Roundup

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | October 22, 2009, 8:56AM

Treasury To Order Steep Pay Cuts At Bailed-Out Firms
The Treasury Department is expected to order bailed-out financial firms to cut their compensation packages for their top executives -- with a 90% slash to base salaries, and a 50% cut to total compensation. Elizabeth Warren, the head of the TARP oversight committee, confirmed the reports: "It's real in the sense that it says,Guys, you have to understand that you can't party on like it's 2007. If you're going to take taxpayer dollars, then the game has to change. In that sense it's real."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will hold a videoconference at 10 a.m. with Lt. General Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. He will meet for lunch at 12:30 p.m. ET with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. At 2:15 p.m. ET, he will sign the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act. He will meet at 3:15 p.m. ET with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, and at 3:45 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | October 8, 2009, 8:59AM

CBO: Budget Deficit Reaches Record $1.4 Trillion
The federal budget deficit for the just-completed fiscal year 2009 reached $1.4 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This record number was due to multiple factors, including falling tax revenues due to the recession, corporate bailouts and stimulus spending. This was triple the previous record of $459 billion, which was reached last year.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will have lunch at 12 p.m. ET with business leaders. At 2:30 p.m. ET, he will visit the National Naval Medical Center Marine Wounded Warrior basketball game. At 3:15 p.m. ET, Obama and Vice President Biden will meet with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, and they will meet at 3:30 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At 5 p.m. ET, Obama will play basketball with cabinet secretaries and members of Congress.

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | September 25, 2009, 9:00AM

Obama Publicly Accuses Iran Of Building Secret Nuclear Facility
President Obama and two other G-20 leaders, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, this morning accused Iran of building a secret facility to produce nuclear fuel. Obama said that "the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama held a news conference at 8:30 a.m. ET, in Pittsburgh. At 9:30 a.m. ET, he will attend the morning G-20 plenary session. He will attend the G-20 leaders lunch, at 12:45 p.m. ET, followed by the afternoon G-20 plenary session at 2 p.m. ET, and another news conference at 4:40 p.m. ET. He will depart from Pittsburgh at 6:10 p.m. ET, arriving back at the White House at 7:20 p.m. ET.

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Barack Obama

Obama Calls Out GOP For Spending Big Without Paying For It; Cantor Types On BlackBerry

Eric Kleefeld | September 9, 2009, 8:51PM

President Obama just pledged to be fiscally responsible with the health care bill -- and he called out the Republicans who might criticize him, for having been very irresponsible during this past decade:

"First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits - either now or in the future. Period. And to prove that I'm serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize. Part of the reason I faced a trillion dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for - from the Iraq War to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care."

During the applause by the Democrats, the news cameras then went to the Republican leadership -- where House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) could be seen looking down, typing out something on his BlackBerry.

Barack Obama

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | August 22, 2009, 1:12PM

Obama Takes On "Willful Misrepresentations" In Health Care Debate
In this weekend's Youtube address, President Obama attacked and set out to rebut what he called the "willful misrepresentations and outright distortions" in the health care debate:

"This is an issue of vital concern to every American, and I'm glad that so many are engaged," said Obama. "But it also should be an honest debate, not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most by keeping things exactly as they are."

GOP Rep. Price: Obama "Plays Fast And Loose With The Facts"
In this weekend's Republican address, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) said that it's President Obama who is the one saying things that aren't true in the health care debate, even as he says he's trying to fight disinformation:

"As opposition to the Democrats' government-run health plan is mounting," said Price, "the President has said he'd like to stamp out some of the disinformation floating around out there. The problem is the President, himself, plays fast and loose with the facts."

