Reuters: Politics: Senate Democratic "Super PAC" raised $1.9 million since March

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Senate Democratic "Super PAC" raised $1.9 million since March Jun 1st 2012, 04:01 By Alexander Cohen and Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON | Fri Jun 1, 2012 12:01am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Majority PAC, a "Super PAC" helping Democrats fight for seats in the U.S. Senate, raised $1.9 million in April and May, according to disclosure documents released on Thursday. The "super" political action committee had $2.7 million left in cash on hand by May 23, the filing with the Federal Election Commission showed. The group reports its election-related fundraising and spending once every quarter but the latest filing was required because of the Super PAC's activity in Virginia, which holds a primary on June 12. In the first three months of the year, Majority PAC raised $1.6 million, with $1 million of that coming from billionaire hedge fund manager James Simons. The group had $2.5 million left in cash on hand at the end of March. Since then, the political group received $350,000 from Chicago media magnate Fred Eychaner and $100,000 from film studio Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Both Eychaner and Katzenberg have also raised at least $500,000 for President Barack Obama's reelection effort. Cindy Harrell-Horn gave $100,000 to the group. The Walt Disney Company announced today that Alan Horn, Harrell-Horn's husband, had been named chairman of Walt Disney Studios, effective June 11. Harrell-Horn also gave $100,000 to House Majority PAC, a related Super PAC helping elect Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives. House Majority PAC disclosed the donation today as part of its latest report. The House group was required to report because of its spending in Arizona, which holds a special election on June 12 to replace former Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned after a gunshot attack last year left her critically injured. Michael Kowalski, the CEO of luxury goods retailer Tiffany & Company, businessman Eli Broad and California personal injury lawyer Will Kemp each gave $100,000 to the group. Labor union the American Federation of Teachers gave the group $300,000 and the group received $100,000 from Women Vote, the Super PAC of Emily's List, which works to elect pro-choice Democratic women to political office. Both groups' donations were disclosed in reports they submitted to the Federal Election Commission earlier this month. Majority PAC and House Majority PAC are part of an alliance of outside Democratic spending groups raising money to support the party's candidates in the multimillion-dollar battle for control of Washington against deep-pocketed Republican outside groups. Republican groups, vowing to pour hundreds of millions into the races, hope to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama in the White House, keep the Republican majority in the House and take control of the U.S. Senate. Majority PAC has spent $228,518 in Virginia, which looks to have one of the tightest races for its open Senate seat of the 33 up for grabs on November 6. Republicans need a net gain of four Senate seats to gain a majority in the upper chamber of Congress. Most polls say the race is now a dead heat between Tim Kaine, a former Democratic governor of Virginia and close ally of President Barack Obama, and George Allen, a former Republican governor who once held the Senate seat. Like other Super PACs, Majority PAC can raise and spend unlimited money to help candidates or attack rivals as long as it does not coordinate with campaigns or party efforts. House Majority PAC similarly had to file its disclosures before last week's California primary. It reported raising $1.1 million since March, with $1.9 million in cash on hand. Democratic Super PACs have been badly trailing their Republican rivals as many Democrats remain staunchly opposed to the very notion of "super" PACs and the court decision that spawned them. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to remove limits on how much corporations, unions and other outside groups could spend on helping politicians. Leaders of Democratic PACs have said that donors are beginning to step up their giving as the urgency of the Senate and House races builds up. (Editing by Todd Eastham) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Illinois lawmakers put off vote on pension reforms

