WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim DeMint proudly recalls the moment he became a thorn in the side of the Republican establishment.
In the gloomy weeks following the party's throttling in the 2008 elections, the first-term South Carolina senator urged GOP leaders to shake up the seniority rules that he felt were perpetuating a broken culture of parochial spending within the party.
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"I was told eye-to-eye ... 'DeMint, you can't change the Senate,'" he said in an interview in his Capitol Hill office this week. "I said, 'Well, we'll see.' And that's been my challenge ever since."
Two years later, DeMint has done as much as anybody to incite the tea party uprising and bitter infighting that has roiled GOP primaries this year. He's used a newfound political celebrity and resulting fundraising strength to fuel a string of upstart conservatives who were opposed by the party as too extreme or unelectable. He's burned bridges, infuriated party leaders and helped defeat some of his colleagues in the traditionally tight-knit Senate.
He's also become one of the more influential Republican power brokers in Washington, an unlikely leader with a loyal following of conservative activists and a goal of purging the party of what he calls weak-kneed Republicans.
"Some of my establishment friends are not real happy with me," DeMint told a wildly supportive audience Friday at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington. "It's got a lot of people here in Washington scared."
The sometimes blunt former advertising executive is not one for small talk or backslapping. Diplomacy is not his strong suit, although his mom once ran a school of dance and decorum out of his boyhood home in Greenville, S.C.
He's been in Washington for a decade — he also served six years in the House — but claims to not even like politics. He largely avoids the cameras and regularly turns down appearances on Sunday talk shows. He says he had at one time decided to give up his seat after this year, forgoing an all-but-certain re-election.
That was until his frustrations boiled over and he decided to challenge the status quo, forming a fundraising committee with the idea of highlighting candidates he considers true conservatives, and calling out those he doesn't. His Senate Conservatives Fund ranks his colleagues on their positions, often with unflattering scores.
DeMint calls the Bush years embarrassing, saying he knew the party would lose power in 2006 when it drove up spending and debt even though it controlled both chambers of Congress and George W. Bush was in the White House.
"We betrayed the trust of the American people, and I don't want to be a part of a majority that does that again," he said.
That's why he's not concerned that the candidates he's helped catapult to primary victories might lose in the general election. He says he'd rather be in the minority than an unprincipled majority.
He's given more than $3 million to upstart campaigns. While he has some losses, he has often been more prescient than his party in picking winners, providing early backing to underdogs such as Marco Rubio in Florida, Rand Paul in Kentucky and Ken Buck in Colorado.
His latest and most hostile feud with the party machine came in Delaware, where DeMint openly fought with Republican leaders in a contest between moderate Republican Rep. Michael Castle and tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell. While Republican leaders openly attacked O'Donnell's campaign — the state party chairman called her a fraud who couldn't get elected dogcatcher — DeMint gave her money and a key endorsement.
She pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, just after another stunning result in Alaska in which underdog Joe Miller beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
While Democrats welcome running against so many unconventional candidates, many of DeMint's fellow Republicans view him with skepticism, questioning his motivations or criticizing his strategy. None would speak on the record about a fellow senator but behind the scenes are angry that he has so willingly helped divide the party and jeopardized a prime opportunity for the GOP to retake the majority.
DeMint's South Carolina colleague, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, said he admires what DeMint has accomplished but questioned the argument that a hardline minority is better than a big-tent majority.
"To really be in charge up here matters; 50 senators is a lot better than 49," Graham said. "At the end of the day it's a math problem. If you want to repeal Obamacare, you gotta have the votes."
DeMint maintains that the only way for Republicans to regain the majority is to stand more firmly by its beliefs, not to shy away from them, even if that means short-term losses.
He faces token opposition in November from surprise Democratic nominee Alvin Greene, freeing him to focus on national ambitions.
DeMint, who turned 59 earlier this month, insists he has no interest in leadership or higher office. He says he would rather be back home in Greenville writing, sailing and working in advertising or advocacy.
At the same time, he seems genuinely surprised that his crusade has gained so much traction, and curious as to where it might lead.
"I didn't expect it to get this big," he said.
US News
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Zogby: Polling Shows "Small Bump" In Obama Approval Ratings
Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 87:
"The larger dynamics of the midterm elections have not have changed, but at least the president and his party may have begun shifting things in a more positive direction. By directly taking on the GOP leadership (particularly would-be House Speaker John Boehner), Obama is getting the attention of a Democratic base that has longed for him to come out fighting. Democrats have the Republicans off-balance on tax cuts. If the Democrats stand united in extending middle class relief while ending tax breaks on income above $250,000, they might force the GOP to choose between blocking the whole package or giving Obama a popular legislative win right before the election. And Republican primary voters continue helping the Democrats, this time choosing Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell over Rep. Mike Castle in the Delaware Senate race, who would have been a sure winner in November. Finally, our polling showed a small bump in Obama's approval."