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | August 17, 2009, 9:01AM

Public Option May Be Dropped
The Obama administration appears to be getting closer to dropping the public option as a proposal, shifting to a co-op plan with a better chance of passing. "The president is going to continue to try to persuade everyone of the great value of having a true public plan," an unnamed Democrat close to the White House told the New York Times. "But at the end of the day, I believe he recognizes that there are other, arguably less effective, ways to achieve greater coverage, more choice, better quality and lower cost in our system."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will deliver remarks at the VFW National Convention in Phoenix, at 2 p.m. ET. He and the First Lady will depart from Phoenix at 3:20 p.m. ET, and arrive back at the White House at 7:35 p.m. ET.

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer: We'll Pass Health Care With -- Or Without -- Republicans

Brian Beutler | August 7, 2009, 2:38PM

On MSNBC this afternoon, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) once again trotted out the possibility that Democrats will pass health care reforms through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process if Republicans try to extract too many concessions from the bill.

"We are making concessions," Schumer said. "But there's a limit."

"I wouldn't take anything off the table," he added.

It's the second time in a week that Schumer--who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, and who was a Finance Committee point man on the public option before being closed out of negotiations--has floated the idea. President Obama did the same this week, and though it's unclear whether the messages are co-ordinated, the two are meeting, at Schumer's request, tonight.

Budget

Baucus Says New Deadline For Health Care: Sept. 15, With Or Without The GOP

Brian Beutler | July 31, 2009, 3:45PM

After delaying and delaying health care legislation, and then missing the deadline to complete work on a bill by August recess, Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) now says the new deadline for health care reform is September 15--one week after Senate returns to work.

Crucially, though, he says his committee will begin marking up legislation with or without GOP support. In other words, it's put up or shut up time for Republicans.

Baucus may have little choice. Mid-September would leave precious little time for the bill to be merged with the Senate HELP committee's legislation, debated, and passed on the floor before October when Congress is set to pass a budget reconciliation bill. A budget reconciliation bill can't be filibustered, and Democrats have kept alive the possibility of passing reform legislation (or certain aspects of reform legislation) via reconciliation, if Republicans don't allow a vote on a stand-alone reform bill by the fall.

Health Care

Harkin: 60 Democrats May Not Be Enough For Health Care; Reconciliation A Distinct Possibility

Brian Beutler | July 13, 2009, 9:17AM

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, is at odds with some of his liberal colleagues. Unlike Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Harkin thinks it may be hard to keep the 60 members of the Democratic caucus united against Republican filibusters--and that means the party may pass health care reform through the budget reconciliation process.

"I think Democrats being Democrats -- like Will Rogers once said, 'I'm a member of no organized political party: I'm a Democrat' -- I think that holds true today," Harkin told the Iowa Gazette.

Under those circumstances--and with Republicans largely united against all of President Obama's agenda items--how will Democrats possibly pass a major initiative like health care reform? In a budget reconciliation bill, it seems, which can't be filibustered. Harkin called that a "distinct possibility."

Democrats in both chambers are hoping to pass a health care bill through regular order by the beginning of August, and have it ready for the president to sign by October, ahead of the budget reconciliation bill--but time is running out.

Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | June 26, 2009, 9:01AM

Climate-Change Bill In The Balance
Democratic leaders in the House are working hard to pass the climate-change bill today, containing a cap-and-trade system for limiting carbon emissions, with Dems from industrial states holding the balance of power on the issue. Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought yesterday to rebut Republican charges that the bill would cost jobs, insisting instead, "It will create millions of new jobs."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will meet one-on-one with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at 10:30 a.m., with an expanded meeting at 11 a.m. ET, a joint press availability at 11:30 a.m. ET, and a working lunch at 12 p.m. ET. Obama will meet with Vice President Biden at 1:30 p.m. ET. At 6:15 p.m. ET, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will host a picnic for White House staff.

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Auto Industry

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | June 1, 2009, 9:00AM

GM Declares Bankruptcy; Government To Have Majority Share
General Motors has filed for bankruptcy as part of a government-led reorganization. The federal government will provide an additional $30 billion in aid -- and will have a majority share in the company of 60%. The plan is for GM to emerge from the bankruptcy within 60-90 days with a smaller work force, fewer plants and a reduced number of dealerships.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be speaking at 11:55 a.m. ET, on the General Motors bankruptcy deal. At 1:20 p.m. ET, he will visit the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. At 4:45 p.m. ET, he will meet with the National Economic Council staff.