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Illinois lawmakers put off vote on pension reforms Jun 1st 2012, 02:56 By Andrew Stern SPRINGFIELD, Illinois | Thu May 31, 2012 10:56pm EDT SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - Illinois lawmakers on Thursday put off a vote on proposed changes to its vastly underfunded public employee pension system, risking further credit rating downgrades of the state. Tom Cross, the Republican leader of the state House of Representatives, announced that too few House Democrats would support the current form of the legislation so he had agreed with Governor Pat Quinn not to call for a vote on it. "We have to be willing to find some common ground," a weary-sounding Cross told fellow lawmakers. "We need to let emotions settle down." Quinn, a Democrat, has insisted that lawmakers use the legislative session scheduled to end on Thursday to pass reforms to pensions and Medicaid, the joint federal-state healthcare program for the poor, to keep the two huge budget items from consuming even more than their current 39 percent of state general fund spending. The governor said he will convene a meeting with legislative leaders next week to forge an agreement so lawmakers can return soon to session to pass it. "We have made great headway on stabilizing our pension system and we are very close to a solution, but we are not there yet," Quinn said in a statement. Democrat Representative Elaine Nekritz said beyond concerns about a credit rating downgrade of the state, necessary payments to the pension system would climb next year. Lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly have passed legislation that contains elements of Quinn's $2.7 billion Medicaid plan, including $1.6 billion in program cuts and other changes and a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase. On Thursday, a measure that limits how much in Medicaid obligations the state can push from one fiscal year into the next year for payment was also sent to the governor. Those obligations would be limited to $700 million in fiscal 2013 and $100 million in fiscal 2014. But dealing with Illinois' huge $83 billion unfunded pension liability by Thursday's midnight deadline for the current session proved to be a thornier issue as lawmakers tried to navigate state constitutional protections for existing benefits. The state's liability has been building for years as Illinois skipped or skimped on pension payments and fund investments fell. Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan proposed, and then dropped, a measure in the pension reform bill that would have phased out state payments for local teachers' pensions, potentially forcing school districts to hike property taxes. Madigan removed himself as the bill's sponsor, and Cross was named sponsor, a sign that Madigan would no longer support the measure. The core reform left in the legislation essentially required current and retired workers to choose between a cut in cost-of-living increases for their retirement payments and access to retiree health insurance. Cross repeatedly said on Thursday the state could see its already relatively low bond ratings fall further if it fails to rein in pension costs. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has warned of a multiple-notch downgrade in Illinois's A-plus rating if progress is not made to address fiscal problems that include unfunded pensions and a structural budget deficit fueled by billions of dollars in unpaid, overdue bills. In January, Moody's Investors Service dropped Illinois' bond rating to A2, the lowest level among the states it rates, citing legislative inaction in dealing with underfunded pensions and unpaid bills. Labor union officials raised objections to all of the pension reform bill versions, labeling them unconstitutional. (Additional reporting and writing by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Bill Clinton says Romney qualified to run, but Obama better

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Bill Clinton says Romney qualified to run, but Obama better Jun 1st 2012, 02:54 U.S. President Barack Obama (R) talks with former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and his wife, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton (C) during the funeral services for U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston, Massachusetts August 29, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Brian Snyder

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Ex-Senator Edwards acquitted on campaign finance charge

