TSA Chief: Body Scan Boycott Would Be Mistake
The Associated Press reports: “With one of the year’s busiest traveling days fast approaching, the Obama administration’s top transportation security official on Monday urged passengers angry over safety procedures not to boycott airport body scans. John Pistole said in nationally broadcast interviews he understands public concerns about privacy in the wake of the Transportation Security Administration’s tough new airline boarding security checks. But at the same time, he said a relatively small proportion of the 34 million people who have flown since the new procedures went into effect have had the body pat downs that have come under withering criticism in recent days.”
Consensus Is Forming On What Steps To Take In Cutting The Deficit
The Washington Post reports: “After an election dominated by vague demands for less debt and smaller government, the sacrifices necessary to achieve those goals are coming into sharp focus. Big cuts at the Pentagon. Higher taxes, including those on home ownership and health care. Smaller Social Security checks and higher Medicare premiums. A debate is raging over the size and shape of those changes, particularly the wisdom of cutting Social Security benefits. But a surprisingly broad consensus is forming around the actions required to stabilize borrowing and ease fears of a European-style debt crisis in the United States.”
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden hosted a breakfast meeting at 8 a.m. ET with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). He will meet at 9:15 a.m. ET with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). At 5 p.m. ET, the Vice President and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will host a Thanksgiving dinner at the Naval Observatory, for Wounded Warriors and families of veterans and service members being treated at area military hospitals.
Gates Speeds Up Delivery Of DADT Report By One Day
The Hill reports: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates is instructing his staff to accelerate by one day the public release of a yearlong study into the implications of repealing the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. That study, initially due Dec. 1, will now be ready for release on Nov. 30 to allow the congressional defense committees to hold hearings on the report as soon as possible.”
Vow To Repeal Health Care Holds Little Promise
The New York Times reports on the difficulties facing Republicans who advocate repeal of health care reform: “More than a few Republicans know that while the politics of trying to nitpick provisions and curb funding are appealing, any wholesale repeal of major provisions of the health care overhaul is likely to generate a backlash. Even the Republican-leaning electorate on Nov. 2 was evenly split on repealing Obamacare, the exit polls showed. And many of the major provisions of the bill command broad support or could expose critics and repeal advocates to embarrassing contradictions.”
New Committee Relationships to Be Tested
Roll Call reports: “The incoming GOP House majority has vowed to fix what it says is a broken committee process. But the untested relationships of the many new chairmen and ranking members may hinder Republicans’ ability to make good on that promise. Nine committees will have a different partnership at the helm, and seven more are still undecided pending the outcome of gavel challenges and leader-appointed posts.”
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