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Judd Gregg

An Accidental Moment Of Candor From Judd Gregg: With Franken Tied Up, 'We Can Do A Lot With 40 Votes'

Brian Beutler | May 12, 2009, 12:25PM

A Congressional Quarterly article about GOP efforts to get conservative Democrats to oppose major legislation contains an interesting admission from Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH).

Acording to the piece, Republicans "have vowed to block, reshape or defeat a number of Democratic initiatives in coming months, even though Specter's defection has left the Senate Republican caucus with just 40 members."

But in a 99-member Senate, 40 votes are enough to keep Democrats from cutting off debate on major legislation. "Usually you need 41 votes to get anything done around here. But right now, you can do a lot with 40 votes,'' said Judd Gregg

In a 99-seat Senate, 40 votes isn't nearly enough to "get anything done." Not at all. It is rather the bare minimum necessary to make sure nothing gets done. And it explains why so many Republican senators will routinely vote against cloture on major Democratic agenda items. It's called a filibuster--and it isn't typically thought of as way to "get stuff done."

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Budget

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | May 11, 2009, 9:02AM

Obama Meeting With Health Industry On Lowering Costs
President Obama is meeting today with drug companies, insurance companies, hospital executives and doctors to work on an industry initiative to decrease health care costs by $2 trillion over 10 years. The New York Times points out that the government wouldn't necessarily have a direct way to hold industry to these promises, but that the industry itself is undertaking this initiative in order to head off direct price constraints from being imposed by the government.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be meeting with health care reform stakeholders at 11:30 a.m. ET in the Roosevelt Room. At 12:30 p.m. ET, he will deliver remarks from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on reforming the health care system and reducing costs. At 2 p.m. ET, he will welcome the University of North Carolina men's basketball team an the South Portico.

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | May 8, 2009, 9:00AM

Cheney Says GOP Shouldn't Moderate Itself, Stresses "Our Commitment To The Constitution"
During an appearance on a right-wing talk radio show, former Vice President Dick Cheney said the Republican Party should not moderate itself. Cheney explained: "This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas ... what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be speaking at 11:30 a.m. ET from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the subjects of job creation and job training. At 3:15 p.m. ET, he will meet in the Oval Office with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | May 7, 2009, 8:59AM

Obama To Seek $17 Billion In Budget Cuts
President Obama is set to announce today a proposed $17 billion in budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2010. Already, the proposed cuts are getting some pretty negative reviews from the Associated Press and the Washington Post, as being too small. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag defended the cuts this morning on MSNBC: "But $17 billion a year is not chump change by anyone's accounting."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be speaking at 10:35 a.m. ET from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the proposed budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2010. At 12:45 p.m. ET, he will meet in the Oval Office with Al Sharpton, Mike Bloomberg and Newt Gingrich to discuss education reform. At 2 p.m. ET, he will meet with Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer. At 2:45 p.m. he will meet with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. At 4:15 p.m. ET he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

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Budget

The Budget Passes Both Houses--Specter, Republicans Vote No

Brian Beutler | April 29, 2009, 6:02PM

The Senate has passed the President's budget by a vote of 53-43.

Just as earlier this month when the Senate passed it's version of the resolution (and just as in the House earlier today) not a single Republican voted for it. And just as last time, they were joined by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Ben Nelson (D-NE). And just as last time, Sen. Arlen Specter voted against it, too. Except last time around he was a Republican.

I'll post the full roll call when it becomes available.

Late update: Statements from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell below the fold.

Late late update: Here's the roll call. Specter's still listed as a Republican. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) also voted with the Republicans, presumably over the issue of reconciliation.