This week's grade: C+
Last week's: C-
John Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. Founded and led by Zogby since 1984, Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way Well Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).
US News
John Zogby on Week 87:
"The larger dynamics of the midterm elections have not have changed, but at least the president and his party may have begun shifting things in a more positive direction. By directly taking on the GOP leadership (particularly would-be House Speaker John Boehner), Obama is getting the attention of a Democratic base that has longed for him to come out fighting. Democrats have the Republicans off-balance on tax cuts. If the Democrats stand united in extending middle class relief while ending tax breaks on income above $250,000, they might force the GOP to choose between blocking the whole package or giving Obama a popular legislative win right before the election. And Republican primary voters continue helping the Democrats, this time choosing Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell over Rep. Mike Castle in the Delaware Senate race, who would have been a sure winner in November. Finally, our polling showed a small bump in Obama's approval."
This week's grade: C+
Last week's: C-
John Zogby is president and CEO of Zogby International, a public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. Founded and led by Zogby since 1984, Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way Well Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).
US News
Janet Napolitano Amused by Drudge's 'Big Sis' Nickname
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is "amused" at her Drudge Report moniker "Big Sis," she told reporters in Washington Friday afternoon. "I've made it," the Secretary said with a grin in response to a reporter's question. "Drudge has a nickname for me."
The popular news aggregation Web site has routinely christened Napolitano Big Sis, particularly when referencing stories dealing with privacy concerns surrounding Department of Homeland Security programs. Recent stories about Transportation Security Agency body scanners, for instance, have featured the Big Sis naming convention. It's presumably a veiled reference to Big Brother in George Orwell's dystopian police state novel 1984.
US News
The popular news aggregation Web site has routinely christened Napolitano Big Sis, particularly when referencing stories dealing with privacy concerns surrounding Department of Homeland Security programs. Recent stories about Transportation Security Agency body scanners, for instance, have featured the Big Sis naming convention. It's presumably a veiled reference to Big Brother in George Orwell's dystopian police state novel 1984.
US News
No Personal Attacks: Christine O'Donnell Opens Fall Campaign
WILMINGTON, Del. — Tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell fended off jabs from her Democratic Senate rival about her experience Thursday, meeting him at a candidate forum absent the acrimony that overshadowed her upset primary win over a former governor.
Click here to find out more!
O'Donnell, who defeated former governor and veteran U.S. Rep Michael Castle in a bitter Republican primary Tuesday, met opponent Chris Coons at a standing-room only event that ushers in the fall campaign in a nationally watched U.S. Senate race.
Coons declared in his opening statement at the Wilmington forum that Delaware's next U.S. senator should be somebody who is prepared and has concrete ideas.
O'Donnell, who came under withering criticism from Castle and the state GOP — whose chairman said she couldn't be elected dogcatcher — said her goal was for voters to get to know her between now and November.
"It's no secret that there's been a rather unflattering portrait of me painted these days," said O'Donnell, who was criticized by GOP officials for lying about her background, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included an IRS tax lien and a mortgage default and misusing campaign contributions
for personal expenses.
Coons and O'Donnell focused on such issues as national security and health care reform but there was none of the pointed rhetoric and personal attacks that made the O'Donnell-Castle primary a slugfest.
"I can't tell you how refreshing it is to have an opponent who wants to talk about the issues, so I thank you for that gentlemanly approach," O'Donnell told Coons.
But at one point, midway, when the moderator read an audience question to O'Donnell about her views on government and private sexual behavior, someone in the audience shouted: "It's personal!" That drew a nod from O'Donnell.
"Yes, I have my personal beliefs," said O'Donnell, who stepped into the public spotlight in the 1990s as a conservative activist speaking out against abortion, homosexuality and premarital sex.
For his part, Coons said Delaware residents are interested in what candidates will do to create jobs, reduce the national debt and fix what he called a broken political system in Washington.
"I don't they're particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago," said Coons, who has been targeted by Republicans for an article he wrote for his college newspaper as a 21-year-old student that was entitled "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist."
US News
Click here to find out more!
O'Donnell, who defeated former governor and veteran U.S. Rep Michael Castle in a bitter Republican primary Tuesday, met opponent Chris Coons at a standing-room only event that ushers in the fall campaign in a nationally watched U.S. Senate race.
