The Republican Club Of Saint Augustine

Obama pledges to boost U.S. exports

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:27:11 +0000

President Obama on Thursday ordered an all-out effort by the U.S. government to increase exports to create more jobs amid record-high unemployment. "This morning, I signed an executive order instructing the federal government to use every available federal resource in support of that mission," the president told the roughly 1,200 people attending the Export-Import Bank's annual conference in Washington. As part of the president's initiative, he also has created the Export Promotion Cabinet, which will include officials from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and State to execute his plan to double U.S. exports in five years. Mr. Obama said ...

House leaders call pro-life group’s bluff

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:18:42 +0000

A top House Democrat said Thursday that leaders may not have to change the Senate health care bill's abortion-related provisions to meet the demands of 12 members who have threatened to walk. Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Michigan Democrat, has said he and 11 other Democrats who voted for the House bill will oppose the Senate bill unless strong abortion restrictions are added. Coming up with the 216 votes required for passage of the bill would be difficult without those 12, who Mr. Stupak said believe the bill allows for federal funding of abortions. The issue stalled a vote in ...

House GOP bans earmarks for members

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:12:36 +0000

In a move to break with Republicans' big-spending past, House Republicans voted Thursday to ban their members this year from requesting earmarks, or pork-barrel spending projects. House Republicans, who passed the moratorium by voice vote in a closed-door meeting, said they have now put pressure on the rest of Congress -- Republicans in the Senate, and Democrats in both chambers -- to follow their lead. "Today, House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people were serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. "But ...

Public unmoved by Obama’s health bill PR

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:08:41 +0000

For all of President Obama's impassioned speeches trying to sell his health care reform plan to Americans, opposition to the $2 trillion proposal has remained nearly unchanged for months, stretching back to last summer, when town halls across the nation flared with voter discontent. Mr. Obama has been lobbying Americans on his reform bill for just more than a year, beginning on March 5, 2009, at the opening session of the Forum on Health Reform, according to CBS Radio's Mark Knoller, who keeps scrupulous records on the president's daily events. Since then, Mr. Obama has delivered 52 speeches, statements and ...

Rove: We mishandled Katrina recovery

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:12:08 +0000

The Bush administration mishandled the rescue effort after Hurricane Katrina, said Karl Rove, the top adviser to former President George W. Bush. Mr. Rove, 59, said the administration should have used a 1807 law that gives the federal government authority to take control of an insurgent U.S. state. "It was a mistake," Mr. Rove said Thursday in discussing his recent memoir on The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show. "We should have used the legal authority to declare the state an insurgent, taken the political heat of pushing out the state's governor and overruling the African-American mayor of New ...

Dodd offers his own finance regulation bill

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:08:10 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unable to muster bipartisan agreement on key banking provisions, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Thursday he will offer his own version of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations without Republican support. A month of talks between Dodd and Republican Sen. Bob Corker found some common ground but failed to yield agreement on consumer protections and other sticking points. "Together we have made significant progress and resolved many of the items, but a few outstanding issues remain," Dodd said in a statement. Dodd said he still aimed to get a consensus bill, but said time was ...

Both parties in House start war over pork

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:10 +0000

Pork-barrel spending may be on its last legs in the House as Republicans and Democrats join in a bidding war to outdo each other over fighting abusive earmark spending. House Democrats, who control the chamber, said Wednesday they'll impose a ban on earmarks where the government sends money to for-profit corporations, while House Republicans are slated to vote Thursday on whether to impose a complete one-year moratorium on themselves - and increase pressure on Democrats to follow suit. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, told his colleagues in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that the moratorium vote will test ...

Bush’s union transparency rules retracted under Obama

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:09 +0000

The Obama administration promised increased transparency in government but has rolled back rules proposed by the Bush administration that expanded the financial disclosure statements required of labor unions and their leaders. Since President Obama took office, the Labor Department has rescinded or delayed three sets of rules proposed by the George W. Bush administration that would have required unions and their leaders to more specifically detail their finances, according to a review of records by The Washington Times. The rules were rolled back while the Obama administration was seeking more stringent regulation of corporate America, including banks, insurance companies, health ...

House KOs call for speedy Afghanistan withdrawal

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:08 +0000

In an overwhelming show of bipartisan support for President Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan, the House on Wednesday soundly defeated a resolution setting a timetable for withdrawal. The vote, which marked the first time the House has had a full debate on Afghanistan since Mr. Obama announced his surge last year, unleashed years of pent-up frustration from liberal Democrats and a few conservative Republicans angry over the direction the 9-year-old conflict has taken. But the 356-65 vote against withdrawal was a dominant endorsement to give Mr. Obama the time he's asked for to stabilize the troubled nation. "Have we forgotten? ...

Chief justice reignites feud with Obama

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:06 +0000

The simmering feud between the White House and the Supreme Court is getting a little hotter - and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are helping fan the flames. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s impromptu portrayal Tuesday of President Obama's attacks on the high court during the State of the Union address as "very troubling" drew a brusque retort from the White House, which called the court's campaign finance ruling the real problem, and from Democrats eager to attack the court. Responding to a law student's question when speaking at the University of Alabama, Chief Justice Roberts took aim at Mr. ...