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Climate Change

Climate Change Amendment Stricken From Budget

Brian Beutler | April 29, 2009, 1:25PM

This is a little bit deep in the weeds, but you may recall that back in early April when the Senate was debating the budget, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced an amendment meant to prevent the Senate from passing climate change legislation through the reconciliation process, and it passed by a wide margin.

Well, in conference, that amendment was stripped out completely. Mike Johanns is very unhappy. But that doesn't mean that a cap-and-trade program will absolutely be established during the reconciliation process. And it doesn't mean that Democrats will be hanging the threat over Republicans' heads the way they are with health reform. In fact, the conference report basically says this won't happen. But technically there won't be anything (other than Senate politics) stopping Democrats from doing so.

Budget

Budget Update: House Passes Final, Final Budget

Brian Beutler | April 29, 2009, 11:57AM

The complete Roll Call isn't posted yet, but the final tally was 233-193. The Senate votes next, and then all of it--including the threat of an October 15 health and education reform deadline--will be a done deal. I'll update this post when that happens.

Late update: House Roll Call here. As you can see, it got zero Republican votes, just as the House budget resolution got zero votes, and just the stimulus got zero votes. A complete coincidence, I'm sure. Seventeen Democrats voted no as well.

Judd Gregg

Gregg: Democrats Trying To 'Roll The Minority' On Health Reform

Brian Beutler | April 28, 2009, 2:43PM

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), ranking member on the Budget Committee, has an interesting position on the question of passing legislation through the budget reconciliation process. That is to say, he unequivocally opposes the procedure in all circumstances (unless those circumstances involve Republican agenda items like tax cuts). We've tracked his swings here pretty thoroughly, and noticed that he was at it again today on Fox News. Watch:

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | April 28, 2009, 8:59AM

Congressional Dems Reach Budget Agreement
House and Senate Democratic negotiators agreed Monday night to a budget outline for 2010, including the parliamentary ability to pass health care legislation without the threat of a Republican filibuster. The $3.5 trillion plan also includes funds for clean energy and other domestic programs, and a tax increase for individuals making more than $200,000 or couples making more than $250,000 per year.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will meet with FBI Director Robert Mueller and other senior officials at FBI Headquarters, at 10:45 a.m. ET. He will then deliver remarks to FBI employees at 11:10 a.m. ET. At 2 p.m. ET, Obama will meet with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. At 3:05 p.m. ET, he will present the National Teacher of the Year Award in the Rose Garden. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he will meet with Defense Sec. Robert Gates, and at 7:30 p.m. ET he and the First Lady will attend a reception for Cabinet secretaries in the Blue Room.

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | April 28, 2009, 8:59AM

Congressional Dems Reach Budget Agreement
House and Senate Democratic negotiators agreed Monday night to a budget outline for 2010, including the parliamentary ability to pass health care legislation without the threat of a Republican filibuster. The $3.5 plan also includes funds for clean energy and other domestic programs, and a tax increase for individuals making more than $200,000 or couples making more than $250,000 per year.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will meet with FBI Director Robert Mueller and other senior officials at FBI Headquarters, at 10:45 a.m. ET. He will then deliver remarks to FBI employees at 11:10 a.m. ET. At 2 p.m. ET, Obama will meet with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. At 3:05 p.m. ET, he will present the National Teacher of the Year Award in the Rose Garden. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he will meet with Defense Sec. Robert Gates, and at 7:30 p.m. ET he and the First Lady will attend a reception for Cabinet secretaries in the Blue Room.

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Harry Reid

In Letter, Reid Sends Warning Shot At Senate Republicans--Cooperate On Health Care

Brian Beutler | April 27, 2009, 12:34PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has sent a letter to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warning that--as we reported Friday--Democrats will give Republicans until mid-October to reach a compromise on comprehensive health care legislation before the Democrats use the budget reconciliation process to circumvent the filibuster and pass reform.

Nearly 46 million Americans - including 15 percent of your constituents in Kentucky - have no health insurance, and the problem grows worse by the day. In Nevada, more than one out of three people under the age of 65 went without health insurance during 2007 and 2008 - and more than three-quarters of them went without health care for six months or longer.