Coons declared in his opening statement at the Wilmington forum that Delaware's next U.S. senator should be somebody who is prepared and has concrete ideas.
O'Donnell, who came under withering criticism from Castle and the state GOP — whose chairman said she couldn't be elected dogcatcher — said her goal was for voters to get to know her between now and November.
"It's no secret that there's been a rather unflattering portrait of me painted these days," said O'Donnell, who was criticized by GOP officials for lying about her background, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included an IRS tax lien and a mortgage default and misusing campaign contributions
for personal expenses.
Coons and O'Donnell focused on such issues as national security and health care reform but there was none of the pointed rhetoric and personal attacks that made the O'Donnell-Castle primary a slugfest.
"I can't tell you how refreshing it is to have an opponent who wants to talk about the issues, so I thank you for that gentlemanly approach," O'Donnell told Coons.
But at one point, midway, when the moderator read an audience question to O'Donnell about her views on government and private sexual behavior, someone in the audience shouted: "It's personal!" That drew a nod from O'Donnell.
"Yes, I have my personal beliefs," said O'Donnell, who stepped into the public spotlight in the 1990s as a conservative activist speaking out against abortion, homosexuality and premarital sex.
For his part, Coons said Delaware residents are interested in what candidates will do to create jobs, reduce the national debt and fix what he called a broken political system in Washington.
"I don't they're particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago," said Coons, who has been targeted by Republicans for an article he wrote for his college newspaper as a 21-year-old student that was entitled "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist."
US News
CNN's John King Gives John Kasich Some Fact-Checking Help
John King doesn't call his CNN news show "John King, USA" for nothing. He really is everywhere, not just chained to his desk in Washington. And this week his drive to cover the nation proved beneficial to front-running Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, accused by a Democratic blogger of making up sappy stories about downtrodden Ohioans he plans to help.
The scene is Tuesday night's Ohio gubernatorial debate between Kasich and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who trails the Republican by 17 percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll. At the end of the debate, Kasich told the story of a couple he met at a Bob Evans restaurant—one of the Republican's regular stops--who were balancing their family budget after both of the couple's jobs were downscaled.
To Democratic blogger and critic Anthony Fossaceca of the OhioDailyBlog, the whole thing sounded made up. He wrote:
It is a crying shame that tonight's gubernatorial debate wasn't mandatory viewing for all Ohioans. Had they been forced to watch, they'd have seen a shallow Republican candidate grasping at straws time and time again. They'd have also witnessed the lamest, most cliche closing in debate history. John Kasich told the story of one of the saddest days of his life, as he just happened to be in an undisclosed Bob Evans, eating an undisclosed meal (probably Sausage Gravy or Pumpkin Supreme Pie), when he noticed an Ohio couple balancing their household budget on the back of a napkin. (Yeah, I know...) Legend has it they immediately brushed aside their steaming hot cups of coffee to shake the hand of the wealthy man stopping to interrupt them while they were eating.
He added: "Like much of tonight's debate, the words coming out of John Kasich's mouth were fiction. They aren't true tonight. They weren't true when they were brainstormed over the weekend. And they won't ring true when voters dismiss his candidacy this November. (In fact, someone please send me a photo of the Ohio couple in the Bob Evans with the napkin and I'll personally apologize to Congressman Kasich the next time I'm at his country club)."
Well John King did. Following the debate and the blogger's assault, King did a story on the race and revealed that he and a video crew were with Kasich when he met that couple at Bob Evans. "There they are right there," King said while showing his viewers the video. "He did talk to this couple."
After his story aired, blogger Fossaceca posted his apology and the King story under the headline, "CNN Confirms: I Am A Dumba**." (Though his headline didn't use *s.)
With a backhanded flip, he wrote: "CNN ran a fact-checking piece on a story we wrote Tuesday night and, lo and behold, I was apparently (kinda) wrong. Turns out, John Kasich was actually at a Bob Evans recently. And he actually talked to people there. And two of them actually were working on their household budget. And CNN just happened to have video of it. D'oh! Now, after a year or so of listening to one story after another coming out of John Kasich's mouth, you can't blame me for being cynical or suspect of everything this guy says. He was a Wall Street insider for crying out loud. But this time (while he obviously distorted and enhanced his story a bit--and CNN points that out as well) he was still more-or-less repeating something that kind of actually happened. For that, he gets a one day pass here at OhioDaily. And, as promised, he will get a personal apology from me. At his country club. The next time I'm there. (I'll wait quietly for the invitation and the guest pass)."