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Ex-Senator Edwards acquitted on campaign finance charge Jun 1st 2012, 00:41 1 of 3. Former U.S. Senator John Edwards (2nd L) makes a statement with his daughter, Cate Edwards (L), father Wallace Edwards, and mother Bobbie Edwards (R) after the jury reached a verdict at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina May 31, 2012. Jurors acquitted former U.S. Senator John Edwards on one count of taking illegal campaign contributions on Thursday and the judge declared a mistrial on five other counts because the jury was deadlocked. Credit: Reuters/John Adkisson By Colleen Jenkins GREENSBORO, North Carolina | Thu May 31, 2012 8:41pm EDT GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator John Edwards was acquitted on Thursday on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions, and the judge declared a mistrial on five other counts because the jury was deadlocked. The jury's decision came on the ninth day of deliberations and marked yet another dramatic turn of events for the one-time politician who rose to become the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee in 2004, only to see his career ruined by scandal four years later. As the jury's verdict was read, Edwards, who did not testify in the nearly six-week-long trial, slumped back in his seat in relief. Later, standing in front of the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, the state he represented in the U.S. Senate from 1999 to 2005, Edwards said he never broke the law. "While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins," he said, flanked by his parents and oldest daughter, Cate. "I am responsible, and if I want to find the person who should be held accountable for my sins, honestly I don't have to go any further than the mirror. It's me. It is me and me alone." Federal prosecutors did not make clear whether they would seek another trial for Edwards, who they accuse of taking funds from two wealthy donors during his 2008 presidential campaign to keep voters from learning he was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, who died in 2010. Jurors found Edwards not guilty of accepting illegal campaign contributions from one of those supporters, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, in 2008. But they were deadlocked on a similar count of receiving illegal campaign money from Mellon in 2007; two counts of accepting illegal campaign money from friend and supporter Fred Baron; one count of conspiring to solicit illegal campaign funds; and one count of failing to report the donor payments as campaign contributions. The defense said all along that the supporters' money was meant as a personal gift to shield Elizabeth Edwards from her husband's indiscretions, not to influence the election. Asked on Thursday how he felt following the acquittal and mistrial, Wallace Edwards, the former senator's father, pointed at the smile on his face. "This says it all," he said. The Justice Department will likely weigh the political risk and expense as they decide whether to retry the case, said Elon University assistant law professor Michael Rich. "I'm sure that they will spin it that a hung jury simply indicates that they had a strong case but couldn't convince a couple of reticent jurors," Rich said. "I do think we saw their strongest case, and it just wasn't enough." Earlier in the day, the jury announced it had reached a verdict on a single charge and could not reach a unanimous decision on the other counts. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles sent the jurors back for more deliberations, but they soon came back and said they were deadlocked, prompting Eagles to declare the mistrial on five counts. The panel was considering whether Edwards, 58, violated election laws as he sought to cover up his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter and her pregnancy with his child during the 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The child, Quinn, is now 4 and lives with Hunter in Charlotte. The two-time presidential hopeful who served as the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee faced possible prison time and fines if found guilty of any of the six felony counts. The charges included conspiring to solicit the money, receiving more than the $2,300 allowed from any one donor, and failing to report the payments as contributions. Hampton Dellinger, a North Carolina lawyer who attended the trial, said Edwards' gutsy decisions to turn down a reported plea offer and skip taking the stand had paid off. "There's no question he drove the defense strategy," Dellinger said. "He made tough call after tough call, and it worked out for him." (Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst and Dan Trotta; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Anthony Boadle) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Romney to submit personal financial statement on Friday

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Romney to submit personal financial statement on Friday May 31st 2012, 22:35 Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks at the former Solyndra headquarters and factory in Fremont, California, May 31, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Beck Diefenbach By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON | Thu May 31, 2012 6:35pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to deliver his latest personal financial disclosure statement to federal elections authorities on Friday, government and campaign sources said. The financial statement, which last year ran to 28 pages, is expected to show that Romney sold "nearly all" his holdings in individual stocks since last year. Instead, he moved substantial wealth into cash, according to an analysis posted earlier this month on the Forbes.com website. Government officials said that although Romney legally was required to submit his financial disclosure to the Federal Election Commission by Friday, it was unclear whether officials there would immediately make it public. Before releasing the document, FEC lawyers will examine it for completeness and, if required information is missing, will work with the Romney campaign to fill holes. One official said that the FEC may take up to 30 days to review the document or could decide to release it immediately. The Romney campaign also has the option of publicly releasing the material. Forbes estimated Romney's current net worth at $230 million, split between nine different asset classes. This suggests that his wealth is roughly the same as it was a year ago, when news organizations published estimates of between $190 million and $250 million. Forbes said its latest wealth estimate was based not only on his 2011 financial disclosure but also on "discussions with high-level Romney officials familiar with specific changes to his holdings since that report." Romney's campaign did not respond to questions about Forbes' account of Romney's current wealth and holdings. Forbes said Romney has the "biggest chunk" of his money - $91 million or more - invested in debt securities, including $36 million worth of Federal Home Loan Bank securities and $10 million in notes from Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas. The website said that in recent months Romney "dumped" some foreign equities but bought debt issued by the governments of Canada, Australia and Sweden. He also holds a $400,000 note from the family's horse trainer. Forbes said that Romney currently holds an estimated $52 million or more in investments related to Bain Capital, the private equity firm he launched in the 1980s and left in the late 1990s. He still holds stakes in what Forbes described as "dozens" of Bain investment funds. Forbes said that Romney holds another $29 million in "alternative investments." This includes more than $1 million invested with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer. Forbes said the account delivered Romney a net return of 4 percent in 2011, a year in which the average hedge fund return was -5 percent. Forbes said that Romney's holdings include another $23 million or more in exchange-traded and mutual funds, real property worth $18 million or more and gold worth around $260,000. Since last August, the amount of cash held by the Romneys has jumped from around $1 million to around $16 million, it said. While most of his cash is in US dollars, Romney also holds small amounts of Australian, Canadian and British currency, it said. SHED MOST INDIVIDUAL STOCKS Forbes quoted "sources" saying that since last August, Romney shed what it described as shares in 71 individual companies, including McDonalds, Google, Apple, JPMorgan and Walmex. The website said that Romney still holds only three individual stocks: Ford Motor, Marriott International and Marriott Vacations Worldwide. Forbes noted that Romney has deep ties to the Marriott family, who are fellow Mormons. Romney's 2011 financial disclosure included equity holdings in several publicly traded Chinese companies, among them Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Hang Lung PPTYS Ltd and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. All of these were held by Romney through Thornburg Investment Management in an account for which, Romney said, "all investment decisions are made by Thornburg, as manager, and not by Mr. Romney..." Forbes said that Romney had "in recent months...dumped foreign equities held through Thornburg Investment Management." In campaign appearances, Romney has sometimes taken a hard line on China, saying that on Day One of a Romney presidency he would label China a "currency manipulator." In a Wall Street Journal op-ed last February, Romney expressed concern that "a China that is a prosperous tyranny will increasingly pose problems for us, for its neighbors, and for the entire world." (Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Cynthia Osterman) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Senate contender Warren denies using ethnicity for unfair gain