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Barack Obama

Obama Official: Conservative Dems Are 'Bad Guys'

Brian Beutler | April 27, 2009, 9:36AM

The fact that President Obama's agenda routinely gets fewer Republican votes than you can count on one hand has become something of a running joke in Washington, and goes a long way toward explaining the acrimony between the two parties today. The administration may have been unaware that "bipartisanship" wouldn't work in practice, but they learned that lesson quickly.

But there's a more complicated, intraparty relationship--the one between party leaders and conservative Democrats--that's at least as crucial, and that's giving the administration a harder time. As we've documented, here, the White House and party leaders on the Hill have gone out of their way to squelch grassroots efforts to target Blue Dog Democrats in the House and conservative Democrats in the Senate, and, for the most part, those groups have complied. But how does the administration really feel about them?

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | April 25, 2009, 1:11PM

Obama: Fiscal Discipline Needed
In this weekend's Presidential YouTube address, President Obama discussed his goal of making government more efficient and controlling spending, such as the re-introduction of PAYGO principles:

"We cannot sustain deficits that mortgage our children's future, nor tolerate wasteful inefficiency," said Obama. "Government has a responsibility to spend the peoples' money wisely, and to serve the people effectively."

GOP Address: Dems Have Put Us Behind France
In this weekend's RNC YouTube message, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) warned that the Democrats have put behind the French on issues like fiscal discipline and energy -- so much so that the United States would be ineligible to join the European Union:

"Now of course we don't want to be in the European Union," said Alexander. "We're the United States of America. But French deficits are lower than ours, and their president has been running around sounding like a Republican -- lecturing our president about spending so much."

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Budget

Democrats Strike Blow For Health Care--Budget Will Contain Reconciliation Process

Brian Beutler | April 24, 2009, 2:31PM

Congressional Quarterly and The New Republic are reporting that House and Senate negotiators, along with members of the Obama administration, have determined that the final budget will include reconciliation instructions for health care.

As I detailed in this post--already outdated--that's a huge deal. Keep the date October 15 in mind. If the House and Senate don't agree on a comprehensive health reform bill by that date, this tactic will be operative.

Now the conferees will smooth over other discrepancies between the House and Senate budgets and then both bodies will vote on a final resolution.

Budget

Senate Names Budget Conferees--So What About Reconciliation?

Brian Beutler | April 24, 2009, 1:30PM

Just as a quick addendum to this post: The Senate agreed last night to send Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH)--the chair and ranking member of the Budget Committee--and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to the budget conference committee. There they will hash out all the differences between the Senate's budget and the House's.

So what does this mean for reconciliation? Recall that reconciliation is a process that allows Congress to circumvent a filibuster, and, potentially, an avenue for passing major reform with little room for obstruction or debate. It's a potentially huge deal and, at the very least, a tool that could provide Democrats tons of leverage in their pursuit of health reform through the standard legislative process. The House budget includes reconciliation "instructions", but the Senate bill does not, and the crucial question--will the final budget include reconciliation instructions?--will be settled in the conference committee.

Conrad and Gregg have made their opposition to the process known (though according to The Hill, "Conrad told reporters that he doesn't want to use reconciliation rules to pass healthcare reform but that he is feeling pressure to include the option in the budget resolution from House members and the Obama administration").

But what about Murray?

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Budget

Budget Update: House Names Conferees, 23 Dems Vote Against Reconciliation

Brian Beutler | April 22, 2009, 5:23PM

Now that Congress is back in session, House and Senate negotiators will have to get together in conference committee to resolve the differences between their budgets, which they passed in the days before the most recent recess. Moments ago the House chose Reps. John Spratt, Rosa DeLauro, and Allen Boyd to be their conferees.

More on them in a second. Recall first that there are some important discrepancies between the two resolutions, most notably that the House budget contains reconciliation instructions for health care and the Senate does not. Republicans (and some Democrats) aren't pleased, and are doing whatever they can to kill reconciliation altogether. So how is that fight shaping up so far?