We caught up with Kasich spokesman Scott Milburn who told us that the campaign makes so many stops at Bob Evans restaurants they simply call them "Bob's." He said, "Chicken-and-noodles at Bob's is almost a food group for the campaign. I think all the Bob's in Ohio are programmed into the Garmin, but it wouldn't matter because John knows where most of them are anyway."
US News
The scene is Tuesday night's Ohio gubernatorial debate between Kasich and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who trails the Republican by 17 percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll. At the end of the debate, Kasich told the story of a couple he met at a Bob Evans restaurant—one of the Republican's regular stops--who were balancing their family budget after both of the couple's jobs were downscaled.
To Democratic blogger and critic Anthony Fossaceca of the OhioDailyBlog, the whole thing sounded made up. He wrote:
It is a crying shame that tonight's gubernatorial debate wasn't mandatory viewing for all Ohioans. Had they been forced to watch, they'd have seen a shallow Republican candidate grasping at straws time and time again. They'd have also witnessed the lamest, most cliche closing in debate history. John Kasich told the story of one of the saddest days of his life, as he just happened to be in an undisclosed Bob Evans, eating an undisclosed meal (probably Sausage Gravy or Pumpkin Supreme Pie), when he noticed an Ohio couple balancing their household budget on the back of a napkin. (Yeah, I know...) Legend has it they immediately brushed aside their steaming hot cups of coffee to shake the hand of the wealthy man stopping to interrupt them while they were eating.
He added: "Like much of tonight's debate, the words coming out of John Kasich's mouth were fiction. They aren't true tonight. They weren't true when they were brainstormed over the weekend. And they won't ring true when voters dismiss his candidacy this November. (In fact, someone please send me a photo of the Ohio couple in the Bob Evans with the napkin and I'll personally apologize to Congressman Kasich the next time I'm at his country club)."
Well John King did. Following the debate and the blogger's assault, King did a story on the race and revealed that he and a video crew were with Kasich when he met that couple at Bob Evans. "There they are right there," King said while showing his viewers the video. "He did talk to this couple."
After his story aired, blogger Fossaceca posted his apology and the King story under the headline, "CNN Confirms: I Am A Dumba**." (Though his headline didn't use *s.)
With a backhanded flip, he wrote: "CNN ran a fact-checking piece on a story we wrote Tuesday night and, lo and behold, I was apparently (kinda) wrong. Turns out, John Kasich was actually at a Bob Evans recently. And he actually talked to people there. And two of them actually were working on their household budget. And CNN just happened to have video of it. D'oh! Now, after a year or so of listening to one story after another coming out of John Kasich's mouth, you can't blame me for being cynical or suspect of everything this guy says. He was a Wall Street insider for crying out loud. But this time (while he obviously distorted and enhanced his story a bit--and CNN points that out as well) he was still more-or-less repeating something that kind of actually happened. For that, he gets a one day pass here at OhioDaily. And, as promised, he will get a personal apology from me. At his country club. The next time I'm there. (I'll wait quietly for the invitation and the guest pass)."
We caught up with Kasich spokesman Scott Milburn who told us that the campaign makes so many stops at Bob Evans restaurants they simply call them "Bob's." He said, "Chicken-and-noodles at Bob's is almost a food group for the campaign. I think all the Bob's in Ohio are programmed into the Garmin, but it wouldn't matter because John knows where most of them are anyway."
US News
Medic Transition, Healthcare Reform Top Most Searched Bills
Eliminating the national debt rounds out the top three
Congress is back from recess, with a fall agenda that includes the Small Business Jobs Act and deciding the fate of Bush-era tax cuts. Yet last week's most-searched bills on THOMAS.gov, the Library of Congress Web site devoted to tracking legislation, did not include any of the proposed laws that are at the top of the fall docket. The list is a mix of ever-popular laws like the stimulus package and the reforms of healthcare and the financial sector, alongside several lesser-known bills that have seen little action beyond their introduction.
Click here to find out more!
Below are last week's 10 most-searched bills on THOMAS.gov, according to data compiled by THOMAS on September 12.
1. Emergency Medic Transition Act of 2009 (H.R. 3199)
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)
The Emergency Medic Transition Act would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to states to provide fast-track EMT training and licensing to veterans trained as medics in the Armed Forces. Currently, former Armed Forces medics hoping to work as civilian EMTs must go through the same training as people with no prior experience. Harman has also promoted the bill as one way to improve the high unemployment rates faced by returning veterans. After its July 2009 introduction, this act remained untouched in the House Energy and Commerce Committee until over a year later, in late July 2010, when the committee finally passed the bill.
2. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590)
Previous ranking: 1
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
More commonly known as the healthcare reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law on March 23, 2010. Among the many changes it makes to the existing healthcare system, this act requires that all individuals have health insurance and prohibits insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, two provisions that both will go into effect in 2014. More than a dozen provisions are scheduled to take effect in 2010, with the rest to be phased in through 2018. Shortly after President Obama signed the bill, attorneys general from 13 states joined together to file a suit in a Florida federal court, claiming that the healthcare reform law is unconstitutional. The number of states involved in that suit has since grown to 21. Virginia has also filed its own suit, which is currently being heard in a federal court in Virginia.
3. Debt Free America Act (H.R. 4646)
Previous ranking: 3
Sponsor: Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
This act aims to eliminate the $13 trillion national debt within seven years by levying a 1 percent tax on all financial and retail transactions, except for transactions involving stock. The bill would also, as of December 31, 2017, repeal the individual income tax. Fattah's Debt Free America Act was introduced in February 2010 and immediately referred to committee, with no action taken on it since. However, in recent weeks, the proposal has generated outrage in the blogosphere at the idea of a tax on transactions. The bill has been discussed in a wide range of Web sites, from minor political blogs to the popular myth-debunking site Snopes.com.
4. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173)
Previous Ranking: 2
Sponsor: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Also known as the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” or more commonly as the “financial regulatory reform bill,” this legislation was signed by President Obama on July 21, six months after its initial introduction. This law is intended to address the causes of the 2008 economic crisis. It aims to create a watchdog council at the Federal Reserve and also to mitigate the dangers of “too-big-to-fail” financial institutions by providing a way to liquidate failed firms. [See a list of the finance and credit industry's favorite lawmakers.]
5. Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213)
Previous ranking: 4
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
This bill, which President Obama signed into law on July 22, went through several versions and was known by several names, including the “American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act” and “Tax Extenders Act.” In its final version, the bill extends unemployment benefits until the end of November 2010, and also includes a provision establishing retroactive payment of benefits to those whose benefits had recently expired. The bill was only passed after a partisan struggle in the Senate, where it was filibustered by Republicans who said they did not want to add the bill's $34 billion price tag to a budget deficit of over $1 trillion.
6. FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 1586)
Previous ranking: 5
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
This bill originally intended to make flying more efficient and comfortable for passengers. One provision required air carriers to submit “emergency contingency plans” describing how the airline would provide basic necessities to passengers in an airplane grounded for an extended period of time. However, all of these provisions were stricken and replaced with Senate Amendment 4575, which seeks to provide funding for education and Federal Medical Assistance Percentages. The bill now provides states with extra money to pay teacher salaries and fund Medicaid. With these new provisions and none of the original, air-travel-related text, the bill passed the House and was signed by President Obama on August 10.
7. Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872)
Previous ranking: 6
Sponsor: Rep. John Spratt (D-SC)
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which contains amendments to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (No. 2, above), was passed one week after the Patient Protection Act. Among the key changes that H.R. 4872 made are the closure of the Medicare “donut hole” and the lowering of the penalty for not having insurance. This bill also reforms the student loan system, including among its many provisions the elimination of the program via which federal student loans were administered through private institutions.
8. Livable Communities Act of 2009 (S. 1619)
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Citing a growing and aging U.S. population with limited access to public transportation and affordable housing, this act states as one of its major purposes “to facilitate and improve the coordination of housing, community development, transportation, energy, and environmental policy in the United States.” The Livable Communities Act would establish an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This new office would make grants to local governments, planning organizations, and states to assist them in development projects related to housing, infrastructure, and land use. The bill was introduced in August 2009 and has remained largely untouched in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs since then. [See a slide show of 10 cities adopting smart grid technology.]
9. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1)
Previous ranking: 10
Sponsor: Rep. David Obey (D-WI)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama in February 2009. The $787 billion in provisions are going toward investing in healthcare and education, as well as numerous infrastructure projects, like improving public transportation and broadband access. To help maintain transparency in the implementation of the act, the federal government has set up Recovery.gov, a Web site that allows users to track where and on which projects stimulus money is being spent.
10. Public Safety Officer Family Health Benefits Act
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Stupak, a former Michigan state police trooper and founder of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, introduced this bill in July 2009. The bill has been in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform since its introduction. This act would allow family members of public safety officers killed in the line of duty to be covered by federal health benefits. Stupak sponsored similar measures in 2007 and 2005. In neither of these instances did the bills move beyond committee.