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Senate contender Warren denies using ethnicity for unfair gain May 31st 2012, 22:27 Elizabeth Warren, Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, gestures as she testifies at a hearing about oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 24, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst By Ros Krasny BOSTON | Thu May 31, 2012 6:27pm EDT BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has acknowledged for the first time she told two prestigious law schools she had a Native American heritage but disputed suggestions that she used her ethnicity to help gain employment at the universities. The Democrat later lashed out at Republican Scott Brown, who she is expected to face in the tight race for the U.S. Senate seat for Massachusetts in November, for impugning her parents' truthfulness on the topic of her lineage. "I let people know about my Native American heritage in a national directory of law school personnel. At some point after they hired me, I also provided that information to the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard," Warren said in an email to supporters on Thursday. A similar statement was published late on Wednesday by the Boston Globe. The Native American issue has dogged the Harvard Law School professor and former Obama administration official for weeks, and given Brown a way to challenge Warren's integrity. When the issue surfaced in April, Warren said she only learned that Harvard counted her as a minority hire in the 1990s when she read a report in the Boston Herald. "Scott Brown also claims I got special breaks because of my background. That's not true," Warren said. Warren, 62, hails from Oklahoma, a Great Plains state which has among the highest proportion of people with Native American ethnicity in the United States. She has said her Native American heritage was part of her family's oral history. "My mother, grandmother, and aunts were open about my family's Native American heritage, and I never had any reason to doubt them," Warren told supporters. "My heritage is a part of who I am - and I am proud of it." The Warren campaign has said she is 1/32nd Cherokee, one of Oklahoma's largest Native American tribes. That would be the equivalent of having a Cherokee among her great-great-great grandparents. She does not have an official affiliation with a Native American tribe or community but contributed to a 1984 cookbook, "Pow Wow Chow," published by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Speaking to reporters in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, Brown suggested Warren's family might have been exaggerating. "My mom and dad have told me a lot of things too, but they're not always true," Brown said. Warren fired back. "Brown's comments about my parents are totally out of line. I resent him questioning their honesty. My mother and father are not here to defend themselves and should be off limits." Opinion polls have shown a tight race between Warren, a liberal consumer advocate, and Brown, the centrist Republican who in 2010 won the Senate seat held by the late Edward Kennedy, a stalwart of the Democratic Party for more than four decades. Democrats see the Massachusetts seat as a prime target to pick up in November as the party attempts to hold onto its slim Senate majority. Democrats have a 51-47 advantage over Republicans in the 100-seat Senate, with two independents, but are defending more than 20 seats against Republican challengers in November, while Republicans are defending only about half that many. (Editing by Todd Eastham) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Lawmakers tell Obama to rein in energy exports