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Budget

NRCC Targets Dems On Budget, Focusing Rhetoric Against Pelosi

Eric Kleefeld | April 13, 2009, 1:32PM

The NRCC has announced a new wide-reaching ad campaign, composed of TV and radio spots plus robocalls, targeting key House Democrats over the federal budget. They aren't targeting President Obama -- he's too popular right now, obviously -- but are instead focusing their firepower on Nancy Pelosi.

Here's a TV ad against Rep. Zack Space (D-OH):

"Nancy Pelosi pushed a budget with a trillion-dollar deficit -- and Space voted to let Nancy Pelosi get her way," the announcer says. There's also a radio version of the ad, with this sample against freshman Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA).

Space's district voted for John McCain 53%-45%, and Dahlkemper's went for McCain by less than one point. The NRCC will also have other TV and radio ads and robocalls against a diverse line-up of House Dems, some from Obama districts and others from McCain districts, though all of them are swing seats to various degrees. The full listing is after the jump.

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Budget

Chambliss: Spending Isn't Stimulus Unless It's Defense Spending

Brian Beutler | April 10, 2009, 11:44AM

When the stimulus bill passed in the Senate a couple months ago, it did so with the help of only three Republicans. None of those Republicans was Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

In fact, at the time, Chambliss dismissed the idea that government spending is the proper response to a deep recession entirely.

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Budget

Pentagon: No Comment On House Republican Claim

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 4:16PM

Yesterday I reported that Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, had said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budget proposal was "tantamount to an $8 billion cut in defense spending." His staff had a difficult time defending the number, though, reiterating several times that the figure had come from senior Pentagon officials who'd briefed the committee in advance of Gates' speech.

I just got off the phone with a Pentagon spokesman who said he couldn't get into details about the briefing itself, but that the Pentagon stands by Gates' representation that his outline, if approved by Congress, would amount to a spending increase.

"If people in Congress want to go on the record with what they think they heard" that's their right, said Commander Darryn James.

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Budget

MSNBC Reports Defense Cuts, Guest Corrects Record

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 3:06PM

Here's MSNBC reporting "STEEP CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING".

More specifically, they're reporting "DEFENSE SECY. GATES ANNOUNCES STEEP CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING", when what Gates has announced is modest increase in military spending. In fact, as they reported this, their guest William Cohen, a Republican who served as Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton, was on the air trying to set the record straight--that the Gates proposal constitutes a four percent increase over last years budget. Watch:

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Budget

Conservatives and Republicans: Obama Taking Money From Military To Pay For Agenda

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 11:16AM

Here's the spin you should expect to hear in the coming days and weeks: Obama and the Democrats are cutting defense spending (read: making Americans less safe) to free up money to spend on separate liberal agenda items.

There were whisperings along these lines a couple weeks ago, but the framing appeared in full force yesterday in the Wall Street Journal in an op-ed by Thomas Donnelly and Gary Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute.

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Barack Obama

GOP Rep: Obama Cutting Pentagon Budget, Trying To Charm Enemies Instead

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 10:58AM

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) came forward yesterday with one of the strangest critiques of the defense budget proposal thus far.

While President Obama's short changing of America's Armed Forces is deeply disappointing, it is - unfortunately - not a surprise. Throughout his campaign and during his short tenure as President, he has made it clear that he believes his charm and eloquence are adequate substitutes for a strong military. That will not work. Whether President Obama knows it or not, President Bush's foreign enemies were also America's enemies. He cannot charm them out of their opposition to our country. The cuts announced today, however, take that naivete to a dangerous new level. I intend to do everything I can to make sure they do not actually occur.

Budget

The 'Defense Spending Cuts' Meme Grows

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 9:43AM

Politico, again, reports that "Defense Secretary Robert Gates is steeling himself against blowback from Congress over his sweeping defense cuts, but he's also girding for a fight within the Pentagon's five walls."