US News
Congress is back from recess, with a fall agenda that includes the Small Business Jobs Act and deciding the fate of Bush-era tax cuts. Yet last week's most-searched bills on THOMAS.gov, the Library of Congress Web site devoted to tracking legislation, did not include any of the proposed laws that are at the top of the fall docket. The list is a mix of ever-popular laws like the stimulus package and the reforms of healthcare and the financial sector, alongside several lesser-known bills that have seen little action beyond their introduction.
Click here to find out more!
Below are last week's 10 most-searched bills on THOMAS.gov, according to data compiled by THOMAS on September 12.
1. Emergency Medic Transition Act of 2009 (H.R. 3199)
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)
The Emergency Medic Transition Act would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to states to provide fast-track EMT training and licensing to veterans trained as medics in the Armed Forces. Currently, former Armed Forces medics hoping to work as civilian EMTs must go through the same training as people with no prior experience. Harman has also promoted the bill as one way to improve the high unemployment rates faced by returning veterans. After its July 2009 introduction, this act remained untouched in the House Energy and Commerce Committee until over a year later, in late July 2010, when the committee finally passed the bill.
2. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590)
Previous ranking: 1
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
More commonly known as the healthcare reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law on March 23, 2010. Among the many changes it makes to the existing healthcare system, this act requires that all individuals have health insurance and prohibits insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, two provisions that both will go into effect in 2014. More than a dozen provisions are scheduled to take effect in 2010, with the rest to be phased in through 2018. Shortly after President Obama signed the bill, attorneys general from 13 states joined together to file a suit in a Florida federal court, claiming that the healthcare reform law is unconstitutional. The number of states involved in that suit has since grown to 21. Virginia has also filed its own suit, which is currently being heard in a federal court in Virginia.
3. Debt Free America Act (H.R. 4646)
Previous ranking: 3
Sponsor: Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
This act aims to eliminate the $13 trillion national debt within seven years by levying a 1 percent tax on all financial and retail transactions, except for transactions involving stock. The bill would also, as of December 31, 2017, repeal the individual income tax. Fattah's Debt Free America Act was introduced in February 2010 and immediately referred to committee, with no action taken on it since. However, in recent weeks, the proposal has generated outrage in the blogosphere at the idea of a tax on transactions. The bill has been discussed in a wide range of Web sites, from minor political blogs to the popular myth-debunking site Snopes.com.
4. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173)
Previous Ranking: 2
Sponsor: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Also known as the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act,” or more commonly as the “financial regulatory reform bill,” this legislation was signed by President Obama on July 21, six months after its initial introduction. This law is intended to address the causes of the 2008 economic crisis. It aims to create a watchdog council at the Federal Reserve and also to mitigate the dangers of “too-big-to-fail” financial institutions by providing a way to liquidate failed firms. [See a list of the finance and credit industry's favorite lawmakers.]
5. Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213)
Previous ranking: 4
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
This bill, which President Obama signed into law on July 22, went through several versions and was known by several names, including the “American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act” and “Tax Extenders Act.” In its final version, the bill extends unemployment benefits until the end of November 2010, and also includes a provision establishing retroactive payment of benefits to those whose benefits had recently expired. The bill was only passed after a partisan struggle in the Senate, where it was filibustered by Republicans who said they did not want to add the bill's $34 billion price tag to a budget deficit of over $1 trillion.
6. FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 1586)
Previous ranking: 5
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
This bill originally intended to make flying more efficient and comfortable for passengers. One provision required air carriers to submit “emergency contingency plans” describing how the airline would provide basic necessities to passengers in an airplane grounded for an extended period of time. However, all of these provisions were stricken and replaced with Senate Amendment 4575, which seeks to provide funding for education and Federal Medical Assistance Percentages. The bill now provides states with extra money to pay teacher salaries and fund Medicaid. With these new provisions and none of the original, air-travel-related text, the bill passed the House and was signed by President Obama on August 10.
7. Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872)
Previous ranking: 6
Sponsor: Rep. John Spratt (D-SC)
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which contains amendments to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (No. 2, above), was passed one week after the Patient Protection Act. Among the key changes that H.R. 4872 made are the closure of the Medicare “donut hole” and the lowering of the penalty for not having insurance. This bill also reforms the student loan system, including among its many provisions the elimination of the program via which federal student loans were administered through private institutions.