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Lawmakers tell Obama to rein in energy exports May 31st 2012, 21:48 By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON | Thu May 31, 2012 5:48pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama must crack down on energy exports from the United States to protect consumers and manufacturers from price spikes, two influential Democrats said on Thursday. Obama needs to use his authority to limit exports of natural gas, as well as coal and petroleum products, and lay out a framework for assessing whether such exports are in the national interest, Congressman Edward Markey and Senator Ron Wyden said in a letter to the president. "A dramatic increase in exports of American energy will likely have significant implications for our economy, for the competitiveness of American industries and for consumers," the lawmakers argued. "We are concerned that these implications have not yet been fully thought through." Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources committee, and Wyden, who will likely be the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee next year, have been two of the most prominent critics of industry plans to send some of the nation's newfound natural gas bounty abroad. They have raised concerns that exports of liquefied natural gas could harm resurgent domestic manufacturers that have benefited from cheap natural gas prices. The shale gas boom has pushed U.S. natural gas costs down to 10-year lows, but producers say these prices are not sustainable and exports are needed to offset excess production. The U.S. Department of Energy's authorization is needed to export natural gas to all but a handful of countries. After approving gas exports from Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal last year, the Obama administration put a hold on further approvals until a study it commissioned on the economic implications of exports is completed. That study is due out later this summer. Markey and Wyden said the president has the power under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 to set rules for energy exports beyond just natural gas, pointing out that in 2011, the United States became a net exporter of petroleum products for the first time in 62 years. The lawmakers called for the federal government to consider four factors when weighing energy exports: national security, energy security, economic impacts and environmental protection. (Editing by Marguerita Choy) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: U.S. House Republicans propose new student loan rate ideas

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

U.S. House Republicans propose new student loan rate ideas May 31st 2012, 20:51 WASHINGTON | Thu May 31, 2012 4:51pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican congressional leaders, seeking to end a standoff over maintaining low interest rates on federal student loans, on Thursday offered President Barack Obama two new options to cover the $6 billion cost of a one-year extension. But it appeared doubtful that either proposal would win the needed support before a July 1 deadline when the interest rate is set to double to 6.8 percent for 7.4 million students. Republicans said it may not be resolved until after July 1, but that a retroactive agreement could then be approved. Senate Democrats reiterated that they would seek a compromise as members of both parties again accused each other of bargaining in bad faith. With Democrats and Republicans having rejected earlier funding proposals, Republican leaders wrote to Obama to suggest new ways to find common ground. One option would pay for an extension of the 3.4 percent interest rate by cutting federal workers' retirement benefits. The second option would cover the cost by improving information collection to guard against Social Security overpayments, change tax provisions related to the Medicaid healthcare program and shorten the time that student loans can be interest free. "There is no reason we cannot quickly and in a bipartisan manner enact fiscally responsible legislation," Republican leaders wrote. The letter was signed by House Speaker John Boehner, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and assistant Senate Republican leader Jon Kyl. A senior Democratic aide said it is "tough to take seriously" the proposals given that Boehner had reportedly said earlier that an agreement was unlikely to be reached. Politico reported that Boehner told a closed-door meeting of House Republicans it was doubtful that Congress would be able to prevent a doubling of the interest rate before the end of June, and blamed the Democratic-led Senate. A senior Republican aide said the speaker told colleagues that if no deal is reached by July 1, the problem could be fixed retroactively. Boehner also said that Obama wants to "fabricate fights on things like student loans" because he is "out of ideas" and doesn't want to talk about "his failed policies," the aide said. Senator Charles Schumer, a member of Democratic leadership, ripped into Boehner based on the report by Politico. "These overheard comments by Speaker Boehner confirm our suspicions that Republicans were never serious about wanting to stop rates from doubling on college students," Schumer said. "In the Senate, we are going to persist in finding a compromise," Schumer said. The Republican-led House passed a bill last month to pay for a renewal of the lower interest rate by taking money from Obama's healthcare overhaul. Senate Democrats rejected the bill, preferring instead to cover the cost by plugging a tax loophole for the rich. Republicans have called the Democratic approach a non-starter. (Reporting by Thomas Ferraro; editing by Christopher Wilson) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Boehner holds firm on no tax-hike pledge