But while there is some evidence that there is early opposition within the Pentagon to some specific cuts, Gates has, once again, proposed a budget whose bottom line is higher than last year's.

That's not stopping Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee from piling on, though.

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Budget

House Member: The Pentagon Says This Is A Budget Cut

Brian Beutler | April 7, 2009, 6:54PM

Are senior officials at the Pentagon construing Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budget as a proposed defense spending cut?

Earlier today, I noted that the ranking member on that committee, John McHugh, had told Reuters that the Gates proposal would amount to an $8 billion slash in spending. But the numbers tell a different story: Not counting supplementals, Congress last year appropriated $513 billion to the Pentagon. This year, Gates is asking for $534 billion. If he gets everything he asks for, that's an increase of $21 billion, and Congress could always increase the total beyond that.

I asked McHugh's staff where the notion of an overall spending cut came from, and, when pressed, they had a hard time standing by the idea of a decrease in total dollars.

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Budget

Inhofe: Obama Is 'Gutting Our Military'

Brian Beutler | April 7, 2009, 4:59PM

Via Wired comes Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) accusing President Obama of gutting the military. Speaking from Afghanistan on a YouTube video posted by his press office, and contrasting the Gates proposal to the President's domestic budget, Inhofe said, "in all the time we're doing this, increasing all these welfares...the only thing in the budget that's being cut is military." Watch:

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Budget

Americans United Ad: Tell GOP We Don't Want "No We Won't," We Want "Yes We Can"

Eric Kleefeld | April 7, 2009, 12:07PM

Americans United For Change has this new TV ad praising the passage of President Obama's budget package by both houses of Congress (though it still has to go through the conference process), and blasting Republicans for unanimously voting No:

"Tell the Republican leaders that when it comes to future decisions on health care, energy, education and jobs, America doesn't want 'No We Won't,'" the announcer says. "We want, 'Yes We Can.'"

The ad will run on D.C. cable this week -- essentially aimed at the Washington media elite.

Budget

Let's Talk About Cuts, Baby

Brian Beutler | April 7, 2009, 11:33AM

Reporters aren't the only people mischaracterizing the proposed defense budget overhaul. Members of Congress are doing their part, too. Important members of Congress. Members like Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), the ranking member on the House Armed Services committee, who presumably knows a thing or two about defense budgets.

According to Reuters, "Representative John McHugh...also weighed in, saying the proposals would amount to $8 billion in cuts in defense spending."

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Budget

Media Reports Major Defense Budget Cuts As Obama Proposes Increase In Defense Budget

Brian Beutler | April 7, 2009, 10:48AM

The big news from yesterday (still settling in across Washington) is that President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates teamed up to propose a sweeping overhaul of the defense budget--calling for the elimination of unnecessary systems and spending the savings on special forces, intelligence equipment, and other tools of counterinsurgent warfare.

In other words, by retooling the Pentagon, Obama and Gates plan to move a lot of money around, but they also plan to increase the overall defense budget. In the final year of the Bush administration (and excluding the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) the defense budget was $513 billion. In FY 2010, if Gates and Obama get their way, it will be $534 billion--$534 billion that will be spent much differently than last year's outlays were.

But you'd never know that from the news coverage.

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Arlen Specter

Specter Meets Johnsen, Still Unsure About Her Nomination

Brian Beutler | April 6, 2009, 4:19PM

Senate Republicans may or may not mount a filibuster of Dawn Johnsen, but if they do, it will be a numbers game. Assuming Al Franken is still all tied up in court, Democrats will need at least two Republicans to cross over and vote to end debate on her nomination or it may go nowhere.

One of those Republicans could be Arlen Specter who's the ranking member on the Judiciary committee and the only member of that committee who didn't vote against moving the nomination to the floor. More specifically, he didn't vote at all. He took a pass, saying he'd have to meet with Johnsen personally before he made a decision.

Well, I've just confirmed that the two did meet at the end of last week, and, with that all wrapped up, Specter is...still undecided about the appointment.

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