8. Livable Communities Act of 2009 (S. 1619)
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Citing a growing and aging U.S. population with limited access to public transportation and affordable housing, this act states as one of its major purposes “to facilitate and improve the coordination of housing, community development, transportation, energy, and environmental policy in the United States.” The Livable Communities Act would establish an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This new office would make grants to local governments, planning organizations, and states to assist them in development projects related to housing, infrastructure, and land use. The bill was introduced in August 2009 and has remained largely untouched in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs since then. [See a slide show of 10 cities adopting smart grid technology.]
9. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1)
Previous ranking: 10
Sponsor: Rep. David Obey (D-WI)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama in February 2009. The $787 billion in provisions are going toward investing in healthcare and education, as well as numerous infrastructure projects, like improving public transportation and broadband access. To help maintain transparency in the implementation of the act, the federal government has set up Recovery.gov, a Web site that allows users to track where and on which projects stimulus money is being spent.
10. Public Safety Officer Family Health Benefits Act
Not on list last week
Sponsor: Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Stupak, a former Michigan state police trooper and founder of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, introduced this bill in July 2009. The bill has been in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform since its introduction. This act would allow family members of public safety officers killed in the line of duty to be covered by federal health benefits. Stupak sponsored similar measures in 2007 and 2005. In neither of these instances did the bills move beyond committee.
US News
Flying High, Sarah Palin's Next Stops: Iowa, TV
DES MOINES, Iowa — Forget Disneyland. Sarah Palin's going to Iowa.
The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee is on a roll: Her political endorsements have helped propel a number of upstart Republican contenders to victory in recent primaries, including a double win Tuesday in Delaware and New Hampshire. Her cable TV show makes its debut in November. And now she's off to the state that's made and broken more than its share of presidential campaigns.
Click here to find out more!
Palin will be the big draw at Friday's Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican Party's biggest fundraiser. The question that will be on everyone's mind is whether she'll run for president in 2012.
Iowa, home to the nation's leadoff presidential caucuses, can be tough terrain for celebrity candidates. Those who try to ride their fame to victory in Iowa without organizing a grass-roots campaign often find themselves on the outs.
Remember John Glenn? The former astronaut and senator drew huge crowds and intense attention here when he sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 — and got just 4 percent of the vote.
"They were coming out to see John Glenn the astronaut, not John Glenn the Democrat running for president," said veteran Republican strategist Eric Woolson.
If she runs, Palin would start with strong appeal among the social and religious conservatives who play a crucial role in Iowa's Republican politics. But that appeal wouldn't necessarily last if it's not backed up by a strong effort to reach out to caucus voters, said Steve Scheffler, head of the Iowa Christian Alliance.
"The track to success in Iowa is slogging around all of the small towns in bad weather and sleeping in downscale motels because that's the best in town," said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist based in Washington. "That certainly doesn't seem to fit the Palin theory of how she should conduct her life."
A Palin candidacy also would test Iowa's glass ceiling. Just ask Hillary Rodham Clinton
, who came in third in the 2008 caucuses, how tough the state can be for a woman. Iowa is one of two states — Mississippi is the other — that's never sent a woman to Congress or elected a woman governor.
Palin is far from alone in taking early steps to court Iowa activists. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has made multiple trips to the state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has put a staff member in Iowa and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania all have visits in the works.
Palin has been coy about her presidential intentions and masterful at keeping her name in the news since she abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor in 2009. She's mixed political fundraisers and candidates' campaign events with speeches in which she commands fees as high as $100,000.
Her memoir, "Going Rogue," was a best-seller. Her new book, "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag," will be published in December.
Her favorable ratings have been slipping all year, in recent weeks dropping below 40 percent for the first time, in the latest Associated Press-Gfk poll. Forty percent now have a very unfavorable rating of Palin. But among Republicans, about two-thirds give her positive marks and one-third view her very favorably.
Fresh off two big wins by candidates who got her blessings in Tuesday's primaries, Palin this week called for the Republican "political machine" to put aside differences within the party and home in on Democrats, whom she said have a "weakened leftist party."
Palin, whose Twitter and Facebook pages are required reading in political circles, also took some jabs at the media for all the interest in her wardrobe and gestures rather than her record.
"According to the media," she said, "I was plucked from obscurity while staring at Russia from my house."
Not that Palin is averse to using the media for her own purposes. Coming up in November on cable TV's TLC is "Sarah Palin's Alaska." Mark Burnett, who created reality TV's "Apprentice" series, describes this new project as "a really nonpolitical show, a show about Alaskan adventure."