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Boehner holds firm on no tax-hike pledge May 31st 2012, 20:00 U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) lowers his head during an event to commemorate Holocaust victims and survivors in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington April 19, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Benjamin Myers By David Lawder WASHINGTON | Thu May 31, 2012 4:00pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday dismissed suggestions that Republicans were warming to raising revenue as a part of a plan to cut the deficit, adding that tax hikes on millionaires would cost jobs. The top Republican in Congress blasted a proposal from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to raise taxes only on those earning more than $1 million, saying it would hurt too many small business owners, who hire the most U.S. workers. "I believe that raising taxes at this point in our recovery is a big mistake," Boehner told reporters. "At a time when we're trying to help small businesses create jobs, this proposal would kill jobs." Boehner's comments came after some Senate Republicans recently indicated they might be willing to change some key parts of U.S. tax law to eliminate some exemptions, credits and deductions as a part of broad tax reforms that would allow income tax rates to be lowered while shrinking federal deficits. In a sign of potential progress, a bipartisan group of 47 senators and as many House members are working with the leaders of a 2010 fiscal commission - former Republican Senator Alan Simpson and Democratic ex-White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles - on a plan to solve U.S. fiscal problems [ID:nL1E8GR09O]. The commission's recommendations to shrink deficits through tax hikes and spending cuts were not adopted, but still serve as a model for some in Congress who favor a more pragmatic approach to deficit reduction. A so-called "grand bargain" on taxes, deficit- and debt- reduction is not likely until after the November 6 election, but both parties are trying to lay the groundwork for legislation to deal with the expiring tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush. In April, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was overheard saying at a private fundraiser that he might seek to limit tax deductions for mortgages as a revenue-raising measure and reduce tax credits as part of a plan to slash U.S. tax rates by 20 percent. Aides later said Romney was simply throwing out ideas, not outlining policy. In the Republican-controlled House, where fiscal conservatives aligned with the Tea Party movement have held sway, any plan to bring in more tax revenue is expected to be extremely difficult to pass. Nearly all House Republicans have signed a pledge promoted by influential conservative activist Grover Norquist to reject tax increases. Boehner told reporters that the House, in June, would vote to extend current tax rates into next year, bringing certainty to the tax code for businesses reluctant hire workers for fear of their tax bills rising. The move is intended avoid a spike in rates that would hurt economic growth and to buy time for Congress to craft a broader tax reform plan, but it is likely to stall in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Meanwhile, Pelosi continued to push on Thursday for her plan to raise taxes on millionaires, which caused a stir last week because it represented a retreat from Democrats' longstanding position of raising taxes on those making more than $250,000. "I urge the Speaker to bring a middle income tax cut to the floor of the House. Put on the table whatever you want to put on the table. Let's have that debate," Pelosi told reporters. Reiterating a key campaign theme of President Barack Obama's Democrats, Pelosi said Republicans will show voters that they will go "to any length to protect the wealthiest people in America at the expense of the middle class." More revenues are needed to shrink deficits, she added. "Everybody has to pay his or her fair share." (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Jackie Frank) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Bush portrait unveiling mixes laughs, politics at White House

