s not even a quarter of what we…borrow from China every year.”  Gibbs’ response to that: “Well — but if you don’t start somewhere, you’re not going to get anywhere.”
“The White House underlines that of the $9 trillion in deficits projected over the coming decade, nearly $5 trillion comes as a result of the Bush Administration’s failure to pay for just two policies – tax cuts and the Medicare prescription drug benefit,” Tapper reports.  “The White House says the economic team is looking at how to tackle the deficit in the next year’s budget.” (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

ALLEGATIONS OF ETHICS VIOLATIONS AGAINST SEN. ENSIGN:  In an exclusive interview with ABC News Doug Hampton – the husband of Senator John Ensign’s mistress – said the senator violated ethics laws in an attempt to cover up his affair.  Ensign, the Republican, conservative Christian senator for Nevada, admitted this past June to having an affair with Cindy Hampton, his campaign treasurer and wife of his co-chief of staff and friend Doug. Cynthia McFadden reports: “By the time he’d admitted the affair, John Ensign had already fired both Doug and Cindy Hampton.  Five days later – they received a check for ninety six thousand dollars from Ensign’s father, a wealthy casino mogul.  The Ensign family claims the check wasn’t a payoff or severance – it was a quote ‘gift, made out of concern for the well-being of longtime family friends.’ Doug Hampton calls that preposterous.”  Hampton tells McFadden that the $96,000 check was “clearly” a severance and that in addition to the payment Sen. Ensign got him a job as a Senate lobbyist.  “Only problem is – that’s illegal,” McFadden tells us.  “Federal ethics laws prohibit staffers from lobbying the Senate within a year of leaving…to say nothing of the Senator for whom you used to work.”  Hampton insists Ensign is fully aware he was violating ethics laws, and says he is speaking out now because he has not seen evidence that ethics charges against the senator are being investigated by the Department of Justice or Senate Ethics Committee.  In a statement to ABC News, Sen. Ensign said Hampton’s allegations “are full of half truths and untruths.  I will cooperate with any investigation because I have not violated any law or Senate ethics rule.  If Doug Hampton violated federal law and rules, I did not advise him to do so, I did not suggest that he do so, and I did not cooperate with his doing so.” (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR SANFORD-The South Carolina Ethics Commission has charged South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford with 37 counts of breaking state ethics laws. The civil charges, which carry a maximum $74,000 in fines, stem from a three-month investigation by the state ethics commission and could be pivotal in a push by some lawmakers to remove him from office. The state attorney general is deciding whether the governor would face any criminal charges. Robin Reese provides a breakdown of the 37 counts-“Those charges allege that, in 18 instances, Sanford authorized, approved or allowed the purchase of business-class airfare so that he could travel to and within the continents of Europe, Asia and South America. Four of the flights cited involved a 2008 state Commerce Department trip to Brazil that Sanford extended to Argentina so that the married, two-term Republican governor could see his Argentine lover. State law bars the use of high-priced airfare by state officials. The charges also allege that in nine instances Sanford used state aircraft for personal travel. The charges also allege that on 10 occasions Sanford took money from his campaign account and spent it in violation of state ethics law. Sanford took a total of $2,940.68 from his campaign account and spent it improperly, the commission alleges.” Sanford's lawyers have claimed the allegations involve minor and technical aspects of the law.

SOMALIS/FBI, DOJ CHARGES- Federal prosecutors in Minnesota unsealed new terror-related charges against eight people on Monday as part of the long-running investigation of young men who left the United States to fight in Somalia. Jason Ryan notes the investigation centered on “recruiting and sending young men from Minneapolis to Somalia to fight with Al Shabaab a terrorist organization closely linked with Al Qaeda.”

ISRAEL/HAMAS PRISONER EXCHANGE-From Simon McGregor-Wood: “The prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel is nearly complete. Sources on both sides admit there has been real progress in recent weeks. The predictions on when it will happen vary widely. The most optimistic say at the end of this week to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid al Adha.  A senior Hamas delegation meets in Cairo today to review the latest changes to the prisoner list. They are due to stay in Cairo for another two days.
On the table is the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in return for 450 Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was taken by Hamas in 2006 and has been held captive in Gaza ever since.
Among the 450 Palestinians are senior members of different factions including men responsible for dozens of attacks and hundreds of Israeli lives. The list includes heavyweight political figures such as Marwan Barghouti, former head of Fatah in the West bank and a possible successor to President Abbas.”

OTHER STUFF-
–SPACE SHUTTLE/THREE AND DONE!-Astronauts are back inside the International Space Station after the third and final spacewalk of the shuttle Atlantis mission. They installed a huge oxygen tank today and quickly accomplished everything else on their list. Atlantis and its crew of seven will depart the space station Wednesday. The shuttle will aim for a landing back at Kennedy Space Center on Friday. (Gina Sunseri)
–AMERICAN HIKERS IN IRAN- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in Brazil today, meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. While Iran’s nuclear program was the main topic, Ahmadinejad  also made some comments concerning the three American hikers currently detained in Iran. Ahmadinejad said that it was up to his nation’s judicial system to determine the fate of the hikers and said he hopes the punishment is not severe. (George Sanchez/AP)