Today’s high prices of energy would be much worse if there were an energy “crisis,” Rep. John Peterson told the National Association of Manufacturers, and knowing that is a good reason for policymakers to take action now to achieve U.S. energy security.
“We need to open up the outer continental shelf [to oil and gas exploration]; we need to do coal to liquids, coal to gas; we need to open up more of Alaska,” the Pennsylvania Republican, who will not seek re-election this year, said in the latest episode of NAM’s “American Business” vodcast. “You know, we need to do a lot of things because the energy crunch — we have these high numbers without a real crisis in the world.”
Congress has chosen “political posturing” over priorities like funding military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and changing the tax code so more Americans aren’t hit with the alternative minimum tax, President Bush said today.
The so-called AMT is designed to ensure that the wealthy pay some taxes despite write-offs, but an estimated 25 million people will have to pay the tax unless Congress exempts them, as it has in recent years. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing an emergency war spending bill that would require troop withdrawals from Iraq to get the money.
The president used his weekly radio address to urge action on both issues before the end of the legislative year in a few weeks. “[U]nless they complete this work soon, middle-class Americans will pay higher taxes and American troops will not receive the critical funding they need to fight and defeat our enemies,” Bush said.
Sen. Bob Casey, R-Pa., criticized Bush in the Democratic address and challenged Republicans in Congress to support the Democratic effort to link troop withdrawal to additional war spending.
“President Bush has asked for nearly $200 billion more to continue the war indefinitely, with no accountability,” Casey said. “This request is unacceptable, and we are negotiating a way forward that will responsibly deploy our troops out of Iraq so that we can transition the mission to training Iraqis, protecting our forces and fighting terrorists.”
As America prepares for another Veterans’ Day on Monday, President Bush today urged Congress to act on two bills aimed at meeting the needs of soldiers who have served the country in the past.
He also scolded lawmakers for delays in sending him the annual bill to fund the Veterans Affairs Department. “The best way members of Congress can give thanks to our veterans is to send me a clean bill that I can sign into law,” Bush said, adding that lawmakers need to quickly confirm James Peake as the next head of the VA.
Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, a former three-star admiral, delivered the Democratic address, touting the Democratic-led Congress’ record on veterans’ issues. He noted that the spending bill would boost the VA’s budget by $6.7 billion, including more money for mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Democrats have also expanded resources for traumatic brain injury and research and rehabilitation while extending from two to four years, following discharge from the military, the eligibility period to receive medical care by the Veterans Administration,” Sestak said. “And we added thousands of VA case workers to reduce unconscionable delays in getting veterans the care they need.”
Federal policy is not a passion for many college students, but the House Education and Labor Committee hopes to make them passionate about at least one bill that President Bush signed into law Thursday.
The legislation would increase funding for Pell Grants to college by $11.4 billion over five years and boost the maximum award from $4,310 to $5,400 over that time period. Grants would be available year-round.
The interest rate on student loans also would be cut in half, saving an average of more than $4,000 per borrower. And people in the military or leaving it could defer loan payments under certain circumstances.
The benefits won’t do any good if students don’t know about them, though, and the committee has opted for a little online creativity in spreading the word. It has created a video with the feel of an online dating service.
“I’ll be honest: I’m into college students,” says a student holding a mock $4,400 check signed by “Congressional Democrats.” “I’m not looking for anything exclusive. I’d just like to get with as many students as I can.”
Here are Bush’s comments about the law at the White House bill-signing ceremony:
UPDATE, 9/30: The Education and Labor Committee also created videos with three panel Democrats — Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania — to tout the new law.
It’s crunch time for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Known by the acronym S-CHIP, the program is set to expire within days, but President Bush and Democrats in Congress remain divided over its future funding. Bush used his weekly radio address to reiterate his veto threat against the bill passed by Democrats.
“The proposal congressional leaders are pushing would raise taxes on working Americans and would raise spending by $35 to $50 billion,” Bush said. “Their proposal would result in taking a program meant to help poor children and turning it into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year. And their proposal would move millions of children who now have private health insurance into government-run health care.
“Our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage — not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage.”
He vowed to continue working toward a compromise and urged Congress to send him a “clean, temporary extension” before S-CHIP funding expires Sept. 30.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell chastised the Bush administration for making renewal of S-CHIP a “partisan issue” and threatening a veto of the bill. “The health of our children is far too important for partisan politics as usual,” Rendell said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address. “A veto battle in Washington would expose millions of children to the risk of losing insurance. That’s simply unacceptable.”
He noted that governors in both parties have been working together to expand health insurance coverage for children. He said the administration approved an expansion of Pennsylvania’s “Cover All Kids” program. “And now we are providing coverage to 93 percent of the children in families where the income is less than 250″ of the federal poverty level.”
But Rendell added that the administration recently changed S-CHIP rules in a way “that could halt the efforts of these and other states to cover more kids.” He urged Americans to contact the White House and their lawmakers and urge them to support legislation to reauthorize the S-CHIP program.
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