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Bush portrait unveiling mixes laughs, politics at White House May 31st 2012, 20:11 1 of 3. Former U.S. President George W. Bush unveils his official White House portrait during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington May 31, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON | Thu May 31, 2012 4:11pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only days after former President George W. Bush backed his Republican opponent, President Barack Obama warmly welcomed the Texan back to the White House and praised his "extraordinary service" to the country. Political irony hung over the emotional event that brought Bush and his wife, Laura, back to Washington: the unveiling of their official portraits, which will hang among those of other U.S. presidents in the Grand Foyer of the White House. Bush, who has made no secret of his disdain for Washington since returning to Texas, entered the room to the tune of "Hail to the Chief," a song he considered pretentious during his time in office. "Welcome back to the house you called home for eight years," Obama told the Bushes. After bashing Bush's policies in his 2008 race and often since then, Obama praised his predecessor for his handling of the September 11, 2001 attacks and for his work on the financial crisis. After Obama spoke, Bush came to the stage, looked at the portraits of himself and his wife, turned to the crowd and winked. Bush's portrait by artist John Howard Sanden shows him in the Oval Office, wearing a gray suit and blue tie, his hand resting on an arm chair. His lips are closed with a slight smile on his face. Mrs. Bush was portrayed wearing a midnight blue gown and standing in the White House's Green Room, which she helped refurbish in 2007. Portrait unveiling ceremonies are traditionally devoid of partisan rhetoric, but in an election year, politics was in the air. Among the cheering crowd of former Bush administration officials and friends was former adviser Karl Rove, who now runs a group that is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat Obama on November 6. Bush played on the irony in a humorous quip to Obama. "I am also pleased, Mr. President," he said, "that when you are wandering these halls as you wrestle with tough decisions, you will now be able to gaze at this portrait and ask, 'What would George do?'" Obama drew laughs when thanking his predecessor for leaving the White House equipped with a premium television sports package. "I use it!" Obama said. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama joined the former first couple as well as President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, for lunch before the unveiling. The elder Bush, soon to be 88, was rolled by wheelchair into the East Room, where the portrait event was held. The former first lady snapped photos from her front row seat. Obama and the younger Bush are not close and have met only twice since Bush left office. In 2010, Obama called on Bush and former President Bill Clinton to publicize a drive to raise money for Haiti's earthquake survivors. They met again in 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks together in New York. Obama has met with the senior Bush several times, and White House spokesman Jay Carney made a point on Thursday of saying Obama respected the 41st president's foreign policy positions. He did not say the same about the younger Bush. "We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences," Obama said at the ceremony. "We all love this country. We all want America to succeed." Obama is in facing a tight re-election race against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. While the elder Bush staged an event to endorse Romney, the younger Bush offered his backing two weeks ago in a comment to ABC News as he got on an elevator. The 43rd president has largely stayed out of the limelight since leaving the White House in early 2009. He has steered clear of criticizing his successor although his former aides have bristled at the blame Obama has heaped on Bush. (Editing by Christopher Wilson) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Obama camp attacks Romney record in Massachusetts