A nonpolitical show that, no doubt, will only boost Palin's political visibility. It will only take her so far in Iowa, though.
Iowa strategist Mark Daley, who worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign, said the lesson from the 2008 caucus campaign is that Iowa is all about grass-roots organizing.
"There's definitely no question that while rock star status helps you draw a crowd, you're going to have to go to the Pizza Ranch in Algona," said Daley. "Voters take a very long time to make up their mind and they expect to meet with the candidates because they have for decades."
Richard Schwarm, former chair of the state Republican Party, said Palin's celebrity status does help.
"A lot of people have to work hard to get the media to pay attention, to get the precinct captain to take you seriously," said Schwarm. "It gets your foot in the door to get that attention, but it's a long process."
US News
The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee is on a roll: Her political endorsements have helped propel a number of upstart Republican contenders to victory in recent primaries, including a double win Tuesday in Delaware and New Hampshire. Her cable TV show makes its debut in November. And now she's off to the state that's made and broken more than its share of presidential campaigns.
Click here to find out more!
Palin will be the big draw at Friday's Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican Party's biggest fundraiser. The question that will be on everyone's mind is whether she'll run for president in 2012.
Iowa, home to the nation's leadoff presidential caucuses, can be tough terrain for celebrity candidates. Those who try to ride their fame to victory in Iowa without organizing a grass-roots campaign often find themselves on the outs.
Remember John Glenn? The former astronaut and senator drew huge crowds and intense attention here when he sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 — and got just 4 percent of the vote.
"They were coming out to see John Glenn the astronaut, not John Glenn the Democrat running for president," said veteran Republican strategist Eric Woolson.
If she runs, Palin would start with strong appeal among the social and religious conservatives who play a crucial role in Iowa's Republican politics. But that appeal wouldn't necessarily last if it's not backed up by a strong effort to reach out to caucus voters, said Steve Scheffler, head of the Iowa Christian Alliance.
"The track to success in Iowa is slogging around all of the small towns in bad weather and sleeping in downscale motels because that's the best in town," said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist based in Washington. "That certainly doesn't seem to fit the Palin theory of how she should conduct her life."
A Palin candidacy also would test Iowa's glass ceiling. Just ask Hillary Rodham Clinton
, who came in third in the 2008 caucuses, how tough the state can be for a woman. Iowa is one of two states — Mississippi is the other — that's never sent a woman to Congress or elected a woman governor.
Palin is far from alone in taking early steps to court Iowa activists. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has made multiple trips to the state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has put a staff member in Iowa and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania all have visits in the works.
Palin has been coy about her presidential intentions and masterful at keeping her name in the news since she abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor in 2009. She's mixed political fundraisers and candidates' campaign events with speeches in which she commands fees as high as $100,000.
Her memoir, "Going Rogue," was a best-seller. Her new book, "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag," will be published in December.
Her favorable ratings have been slipping all year, in recent weeks dropping below 40 percent for the first time, in the latest Associated Press-Gfk poll. Forty percent now have a very unfavorable rating of Palin. But among Republicans, about two-thirds give her positive marks and one-third view her very favorably.
Fresh off two big wins by candidates who got her blessings in Tuesday's primaries, Palin this week called for the Republican "political machine" to put aside differences within the party and home in on Democrats, whom she said have a "weakened leftist party."
Palin, whose Twitter and Facebook pages are required reading in political circles, also took some jabs at the media for all the interest in her wardrobe and gestures rather than her record.
"According to the media," she said, "I was plucked from obscurity while staring at Russia from my house."
Not that Palin is averse to using the media for her own purposes. Coming up in November on cable TV's TLC is "Sarah Palin's Alaska." Mark Burnett, who created reality TV's "Apprentice" series, describes this new project as "a really nonpolitical show, a show about Alaskan adventure."
A nonpolitical show that, no doubt, will only boost Palin's political visibility. It will only take her so far in Iowa, though.
Iowa strategist Mark Daley, who worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign, said the lesson from the 2008 caucus campaign is that Iowa is all about grass-roots organizing.
"There's definitely no question that while rock star status helps you draw a crowd, you're going to have to go to the Pizza Ranch in Algona," said Daley. "Voters take a very long time to make up their mind and they expect to meet with the candidates because they have for decades."
Richard Schwarm, former chair of the state Republican Party, said Palin's celebrity status does help.
"A lot of people have to work hard to get the media to pay attention, to get the precinct captain to take you seriously," said Schwarm. "It gets your foot in the door to get that attention, but it's a long process."
US News
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