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Obama camp attacks Romney record in Massachusetts May 31st 2012, 17:12 U.S. President Barack Obama speaks before signing the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank at the White House in Washington May 30, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque By Ros Krasny BOSTON | Thu May 31, 2012 1:12pm EDT BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's campaign attacked Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday for failing to create jobs as Massachusetts governor, calling it more evidence of a flawed economic approach that would be disastrous in the White House. After weeks of criticizing Romney for plundering companies and slashing jobs while leading a private equity firm, Obama's campaign shifted its attacks to Romney's work in Massachusetts and said his experience did not qualify him to lead. At a raucous appearance outside the Massachusetts statehouse, Obama strategist David Axelrod noted the state ranked 47th in job creation during Romney's four years as governor, while long-term state debt grew. He said Romney also broke a tax-cutting pledge by raising a range of fees that mostly hurt the middle class. "Romney economics didn't work then and it won't work now," Axelrod said, straining to be heard over a group of chanting and heckling Romney supporters on his former turf in Boston. Pointing to the hecklers, Axelrod said they were perhaps Romney's only backers in the state. Opinion polls show Obama with a big lead over Romney in Massachusetts. "It's a harsh judgment from the people who have come to know him best," Axelrod said. Romney's campaign quickly fired back, pointing out the state unemployment rate dropped under Romney and accusing Obama of trying to change the subject from his own poor jobs record. "Only President Obama, who has failed to meet his own goal of 6 percent unemployment, would have the audacity to attack Mitt Romney's record of creating jobs," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. The exchange on jobs and the economy, which polls show is the top concern of American voters, comes one day before the release of the federal government's May jobs report. The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April, when job growth slowed sharply. Romney, who is campaigning and raising money in California, has repeatedly hammered Obama as a poor steward of the sluggish economy who has failed to spur job creation and is hostile to the business world and free markets. On Wednesday night, he focused on criticism of the Obama administration's $535 million in loan guarantees given to Solyndra, a solar panel company that went bankrupt despite the loans. 'THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND' "The president doesn't understand that when he invests like that in one solar energy company, he makes it harder for solar technology generally. Because the scores of other entrepreneurs in the solar field suddenly lost their opportunity to get capital," he said during a Bay Area fundraiser on Wednesday night. "Who wants to put money in a solar company when the government puts a half a billion into one of its choice? So instead of encouraging solar energy, he discouraged it. They don't understand how the free economy works," he said. Romney clinched the Republican nomination earlier this week with a victory in the Texas primary, although the race had been over for weeks as his top rivals suspended their campaigns. Polls show the two candidates running neck and neck nationwide and in many of the crucial battleground states that will be essential to gathering the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House. A NBC/Marist College poll released on Thursday showed Romney and Obama virtually deadlocked in three vital swing states - Iowa, Colorado and Nevada. The Obama campaign has hit Romney hard for his years as head of the Bain Capital private equity fund, accusing it of bleeding jobs from companies to maximize profits before, in some cases, shutting them down. The criticism has worried some Democrats who fear the attacks could turn off independent voters and be seen as criticism of free enterprise. At his appearance in Boston, Axelrod was joined on stage by a mix of Massachusetts Democrats, some of whom served under Romney. Many also appeared in a video released by the Obama campaign, called "Broken Promises." John Barrett, the former mayor of North Adams in far northwestern Massachusetts, said in the video an array of new and increased fees implemented during Romney's term, including those for vehicle registration, marriage and burial, "impacted mainly the average middle income person." Romney ended his term as governor with an approval rating of between 34 percent and 39 percent, and turned his attention to a failed 2008 run for the Republican presidential nominee. (Writing by John Whitesides, additional reporting by Sam Youngman; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Vicki Allen) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: Jurors resume talks for ninth day in Edwards campaign money trial

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Jurors resume talks for ninth day in Edwards campaign money trial May 31st 2012, 15:12 Former U.S. Senator John Edwards leaves the federal court house in Greensboro, North Carolina May 30, 2012. A North Carolina jury on Wednesday commenced its eighth day of deliberations into whether former U.S. Senator John Edwards violated federal election laws while trying to conceal his pregnant mistress during his 2008 presidential campaign. Credit: Reuters/Chris Keane

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Politics: California's Senate passes bill to ban gay therapy

Reuters: Politics Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

California's Senate passes bill to ban gay therapy May 31st 2012, 02:46 By Mary Slosson SACRAMENTO | Wed May 30, 2012 10:46pm EDT SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - A bill that would ban a therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality in children and teens passed California's Senate on Wednesday, moving the state a step closer to becoming the first in the nation to ban the controversial treatment. The 23-13 vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say the therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder, and that it can cause depression and lead to substance abuse and suicide. The bill still needs to be passed by the state Assembly and signed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown before it can become law. It is expected to be taken up by the Assembly, also controlled by Democrats, within a month. "These therapies are dangerous," Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said on the Senate floor before the vote, citing the case of Ryan Kendall, an outspoken advocate of gay rights who underwent such therapy as a child. "(Ryan) was told that being gay made God cry," Lieu said. "He testified that for 10 years of his life, he wanted to commit suicide. He has not done that and now he is speaking out against this type of therapy." The Pan American Health Organization, a division of the World Health Organization, said earlier this month that therapy claiming to "cure" people with non-heterosexual sexual orientation lacked medical justification and represented "a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people." Equality California, a civil rights group that co-sponsored the bill, welcomed its passage. "Too many young people have taken their own lives or suffered lifelong harm after being told, falsely, by a therapist or counselor that who they are is wrong, sick or the result of personal or moral failure," Clarissa Filgioun, Equality California Board President, said in a statement. A group opposed to the bill, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, said such therapy could help those who "struggle with unwanted homosexuality" and hoped the California legislature would think twice about a ban. The group said in a statement it was concerned the bill "transfers the oversight of proper psychological care from mental health professionals and licensing boards into the hands of politicians." (Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »