Monday, March 16, 2009

Timothy F. Geithner Cold Open Saturday Night Live VIDEO


Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Opening Statement
– As Prepared for Delivery
– Senate Finance Committee Hearing

Chairman Baucus, Ranking Member Grassley, and members of the Committee, thank you for providing me the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the President's Budget at this moment of economic crisis, but also of real possibility, for the United States.

What I propose to do in the remarks that follow is to:

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Describe the economic and financial challenges that greeted us upon our arrival in office, and discuss how we are addressing them;
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Lay out the intermediate and long-term threats to our fiscal condition, and explain how the President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget will return the nation to a sustainable fiscal position; and
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Explain how this Budget puts the nation on a path towards energy independence, better educational outcomes, and a reform of health care that both lowers costs and expands access.

Current Economic and Financial Challenges

The economy suffers from a severe lack of aggregate demand, both from families and businesses – a problem that is driven by a slumping job market, where 3.6 million jobs have been lost in just over a year – the largest number as a fraction of total employment in more than a quarter century and the largest number in absolute terms in over a half century. This problem is made worse by a contraction of demand from many of our key trading partners.

Businesses, facing or projecting fewer customers for their goods and services, are laying off workers or cutting back on their hours or wages, causing families to further reduce their demand and businesses to respond with more layoffs and cutbacks.

This dynamic is made worse by a financial system that is unable to provide the credit necessary for recovery. You can see this across America as families find it difficult to get the financing they need to buy new houses and cars while businesses have trouble lining up the credit necessary to meet payroll.

The contraction in credit is causing more job losses and further declines in business activity, which, in turn, is adding more pressure on the financial system.

Both our economic and financial problems are being compounded by problems in our housing market, where a record 2.5 million families faced foreclosure last year, undercutting overall home prices, shrinking Americans' real estate wealth by $2.8 trillion from its peak, causing further reductions in demand, more layoffs and a greater credit squeeze that threatens another round of foreclosures.

You can see the scale of the damage in last Friday's announcement that the Gross Domestic Product, the broadest measure of the nation's output of goods and services, dropped at a 6.2% annual rate during the final quarter of last year. That was its worst performance in more than a quarter century, and the third worst in more than a half century.

In addition to a deepening recession and financial troubles, the Obama Administration inherited the worst fiscal situation in modern American history, with a federal budget deficit of $1.3 trillion, equal to nearly 10% of GDP – the largest that the nation has faced since World War II – not counting the economic recovery or other legislation undertaken by the Obama Administration.

And we begin our time in office after a long period in which our government was unwilling to make the long-term investments required to meet critical challenges in health care, energy and education.

This is the reality that we face today. These are the challenges that shape both the American economy and the Administration's strategy. I want to outline for you today the President's program for addressing these challenges.

Let me start with our immediate response to the acute problems confronting the country.

A Comprehensive Economic Recovery and Financial Stability Plan

Economic Recovery Plan

Immediately upon taking office, the President and the Administration worked with Congress to enact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a package of targeted investments and tax cuts designed to get Americans back to work and get the economy growing again.

Every agency of government is moving quickly to implement the recovery plan in order to reignite economic growth. In the last week alone, we introduced three of the plan's major tax provisions–the Making Work Pay tax credits of $400 a year for individuals and $800 for working families; a first-time homebuyer credit that could get up to $8,000 into the pockets of those buying homes before December 1, 2009; and a subsidy to ensure that unemployed Americans and their families can keep their health insurance.

We estimate that the plan will save or create at least 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, and will boost GDP – over where it would have been had we not acted – by almost 1% this year and more than 3.2% next year.

Financial Stability Plan

But reviving economic activity is not enough because without a regular flow of credit to families and businesses, recovery will be impeded. Therefore, we have taken another critically important step.

We have introduced a Financial Stability Plan to get our financial system operating so that it promotes recovery rather than prevents it, by supplying the necessary credit for Americans to once again buy homes, purchase cars, go to college and turn good ideas into flourishing firms.

The stability plan will ensure that banks have the capital cushions they need to keep lending under currently troubled economic conditions and, as a precaution, under even worse conditions as well. It will help thaw our important, but now largely frozen, non-bank financial markets so they can go back to generating the credit that families and businesses must have. And it provides a method for the government to join with private investors to begin buying the mortgage-backed securities at the center of so many of the financial system's problems, but whose resumed trading is so important to the stability of the system.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Just as economic recovery requires financial stability, stabilizing our financial system requires us to improve conditions in our housing market.

The Administration's affordability plan will help all Americans buy and refinance their houses by encouraging low mortgage interest rates. In addition, it will offer to help 4 to 5 million homeowners to refinance. And it will help another 3 to 4 million homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure through no fault of their own to convert their unaffordable mortgages into affordable ones.

These three plans form our immediate and integrated response to the nation's economic and financial challenges. All three are carefully linked to our 2010 Budget.

The Budget: A Plan for Fiscal Sustainability and Investments for Shared Prosperity

The President's Budget carries forward and expands upon our immediate response to the acute problems confronting America.

It also marries these efforts to an honest plan for how to proceed after recovery has taken hold and the financial system has stabilized. It lays out how to achieve long-term deficit reduction by reversing the short-term increases that are now necessary to achieve recovery and stability – increases that will have to be substantially reduced in order to get the nation back into fiscal shape. And it provides a blueprint for the investments in health care, education and energy that are so critical to our long-term future.

Budget Honesty

The President's Budget begins by offering an honest assessment of the dimensions of the problems facing the country in the intermediate and long-term.

The President's Budget ends the practice of only recognizing the costs for overseas contingency operations – such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – for as little as one year at a time and instead acknowledges that there is multi-year cost that must be reflected in the Budget. Although the budget includes estimated costs of these operations in the out-years to be fiscally conservative, these estimates do not reflect any specific policy decisions. Several strategy reviews are underway that will inform out-year costs, and it would be premature at this time to prejudge those reviews.

It takes into account the possibility of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, instead of assuming that the country will be free of such disasters and the costs of helping Americans put their lives and communities back together.

It ends the practice of assuming an increase in revenues from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The AMT has been "patched" year after year, but for the first time our Budget reflects the cost of doing so.

It acknowledges that, as expensive as it already has been, our effort to stabilize the financial system might cost more. It establishes a placeholder to help ensure we can cover any additional financial stability costs.

I should note here that the existence of the $250 billion placeholder for financial stability in the President's Budget does not represent a specific request. Rather, as events warrant, the President will work with Congress to determine the appropriate size and shape of such efforts, and as more information becomes available the Administration will estimate potential cost.

Finally, the President's Budget gives a fuller view of the government's finances by looking out ten years, rather than the five years which has been the practice with budgets in recent years.

Reducing the Deficit to Return to Fiscal Sustainability

We have set an ambitious, but economically crucial goal for bringing our deficits down dramatically once the recovery is firmly established and financial stability has returned.

We project that the deficit for the current fiscal year, including the recovery and stability plans, will be $1.75 trillion, or 12.3% of GDP. Of that, $1.3 trillion, or 9.2% of GDP, was already in place when we assumed office.

The President is determined to cut this $1.3 trillion deficit by at least half in four years. The budget would bring the deficit down to $533 billion by fiscal year 2013. More importantly, it would reduce the deficit to about 3% of GDP.

By bringing the deficit down to the range of 3% of GDP, we can keep our national debt – the aggregate total of our past deficits – from growing faster than the economy itself and keep the size of our debt relative to the economy from rising towards the end of our ten year budget window.

Failure to reduce deficits to this level would result in higher interest rates as government borrowing crowds out private investment, leading to slower growth and lower living standards for Americans.

Key Revenue Provisions in the President's Budget

Our revenue provisions are designed to encourage growth and recovery, improve the fairness of the tax code and support the President's critical priorities in a fiscally responsible manner.

Our recovery plan reduces the overall tax burden on the American economy to help get the economy back on track.

The President's Budget takes up where the recovery plan leaves off, cutting taxes for 95% of working Americans by making permanent the Making Work Pay tax credit of up to $400 for individuals and $800 for families. The Budget provides additional tax relief by expanding the earned income tax credit for lower-income families and extending the American Opportunity Tax Credit that provides up to $2,500 toward higher education. All of these are in the recovery plan that Congress enacted last month, but only in temporary form. The Budget also expands the Saver's Credit as part of the President's commitment to help Americans rebuild their savings.

The President's Budget includes tax provisions to help small businesses. It recognizes that many small businesses are operated as sole proprietorships or through partnerships and other flow-through entities, and leaves the individual income tax rates at which these small businesses are taxed unchanged in 2009 and 2010. By extending the current rate structure for families earning less than $250,000 after 2010, it ensures that 97% of small businesses will receive additional tax relief at that time or see their rates remain unchanged.

Moreover, the President's Budget will provide small business owners with a new zero capital gains rate on new investments in their businesses, which should help them plan for expansion and succession.

In addition, the budget will help provide more incentives for innovation and increase stability in the tax code by making the Research and Experimentation tax credit permanent.

By 2011, when the economy is projected to have recovered, it will be important for the nation to put in place policies that restore fiscal responsibility. For this reason, our Budget includes revenue changes that become effective at that time. Those making less than $250,000 will not see taxes increase. The marginal rates for the top 2% of income earners will return to where they were during the powerful economic expansion of the 1990s.

The Budget also seeks to restore fairness to the tax code. For example, the Budget proposes to tax the compensation paid to hedge fund managers, private equity partners and others in the same way that we tax the wages paid to ordinary American workers. By closing this "carried interest" provision, the tax code will provide equal tax treatment for wages regardless of whether an individual works as a teacher or a hedge fund manager.

The Budget addresses the serious issue of the "tax gap," the difference between what taxpayers legally owe and the amount that they pay. Building on the recently enacted proposals to increase information reporting, the Budget includes a new proposal to require additional information reporting for rental property expense payments. We will make additional information reporting proposals when the full Budget is released.

The Budget also seeks to close the "tax gap" by tackling tax shelters and other efforts to abuse our tax laws, including international tax evasion efforts.

The Budget addresses the use of offshore structures and accounts by U.S. corporations and individuals to avoid and evade U.S. taxes. Over the next several months, the President will propose a series of legislative and enforcement measures to reduce such U.S. tax evasion and avoidance.

Some proposals will focus on the rules in our tax code that put those who invest and create jobs in the United States at a disadvantage. We will propose rules to both reform U.S. corporations' ability to defer foreign earnings and deter high income individuals and corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxation.

Path to Prosperity: Investments in Health Care, Education and Energy

The President's Budget will put the nation back on a sustainable fiscal path that is so important for long-term growth. But the Budget is about much more than deficit reduction. In it, the President reverses our government's long neglect of critical investments in health care, education and energy in order to improve the economy's performance and lift the standard of living of this generation of Americans and of future generations.

Investing in Health Care

Without a plan to reform and bring down costs throughout our entire health care system, budget deficits will start climbing again as the costs of Medicare and Medicaid increase with rising overall health system costs. And we will not have taken a single step toward the time when every American – no matter their income – receives the quality, affordable health care they deserve.

In recent years, most proposals for how the government should cope with its rising health care costs have centered on trying to hold the growth of Medicare and Medicaid costs below that of the overall system. But there is wide agreement among experts that this is not a long-term solution for containing health care spending.

Any effort to slow the growth of Medicare's and Medicaid's costs requires slowing down the costs of the overall system and that, in turn, is helped by substantially expanding access to care. To do otherwise would result in economically distorting cost shifts, where those who are covered end up paying higher prices to pick up the medical tabs of those who are not.

That's why this President is committed to achieving a goal that has eluded presidents since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which is to reform America's health care system to make it less costly, more comprehensive and fairer.

We already have made a down-payment on this effort by including over $20 billion for health information technology, comparative effectiveness and prevention in our recovery plan and by extending and expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program for eleven million children.

The President's Budget will greatly advance that effort by setting aside a reserve fund of more than $630 billion over ten years to help finance reforms. The fund will be financed on a roughly 50:50 basis from new revenues from those Americans who can best afford this sacrifice and health system savings associated with, among other things, reducing drug prices by speeding access to affordable generics.

Investing in Education

Without the President's new investments, we risk leaving a generation of workers unequipped to compete in the 21st century's global economy. In order to ensure that our workers are prepared to compete and that the economy can continue to grow, we must increase the number of Americans who have the opportunity and ability to earn a college degree.

This is particularly important because of the projected slowdown in the growth of our labor force over the coming decades. And it is particularly important for those in our society – such as those from minority and lower-income families – who have traditionally had lower rates of college success.

In this light, the higher education provisions in the President's economic recovery plan are essential to our long-term economic strategy because during periods of economic stress, the students who are most likely to drop out or never attend college are those for whom cost is the biggest barrier.

The President's Budget includes substantial strides towards ensuring that a college education is affordable for all Americans. The American Opportunity Tax Credit will provide up to $2,500 a year of tax relief for a student going to college. The combination of the partially refundable nature of the credit and a sizeable increase in the maximum Pell Grant to $5500 a year embodies the President's commitment to ensuring young people at all income levels can obtain a college degree.

At the same time, the President's Budget ensures that more young adults will be ready for college by starting them on the right track in early childhood.

The President's commitment to quality early childhood education reflects the belief of experts ranging from child psychologists to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve and Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman that these programs are among the highest-paying investments not only for children, but for the economy as a whole. That is why the President's Budget includes measures to help states improve their early education programs, along with funding to expand Head Start and double the number of children in Early Head Start.

Investing in Reducing America's Dependence on Foreign Oil

Without the President's new investments, the nation will remain dependent on uncertain supplies of foreign oil and carbon-intensive energy – a dependence that threatens our economy, our environment and our national security.

The President's energy investments reflect our efforts to use broad-based market incentives to move us as efficiently and as quickly as possible towards a clean energy economy, while also providing relief to those who may bear a temporary increase in expenses during that transition.

The recovery plan includes $65 billion in investments in clean energy technologies for programs like creating a smart electricity grid, improving energy efficiency, and investing in green jobs. As the President has made clear, we will work with Congress to develop an economy-wide emissions reduction program to bring emissions down approximately 14% from 2005 levels by 2020 and approximately 83% from 2005 levels by 2050. This program should include a 100% auction of emissions allowances – ensuring that the biggest polluters don't profit on the basis of past pollution – and should use a cap-and-trade system that has worked effectively in the past as a mechanism to combat acid rain.

The funds raised through this auction could be used to invest an additional $15 billion a year in clean energy technologies. It would also go towards covering the cost of making the Making Work Pay tax credit permanent, providing 95% of American families with tax relief. If there are any additional revenues, those could go back to the American people, with a focus on compensating vulnerable communities, businesses and families.

The government will set the example by, among other things, retrofitting its buildings in order to improve their overall efficiency and save taxpayers billions of dollars.

In all of the President's Budget proposals, as in our recovery, stability and affordability plans, we will make good on the imperatives set by the President to operate in the bright light of day so that taxpayers can know how their money is being spent and can hold us accountable.

The problems that confront this nation are daunting. But we are a strong and resourceful country. Faced with great challenges in the past, we have shown the will to overcome adversity and carve a path back to prosperity. We will do so again.

A budget is about more than columns of numbers and trend lines across a page. This Budget embodies our values, our aspirations, and our will to overcome the current crisis and usher in a new prosperity.

I look forward to working closely with you in this great endeavo

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Senator Chuck Grassley Weekly Republican Address 03/14/09 VIDEO PODCAST TEXT


PODCAST Senator Chuck Grassley Delivers Republican weekly radio address download MP3 2.9 mb running time 4:56 min.

Full Text Transcript:

"I'm Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. I serve as the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which handles all tax legislation.

"The President of the United States has the pleasure of leading the country in the best of times, but the responsibility for digging us out of the worst.

"He has to govern in the present and build confidence for the future.

"Right now, Americans need jobs. They want Washington to fix only what it can, without destroying opportunities for the next generation.

"The President's programs don't connect all the dots.

"His plans fail to recognize that Americans are not an endless source of tax dollars to pay for government spending.

"The President's proposed budget raises taxes. For the vast majority of people who earn less than $200,000, raising taxes on higher earners might not sound so bad.

"Yet a lot of small businesses are in that category. The landscaper or the general contractor with a dozen employees could land in the bull's eye.

"Tell these business owners their taxes will go up. Odds are, they'll cut spending. They'll cancel orders for new equipment, cut health insurance for their employees, stop hiring, and lay people off.

"These small businesses happen to create 74 percent of all new private sector jobs in the United States.

"Meanwhile, the President's budget includes a tax increase on more than half of small businesses with 20 or more employees. Businesses of that size account for two-thirds of the small business workforce. The tax increase is equal to 20 percent of the marginal tax rate paid by those small businesses.

"Ask people what number of jobs they're willing to sacrifice right now. To a person, they'll tell you zero.

"The Administration also wants to cut the tax deduction for giving to charity. Even the Tax Policy Center, a left-leaning think tank, says this would mean $9 billion less for philanthropy.

"The Administration's proposal to reduce the carbon production could amount to an average hidden tax increase of around $3,000 per household a year. In effect it's a national sales tax on energy.

"All of these tax increases would be the biggest tax increase in history.

"That's not all: Even if every one of these tax increases goes on the books, this budget still nearly triples the national debt by 2019.

"The President and his allies in Congress want to spend too much, tax too much, and borrow too much.

"Somebody has to pay -- if not the middle class now, then later. Eventually the middle class gets hit.

"Meanwhile, if taxes get too high, people drop out of the workforce and pay less taxes.

"So higher taxes don't bring in more money.

"Government spending is a pretty inefficient way to create jobs anyway. Economists say the new stimulus bill will cost $787 billion to create or save 2.5 million jobs -- one million fewer than promoted by the Administration and congressional supporters. It amounts to $315,000 for each job created or saved.

"It's very simple. The government doesn't create wealth. It expends wealth.

"No wonder then the public is skeptical about Washington trying to fix the economy with one massive spending bill after another. It's hard to convince taxpayers that more deficit spending is the answer.

"There's evidence that the President and his people understand this, even if their budget doesn't show it. They say they don't want to raise taxes until 2011 because the economy is too weak.

"Well, if the President admits that tax increases hurt the economy, that will be true in two years as it is true today. Americans need leadership, and they need confidence now. They need their President and their elected representatives to connect all the dots. Jobs are hard-won. The government should first, do no harm. Thank you for listening."

Paid for by the Republican National Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Republican National Committee

President Obama Weekly Address 03/14/09 PODCAST VIDEO TEXT


Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address Saturday, March 14, 2009 Washington, DC PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE Download MP3 5.3 mb

I’ve often said that I don’t believe government has the answer to every problem or that it can do all things for all people. We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative. But there are certain things that we can’t do on our own. There are certain things only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don’t cause us harm. That is the mission of our Food and Drug Administration and it is a mission shared by our Department of Agriculture, and a variety of other agencies and offices at just about every level of government.

The men and women who inspect our foods and test the safety of our medicines are chemists and physicians, veterinarians and pharmacists. It is because of the work they do each and every day that the United States is one of the safest places in the world to buy groceries at a supermarket or pills at a drugstore. Unlike citizens of so many other countries, Americans can trust that there is a strong system in place to ensure that the medications we give our children will help them get better, not make them sick; and that a family dinner won’t end in a trip to the doctor’s office.

But in recent years, we’ve seen a number of problems with the food making its way to our kitchen tables. In 2006, it was contaminated spinach. In 2008, it was salmonella in peppers and possibly tomatoes. And just this year, bad peanut products led to hundreds of illnesses and cost nine people their lives – a painful reminder of how tragic the consequences can be when food producers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job. Worse, these incidents reflect a troubling trend that’s seen the average number of outbreaks from contaminated produce and other foods grow to nearly 350 a year – up from 100 a year in the early 1990s.

Part of the reason is that many of the laws and regulations governing food safety in America have not been updated since they were written in the time of Teddy Roosevelt. It’s also because our system of inspection and enforcement is spread out so widely among so many people that it’s difficult for different parts of our government to share information, work together, and solve problems. And it’s also because the FDA has been underfunded and understaffed in recent years, leaving the agency with the resources to inspect just 7,000 of our 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses each year. That means roughly 95% of them go uninspected.

That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, whom I am appointing today as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. From her research on infectious disease at the National Institutes of Health to her work on public health at the Department of Health and Human Services to her leadership on biodefense at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Dr. Hamburg brings to this vital position not only a reputation of integrity but a record of achievement in making Americans safer and more secure. Dr. Hamburg was one of the youngest people ever elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. And her two children have a unique distinction of their own. Their birth certificates feature her name twice – once as their mother, and once as New York City Health Commissioner. In that role, Dr. Hamburg brought a new life to a demoralized agency, leading an internationally-recognized initiative that cut the tuberculosis rate by nearly half, and overseeing food safety in our nation’s largest city.

Joining her as Principal Deputy Commissioner will be Dr. Joshua Sharfstein. As Baltimore’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Sharfstein has been recognized as a national leader for his efforts to protect children from unsafe over-the-counter cough and cold medications. And he’s designed an award-winning program to ensure that Americans with disabilities had access to prescription drugs.

Their critical work – and the critical work of the FDA they lead – will be part of a larger effort taken up by a new Food Safety Working Group I am creating. This Working Group will bring together cabinet secretaries and senior officials to advise me on how we can upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century; foster coordination throughout government; and ensure that we are not just designing laws that will keep the American people safe, but enforcing them. And I expect this group to report back to me with recommendations as soon as possible.

As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply. And we are also strengthening our food safety system and modernizing our labs with a billion dollar investment, a portion of which will go toward significantly increasing the number of food inspectors, helping ensure that the FDA has the staff and support they need to protect the food we eat.

In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as your President, but as a parent. When I heard peanut products were being contaminated earlier this year, I immediately thought of my 7-year old daughter, Sasha, who has peanut butter sandwiches for lunch probably three times a week. No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch. Just as no family should have to worry that the medicines they buy will cause them harm. Protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental responsibilities government has, and, with the outstanding team I am announcing today, it is a responsibility that I intend to uphold in the months and years to come.

Thank you.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Borrower Information: Making Home Affordable Refinance and Modification Options

Learn About the Making Home Affordable Refinance and Modification Options.
plan to help millions of homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages.

Refinancing: Many homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home. A Home Affordable Refinance will help borrowers whose loans are held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac refinance into a more affordable mortgage.

Modification: Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments either because their interest rate has increased or they have less income. A Home Affordable Modification will provide them with mortgage payments they can afford.

Who is Eligible? Please use the self-assessment tools provided on this website to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who can benefit from Making Home Affordable. Based on your results, we will provide suggestions about what you can do next.

FIND OUT IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE. Borrower Q&A Icon: PDF Document

Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams - Help Is Free!
  • There is never a fee to get assistance or information about Making Home Affordable from your lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
  • Beware of any person or organization that asks you to pay a fee in exchange for housing counseling services or modification of a delinquent loan. Do not pay – walk away!
  • Beware of anyone who says they can “save” your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house. Do not sign over the deed to your property to any organization or individual unless you are working directly with your mortgage company to forgive your debt.
  • Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your mortgage company without their approval.
Borrower Information: Making Home Affordable Refinance and Modification Options

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

S. B. 1098, An Act Modifying Corporate Laws Relating To Certain Religious Corporations VIDEO


On SB-1098, AN ACT MODIFYING CORPORATE LAWS RELATING TO CERTAIN RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS

March 10, 2009 - Joined by House and Seante Republican caucses, State Senator John McKinney speaks out against Senate Bill 1098, An Act Modifying Corporate Laws Relating To Certain Religious Corporations.

SB 1098 proposes to dictate the way the Catholic Church organizes and operates, replacing the control of the Bishops and pastors with that of a board of directors consisting of lay people elected from the parish. Once in place, this board would have administrative and financial powers, strategic planning authority, and control of the outreach and community services provided by the church.

In 1866, Connecticut enacted legislation to distinguish between the Protestant and Roman Catholic structures of churches. An 1897 Connecticut Supreme Court case, State ex rel. George Barry v. Getty et al, further supported the intent of the initial law and an excerpt of the decision reads as follows:

“It is the settled policy of this State to so frame its legislation that each denomination of Christians may have an equal right to exercise ‘religious profession and worship,’ and to support and maintain its ministers, teachers and institutions, in accordance with its own practice, rules and disciplines; and this policy is conformable to the provisions of our Constitution. Christ Church v. Trustees, etc., 67 Conn. 554, 565. In pursuance of this policy our statutes provide a scheme for the formation and conduct of corporations known as “ecclesiastical societies,” which may “hold and manage all property belonging to them, appropriated to the use and support of public worship, and may receive any grants or donations, and by voluntary agreement establish funds for the same object.”

General Statutes Sec. 2051, et seq. This scheme is arranged with special reference to the customs of the denomination of Congregationalists, which prior to the adoption of a constitution formed a sort of established church; and while furnishing ample provision for the needs of many denominations, is not consistent with the customs of some. And so we have special legislation for “societies of particular denominations,” and among these are the Roman Catholic. This legislation is contained in Secs. 2092, 2093 and 2094 [now 33-279, 280, 281].” (emphasis added)

The Court further stated: “Such special legislation is not passed unless upon application of some religious body, and is intended to be framed in accord with what the legislature understands to be the peculiar customs and wishes of the applying denomination.” (Id., at 289)

Employee Free Choice Act H.R.800 VIDEO


On the bill, known as the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007.

Blocking access to a secret ballot invites harassment, costs American jobs

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on Tuesday regarding the effort to strip workers of their access to a secret ballot in union elections:

“The right to a secret ballot is one which has been protected in America for hundreds of years because we know the value of political expression without fear of coercion. The attempt by some Democrats to take away this fundamental right goes against the ideals of political freedom upon which our nation was founded.

“Not only will this legislation invite harassment and intimidation into the work place, it could also cost America even more jobs. At a time when we are trying to strengthen our economy and put people back to work, we should be making it easier – not harder – for jobs to expand. While we need to work together for the good of the economy, Senate Republicans will oppose any attempts which undermine our economic health and costs jobs.”

SOURCE: Republican.Senate.Gov

Sunday, March 08, 2009

George Prescott Bush Biography VIDEO

George Prescott Bush Biography VIDEO. Republican National Convention Blog. George P. Bush wins GOP nomination for Texas land Commissioner


Bush announced in September 2012 his intention to run for office, saying that he was considering one of several state offices. In November, he filed papers required to run for state office in Texas.

In January 2013, Bush filed a campaign finance report stating he had received about $1.3 million in campaign contributions. In March 2013, Bush filed to run for Texas Land Commissioner.

Outgoing Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is running for lieutenant governor in 2014.

As of June 2013, Bush had raised $3.3 million dollars of campaign funds. On November 19, 2013, he officially filed the papers to run for Texas land commissioner.

In November, 2013 John Cook, the former mayor of El Paso officially filed to run for Texas Land Commissioner on the Democratic ticket.

March 4, 2014, George P. Bush won the Republican nomination for Texas land commissioner.

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George Prescott Bush

George P. Bush at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Date: June 18, 2011 (by Gage Skidmore)
George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976 in Texas) is the eldest of three children of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his wife Columba Garnica Gallo who was born in Mexico. He is the nephew of President George W. Bush, and the grandson of President George H. W. Bush.

At the age of 12, Bush spoke before the 1988 Republican National Convention, which nominated his grandfather.

People magazine ranked P, No. 5 on its list of 100 most eligible bachelors in 2000.

P went to high school with popular musical artist Enrique Iglesias at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from Rice in 1998, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003.

Like grandpa and uncle at Yale, P was a freshman walk-on to the Rice University baseball team but unlike grandpa and uncle, he got little playing time and abandoned the game by his sophomore year. Bush played quarterback for the Jones College intramural football team. Bush earned an undergraduate degree from Rice in 1998, After earning his history degree, George P. took a teaching job in an agricultural community south of Miami. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003.

When asked in 2003 about whether he planned to run for office himself, P. replied that his grandmother, Barbara Bush, had advised that anyone thinking about entering politics should distinguish himself in some other field first: "Make a name for yourself, have a family, marry someone great, have some kids, buy a house, pay taxes, and do the things everyone also does instead of just running out and saying, 'Hey, I'm the nephew of or the son of or the grandson of...'."
Amanda BushP married a law school classmate, Amanda "Mandi" Williams, on August 7, 2004 in Kennebunkport, Maine, the Bush family gathered to attend his wedding at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church near Walker’s Point. P. met Williams in a trial advocacy class at the University of Texas at Austin Law School.
He sat behind her and passed notes during class, asking her if she wanted to join him in a round of golf. P. says he wants to "start a family as soon as possible," Amanda is a media law attorney at the Jackson Walker LLP in Fort Worth. They currently live in Austin, Texas.

During the 2004 campaign, he was a clerk for a federal judge; the Hatch Act prevented him from getting involved until the final months.

P. practiced law in Dallas until 2005 before joining N3 Capital, a real estate investment company of which he is part owner, in Fort Worth, Texas. N3 Capital has since moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas and changed its name to Pennybacker Capital.

On March 21, 2007 the United States Navy Reserve announced the selection of George P. for training as an intelligence officer. Once commissioned as an Ensign for eight years of reserve service, he will attend direct commission officer training, and then undergo a year of intelligence training. "My grandfather's my hero, and what really sold me on the ultimate decision was having the chance to see the CVN-77 be commissioned under his name," refering to the aircraft carrier named for his grandfather -- the USS George H.W. Bush.

P. said the death of Pat Tillman, the NFL player and Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 in what was later determined to be a friendly-fire incident, "was a wake-up call for me." He said he had "looked into active duty" and had somber conversations with his wife about the possibility.

The commitment involves two weeks of annual training. He can volunteer for active duty or be deployed after he finishes his intelligence certification, which takes about two years. He'll have to run a mile and a half in 13 minutes, which he said he can do now, but he's trying to get down to the 10 minutes and 30 seconds required for SEALs and special operations. He's also a weightlifter as well as golfer.

In 2007 He was a member of the board of directors of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and was involved with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Bush attended a small Catholic parish in downtown Fort Worth.

P. is a leader of the Maverick PAC, which was formed by young Texas donors to the Bush-Cheney campaign. The group scheduled a series of meetings with the 2008 Republican presidential candidates.

SOURCES:
George Prescott Bush Image Licensing: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Gage Skidmore

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Congressman Roy Blunt Weekly Republican Address 03/07/09 VIDEO PODCAST TEXT


PODCAST Congressman Roy Blunt Delivers Republican weekly radio address download MP3 2.9 mb running time 2:27 min.

"Hello, I'm Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt. I serve on the House Energy and Commerce Health Care subcommittee and chair the Health Care Solutions Working Group here in the House of Representatives.

"I attended President Obama's health care summit Thursday afternoon. I appreciated the opportunity and again told the President that I'm ready to work together to improve health care in America.

"Americans are worried about their access to quality, affordable health care and they are looking for responsible solutions. Republicans agree, and we are committed to developing new and innovative solutions to fix what's broken, while making sure that we keep what works.

"Republicans are committed to access, affordability, competition and a quality system that puts patients and doctors in the driver seat.

"I agree with President Obama that if you like your current health insurance plan, you should be allowed to keep it. But that's not what is currently being discussed in Washington. Some people are spending a lot of time talking about how to spend more of your money on bigger government run programs. I'm concerned that if the government steps in it will eventually push out the private health care plans that millions of Americans enjoy today. This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack.

"Just imagine a health care system that looks like a government run operation most of us are all too familiar with -- the local DMV. Lines, paper work, taking a number. Or how about another government agency -- the IRS.

"I don't want our health care to resemble that system and you probably don't either. That's why real competition is the key -- it encourages innovation so that the health care treatments and services available to you are the ones that you need and you want. Republicans are committed to common-sense solutions that promote competition and innovation.

"Not surprisingly the government never gets the price right: overpaying for some services, underpaying for others. It's also a system that leads to unfair rationing of care.

"Part of that comes from the backward way the government looks at problems. Washington is the only place that tells you how much they care about something based on how much it costs, instead of how well it works.

"America has the best doctors, health care providers and hospitals in the world. Republicans will lead the effort to make health care work for Americans. We'll also lead the fight against any proposals that undermine your ability to get the treatment the doctor you choose recommends.

"This is Roy Blunt, thanks for giving me a moment of your time."

Paid for by the Republican National Committee.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Republican National Committee

President Obama Weekly Address 03/07/09 PODCAST VIDEO TEXT


SATURDAY, March 07, 2009 WEEKLY ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE Download MP3 4.8 mb

Yesterday, we learned that the economy lost another 651,000 jobs in the month of February, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to 4.4 million. The unemployment rate has now surpassed 8 percent, the highest rate in a quarter century.

These aren't just statistics, but hardships experienced personally by millions of Americans who no longer know how they'll pay their bills, or make their mortgage, or raise their families.

From the day I took office, I knew that solving this crisis would not be easy, nor would it happen overnight. And we will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. But I also believe that we will get through this -- that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before.

That's why my administration is committed to doing all that's necessary to address this crisis and lead us to a better day. That's why we're moving forward with an economic agenda that will jumpstart job creation, restart lending, relieve responsible homeowners, and address the long-term economic challenges of our time: the cost of health care, our dependence on oil, and the state of our schools.

To prevent foreclosures for as many as 4 million homeowners -- and lower interest rates and lift home values for millions more -- we are implementing a plan to allow lenders to work with borrowers to refinance or restructure their mortgages. On Wednesday, the Department of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development released the guidelines that lenders will use for lowering mortgage payments. This plan is now at work.

To restore the availability of affordable loans for families and businesses -- not just banks -- we are taking steps to restart the flow of credit and stabilize the financial markets. On Thursday, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve launched the Consumer and Business Lending Initiative -- a plan that will generate up to a trillion dollars of new lending so that families can finance a car or college education -- and small businesses can raise the capital that will create jobs.

And we've already begun to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- a plan that will save and create over 3.5 million jobs over the next two years -- jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges, constructing wind turbines and solar panels, expanding broadband and mass transit. And because of this plan, those who have lost their job in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage, while 95 percent of working Americans will receive a tax break beginning April 1st.

Of course, like every family going through hard times, our country must make tough choices. In order to pay for the things we need -- we cannot waste money on the things we don't.

My administration inherited a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, the largest in history. And we've inherited a budgeting process as irresponsible as it is unsustainable. For years, as Wall Street used accounting tricks to conceal costs and avoid responsibility, Washington did, too.

These kinds of irresponsible budgets -- and inexcusable practices -- are now in the past. For the first time in many years, my administration has produced a budget that represents an honest reckoning of where we are and where we need to go.

It's also a budget that begins to make the hard choices that we've avoided for far too long -- a strategy that cuts where we must and invests where we need. That's why it includes $2 trillion in deficit reduction, while making historic investments in America's future. That's why it reduces discretionary spending for non-defense programs as a share of the economy by more than 10 percent over the next decade -- to the lowest level since they began keeping these records nearly half a century ago. And that's why on Wednesday, I signed a presidential memorandum to end unnecessary no-bid contracts and dramatically reform the way contracts are awarded -- reforms that will save the American people up to $40 billion each year.

Finally, because we cannot bring our deficit down or grow our economy without tackling the skyrocketing cost of health care, I held a health care summit on Thursday to begin the long-overdue process of reform. Our ideas and opinions about how to achieve this reform will vary, but our goal must be the same: quality, affordable health care for every American that no longer overwhelms the budgets of families, businesses, and our government.

Yes, this is a moment of challenge for our country. But we've experienced great trials before. And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper -- to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis. That is what we can and must do today. And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do. I'm confident that at this defining moment, we will prove ourselves worthy of the sacrifice of those who came before us, and the promise of those who will come after. ###

Author: whitehouse.gov
Keywords: President Barack Obama; Weekly Address; White House
Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Friday, March 06, 2009

Employment Situation Summary FEBRUARY 2009


Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 09-0224
http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release
http://www.bls.gov/ces/ is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, March 6, 2009.


THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: FEBRUARY 2009

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to fall sharply in February (-651,000), and the unemployment rate rose from 7.6 to 8.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment has declined by 2.6 million in the past 4 months. In February, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons increased by 851,000 to 12.5 million in February, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by about 5.0 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 3.3 percentage points. (See table A-1.)

The unemployment rate continued to trend upward in February for adult men (8.1 percent), adult women (6.7 percent), whites (7.3 percent), blacks (13.4 percent), and Hispanics (10.9 percent). The jobless rate for teenagers was little changed at 21.6 percent. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.9 percent in February, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased by 716,000 to 7.7 million in February. This measure has grown by 3.8 million in the last 12 months. (See table A-8.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 270,000 to 2.9 million in February. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed was up by 1.6 million. (See table A-9.)

- 2 -

Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted (Numbers in thousands)

_______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data | Jan.-
Category |_________________|__________________________| Feb.
| | | | | | change
| III | IV | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. |
| 2008 | 2008 | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 |
__________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Civilian labor force .| 154,650| 154,648| 154,447| 153,716| 154,214| 498
Employment ...........| 145,299| 144,046| 143,338| 142,099| 141,748| -351
Unemployment .........| 9,350| 10,602| 11,108| 11,616| 12,467| 851
Not in labor force....| 79,460| 80,177| 80,588| 81,023| 80,699| -324
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Unemployment rates
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
All workers .......| 6.0| 6.9| 7.2| 7.6| 8.1| 0.5
Adult men .........| 5.8| 6.8| 7.2| 7.6| 8.1| .5
Adult women .......| 5.0| 5.6| 5.9| 6.2| 6.7| .5
Teenagers .........| 19.7| 20.7| 20.8| 20.8| 21.6| .8
White .............| 5.4| 6.3| 6.6| 6.9| 7.3| .4
Black or African | | | | | |
American ..........| 10.7| 11.5| 11.9| 12.6| 13.4| .8
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity ........ | 7.8| 8.9| 9.2| 9.7| 10.9| 1.2
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Nonfarm employment.| 137,004| 135,727| 135,074|p134,419|p133,768| p-651
Goods-producing (1)| 21,343| 20,803| 20,532| p20,153| p19,877| p-276
Construction ......| 7,170| 6,949| 6,841| p6,723| p6,619| p-104
Manufacturing .....| 13,388| 13,062| 12,902| p12,645| p12,477| p-168
Service-providing(1| 115,661| 114,924| 114,542|p114,266|p113,891| p-375
Retail trade (2) | 15,331| 15,127| 15,038| p14,999| p14,960| p-40
Professional and | | | | | |
business services | 17,730| 17,485| 17,356| p17,222| p17,042| p-180
Education and health| | | | | |
services .........| 18,932| 19,035| 19,080| p19,123| p19,149| p26
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality .....| 13,452| 13,348| 13,304| p13,275| p13,242| p-33
Government ........| 22,543| 22,538| 22,532| p22,563| p22,572| p9
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Hours of work (3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private .....| 33.6| 33.4| 33.3| p33.3| p33.3| p0.0
Manufacturing .....| 40.8| 40.2| 39.9| p39.8| p39.6| p-.2
Overtime ..........| 3.6| 3.2| 2.9| p2.8| p2.6| p-.2
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private .....| 106.1| 104.1| 103.2| p102.6| p101.9| p-0.7
|________|________|________|________|________|________

|
| Earnings (3)
| _____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings,| | | | | |
total private ......... | $18.16| $18.34| $18.40| p$18.44| p$18.47| p$0.03
Average weekly earnings,| | | | | |
total private ......... | 610.90| 612.55| 612.72| p614.05| p615.05| p1.00
_______________________ |________|________|________|________|________|________

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using
unrounded data.
3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.
p = preliminary. - 3 -

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force participation rate was about unchanged at 65.6 percent. The employment-population ratio, at 60.3 percent in February, continued to trend down. The ratio has declined by 2.4 percentage points over the year. (See table A-1.)

In February, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose by 787,000, reaching 8.6 million. The number of such workers rose by 3.7 million over the past 12 months. This category includes persons who would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 2.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in February, 466,000 more than a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 731,000 discouraged workers in February, up by 335,000 from a year earlier. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The other 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in February had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding
the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 651,000 in February. Since the recession began in December 2007, about 4.4 million jobs have been lost, with more than half (2.6 million) of the decrease occurring in the last 4 months. In February, employment declined in most major industry sectors, with the largest losses occurring in professional and business services, manufacturing, and construction. Health care continued to add jobs over the month. (See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and business services fell by 180,000 in February. The temporary help industry lost 78,000 jobs over the month. Since December 2007, temporary help employment has declined by 686,000, or 27 percent. In February, job declines also occurred in services to buildings and dwellings (-17,000), architectural and engineering services (-16,000), and business support services (-12,000).

Widespread job losses continued in manufacturing in February (-168,000). The majority of the decline occurred in durable goods industries (-132,000), with the largest decreases in fabricated metal products (-28,000) and machinery (-25,000). Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing declined by 36,000 over the month.

The construction industry lost 104,000 jobs in February. Employment in the industry has fallen by 1.1 million since peaking in January 2007. Two-fifths of that decline occurred over the last 4 months. Employment fell sharply in both the residential and nonresidential components of the industry in February.

Employment in truck transportation declined by 33,000 in February; the industry has lost 138,000 jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007. Nearly two-thirds of the decline (-88,000) occurred over the last 4 months. The information industry continued to lose jobs (-15,000). Over the last 4 months, employment in the industry has decreased by 76,000, with about two-fifths of the decline occurring in publishing.

- 4 -

Employment in financial activities continued to decline in February (-44,000). The number of jobs in this industry has dropped by 448,000 since an employment peak in December 2006, with half of this loss occurring in the past 6 months. In February, job losses occurred in real estate (-11,000); credit intermediation (-11,000); and securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-8,000).

Retail trade employment fell by 40,000 over the month and has declined by 608,000 since December 2007. In February, employment decreased in automobile dealerships (-9,000), sporting goods (-9,000), furniture and home furnishing stores (-8,000), and building material and garden supply stores (-7,000). Employment in wholesale trade fell by 37,000 over the month, with nearly all of the decline occurring in durable goods.

Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend down over the month (-33,000), with about half of the decrease in the accommodation industry (-18,000).

Health care continued to add jobs in February, with a gain of 27,000. Job growth occurred in ambulatory health care (16,000) and in hospitals (7,000).

The change in total nonfarm employment for December was revised from -577,000 to -681,000 and the change for January was revised from -598,000 to -655,000. Monthly revisions result from additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal factors.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In February, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was 33.3 hours for the third month in a row. Both the manufacturing workweek and factory overtime decreased by 0.2 hour over the month to 39.6 and 2.6 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.7 percent in February. The manufacturing index declined by 2.0 percent over the month. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

In February, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, seasonally adjusted. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased by 3.6 percent, and average weekly earnings rose by 2.1 percent. (See table B-3.)
______________________________

The Employment Situation for March 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 3, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Barbara Bush recovering from surgery at The Methodist Hospital

Former First Lady Barbara Bush

Former First Lady Barbara Bush speaks at a Houston event in 2008
Former First Lady Barbara Bush is recovering from successful heart surgery Wednesday at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. The aortic valve replacement was scheduled last week after she experienced shortness of breath and physicians detected a hardened valve in her heart. Bush is awake and alert as she recovers in the ICU, with her husband by her bedside.
“I am very impressed with and grateful to the wonderful team of doctors and nurses at The Methodist Hospital who have helped Barbara,” said former President George H. W. Bush. “We have every confidence she is in the best hands.”

Dr. Gerald Lawrie, heart surgeon at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, performed the 2 ½ -hour procedure, replacing her aortic valve with a biologic valve. A hardened aortic valve needs to be replaced because, when left untreated, it can result in heart failure or sudden cardiac death.

“The surgery went extremely well and we were able to successfully replace her aortic valve,” Lawrie said. “I expect her to recover fully and soon resume her normal activities.”

The aortic valve is on the left side of the heart. It opens to allow blood to be pumped out of the heart into the body, then closes to prevent blood from flowing back into the heart.

With age, the aortic valve can harden, making it less effective. Symptoms of aortic valve disease include shortness of breath, chest pain or dizziness.

In November, Bush underwent surgery to repair a perforated ulcer. She is fully recovered from the surgery, and the two medical issues are unrelated.

We anticipate she will be discharged in 7 – 10 days.

What is the Aortic Valve?
The heart has two pumping chambers. The left side of the heart pumps blood into the body, the right side pumps blood into the lungs. The aortic valve is on the left side of the heart. It opens and allows blood to be pumped out of the heart into the body, then closes to prevent blood from flowing back into the heart.Aortic Valve
Aortic Valve Disease
Aortic Valve ReplacementWith age, the aortic valve can become calcified. Calcification, which is the most common aortic valve disease that requires surgery, hardens the valve and limits its motion, narrowing the opening through which the blood must flow out of the heart.
Symptoms of aortic valve disease include: * shortness of breath * chest pain * dizziness * fatigue.

It is important to address disease of the aortic valve, because when it becomes diseased, the heart must work much harder to pump blood into the body. If left untreated, this can result in heart failure. Unlike other heart valves, the diseased aortic valve must usually be replaced rather than repaired.

What is Aortic Valve Replacement?

In aortic valve replacement, the damaged aortic valve is replaced with either a mechanical valve or biologic valve. A biologic valve is made from natural living tissue. Natural tissue valves are less likely to cause blood clots than mechanical valves. Sometimes mechanical valves are needed with the patient’s aorta is very small. Mechanical valves provide better flow than biologic valves in very small sizes. Patients who receive mechanical valves need to take anticoagulation medication to prevent blood clots.
Dr. Gerald Lawrie

Dr. Gerald Lawrie, heart surgeon at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston, performed a 2 ½-hour procedure Wednesday on former First Lady Barbara Bush.
Dr. Gerald Lawrie

Dr. Gerald Lawrie, cardiothoracic surgeon at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston, holds the Michael E. DeBakey Chair in Cardiac Surgery at The Methodist Hospital. He is also the medical director of the Heart Valve Institute at Methodist.

Lawrie is one of the world’s most experienced surgeons treating diseased cardiac valves. A pioneer in valvular surgery, Lawrie invented a technique called the American Correction, with which he has a 100 percent success rate for repair of diseased mitral valves. In 2007, Lawrie was the first to use a surgical robot to successfully repair a mitral valve using this advanced technique.
Lawrie has also conducted research on aortic valve replacement in octogenarians. His research, presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in November 2008, showed that patients over 80 years old had the same good outcomes as patients much younger.

Lawrie graduated from the University of Sydney Medical School. He continued his surgical education in the Teaching Hospitals of the University of N.S.W. in Sidney, then spent five months at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. While Lawrie was completing his residency training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Teaching Hospitals, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey was a visiting professor in Sydney. DeBakey invited Lawrie to spend a year with him in Houston.

Between 1974 and 1975, Lawrie completed a cardiovascular fellowship at The Methodist Hospital in Houston with DeBakey. After the fellowship, Lawrie was invited to join DeBakey’s personal staff as an associate surgeon. In this capacity he worked with DeBakey on a daily basis for over 20 years.

Over the course of his career, Lawrie has trained thousands of surgeons on advancements in the repair of cardiac valves and treatment of complications associated with valvular disease. He has more than 250 publications in respected medical journals.

Lawrie also has been actively involved in the development of The Methodist Hospital’s new surgical skills training facility called the Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education (MITIE™), a virtual hospital and high-tech environment that incorporates imaging, robotics and simulation to enable surgeons and their teams to master new skills. Surgeons come from across the world to watch Lawrie perform surgery with the robot in the operating room.

Media Contacts: Gale Smith Phone: 281-627-0439 Pager: 713-768-1745 gsmith@tmhs.org

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Rush Limbaugh Gives Speech To CPAC VIDEO TEXT


Transcript of Rush Limbaugh's Address at CPAC. On conservative conference's final day, talk radio host delivers address.

The following is a raw transcript of Rush Limbaugh's speech on the final day of CPAC.

RUSH: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you all very, very much. Thank you all. I can't tell you how wonderful that makes me feel. It happens everywhere I go, but it's still special here. [ Laughter ] If you all will indulge me, I learned something, I guess, it's early Friday morning that I didn't know. Friday morning is when I learned this. I learned that Fox, God love them, is televising this speech on the Fox News Channel, which means, ladies and gentleman, this is my first ever address to the nation. [Applause] Now, I have someone in back taking phone numbers. In fact, I would like to introduce to you my security chief, a man who runs all of my security. His name is Joseph Stalin. Joseph, would you please --

[Laughter ] I am safe from any liberal attack, in public, because they would be afraid of offending Stalin.

[Laughter] Now the opportunity here to address the nation, a serious one, it really is. And I want to take it seriously. I want to address something. I know that people are probably watching this who never have listened to my program and may not even really know what conservatism is. They think they do based on how they've been told -- the way we've been impugned and maligned and so forth. One of the things that is totally erroneous about me -- and I just want to get this up front -- is that I'm pompous. [Laughter] And that I am arrogant. Neither of these things are remotely true. I can tell you a joke to illustrate this. Larry King passed away, goes to heaven. He's greeted by Saint Peter at the gates. Saint Peter says, "Welcome, Mr. King, it's great to have you here. I want to show you around, give you an idea of what's here, maybe you can pick a place that you'd like to reside." King says, "I just have one question: Is Rush Limbaugh here?" "No, he's got a lot of time yet, Mr. King." So Saint Peter begins the tour. Larry King sees the various places and it's beyond anything we can imagine in terms of beauty. Finally, he gets to the biggest room of all, with this giant throne. And over the throne is a flashing beautiful angelic neon sign that says "Rush Limbaugh."

[Laughter] And Larry King looks at Saint Peter and says: "I thought you said he wasn't here." "He said, he's not, he's not. This is God's room. He just thinks he's Rush Limbaugh."

[Laughter] [Applause] So you see I'm not pompous.

[Laughter] Now, seriously, for those of you watching on C-SPAN as well, and on Fox, I want to tell you who we all are in this room. I want to tell you who conservatives are. We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming people know. What they know is largely incorrect based on the way we are portrayed in pop culture, in the Drive-By Media, by the Democrat Party. Let me tell you who we conservatives are: We love people. [Applause]

When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government. [Applause]

We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.

We don't want to tell anybody how to live. That's up to you. If you want to make the best of yourself, feel free. If you want to ruin your life, we'll try to stop it, but it's a waste. We look over the country as it is today, we see so much waste, human potential that's been destroyed by 50 years of a welfare state. By a failed war on poverty. [Applause] We love the people of this country. And we want this to be the greatest country it can be, but we do understand, as people created and endowed by our creator, we're all individuals. We resist the effort to group us. We resist the effort to make us feel that we're all the same, that we're no different than anybody else. We're all different. There are no two things or people in this world who are created in a way that they end up with equal outcomes. That's up to them. They are created equal, given the chance - -[Applause] We don't hate anybody. We don't -- I mean, the racism in this country, if you ask me, I know many people in this audience -- let me deal with this head on. You know what the cliche is, a conservative: racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe. Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of America, if you were paying attention, I know you were, the racism in our culture was exclusively and fully on display in the Democrat primary last year. [Applause] PRINT FRIENDLY FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Monday, March 02, 2009

Kathleen Sebelius Biography VIDEO


Kathleen Sebelius BiographyGovernor Sebelius serves on the National Governors Association’s Executive Committee and is co-chair of the National Governors Association’s initiative, Securing a Clean Energy Future. Sebelius is the immediate past chair of the Education Commission of the States and as past chair of the Democratic Governors Association, she currently serves on the DGA Executive Committee.
Kathleen Sebelius won election as the 44th Governor of Kansas in November 2002, becoming the first daughter of a U.S. governor (John Gilligan, Ohio, 1971-75) to serve in that same position, Sebelius defeated Republican Tim Shallenburger by a vote of 53%-45%

On May 26, 2006 Sebelius formally announced her candidacy for re-election, she was challenged by Republican Kansas State Senator Jim Barnett. Sebelius, won with 57.8 percent – of the vote to Barnett's 40.5 percent. Because of Kansas' term limit law, her second term as Governor is her last.

Sebelius was born Kathleen Gilligan May 15, 194* in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in a Roman Catholic family. She attended the Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, followed by Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C., and later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas. She moved to Kansas in 1974.

Sebelius was director of Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, 1978-1986 and aide to Kansas Department of Corrections, 1975-1977

Prior to her election as governor, Sebelius served four terms (1987-1995) in the Kansas House of Representatives and two terms (1995-2003) as the state's elected Insurance Commissioner. As Insurance Commissioner, the first time a Democrat had won in more than 109 years. Sebelius reduced the operating budget by 19%. She refused to take campaign contributions from insurers and blocked the proposed merger of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the state's largest health insurer, with an Indiana-based company. The decision by Sebelius marked the first time the corporation had been rebuffed in its acquisition attempts.

A former chairwoman of the Democratic Governors Association, Ms. Sebelius endorsed Barack Obama in late January 2008.

On March 3, 2008 President Obama introduced Sebelius as his choice to run HHS, including overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, "Kathleen Sebelius has a remarkable intellect, unquestioned integrity, and the kind of pragmatic wisdom you’ll tend to find in a Kansan," President Obama said as he announced the Kansas Governor as his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. "I know she will bring some much-needed grace and good humor to Washington, and she will be a tremendous asset to my cabinet."


Married to husband, Gary, a federal magistrate judge, for 34 years, they have two sons: Ned and John. Both Sebelius boys are products of the Topeka public school system, pre-kindergarten through high school. Ned is a law student, and John is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. She also visits her childhood and current vacation home, located in Leland, Michigan, north of Traverse City, Michigan.

GUN CONTROL: Kathleen Sebelius fulfilled a promise to veto a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns, saying the measure would have placed law enforcement officers in an "untenable position."

SAME SEX MARRIAGE: Sebelius did not support an April 2005 amendment to the Kansas Constitution that made same-sex marriage in the state unconstitutional. Sebelius said she supported the existing state law outlawing same-sex marriage, viewed it as sufficient,

ABORTION RIGHTS: She is a Roman Catholic who supports abortion rights, and has vetoed anti-abortion. As secretary, Ms. Sebelius would have considerable influence over government policy on abortion. Although she says she personally opposes abortion, she has consistently defended abortion rights.

ENERGY: Governor Sebelius vetoed legislation that would have overturned a decision of her administration to deny an permit application to build two new coal-fired power plants because of the greenhouse gases they would have produced. The utility contends that by not allowing the coal-fired plants to be built, the governor will make Kansans pay more for electricity.

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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Senator Richard Burr Delivers Weekly Republican Address 02/28/09 VIDEO PODCAST TEXT


Full Text Transcript:

“This week, President Obama shared with all Americans his priorities and concerns about the serious economic challenges we as America are facing. I appreciated his optimism and agree with him that our country has the ability to overcome this significant economic challenge.

“The strongest tool we as Americans have is our ability to rally together and to find solutions with unity of purpose. There is no limit to our ability and potential when we as a nation and as a people work together.

“Many times, disagreements between the two political parties in Washington get all the headlines. What’s not reported is the fact that Republicans and Democrats agree on where we want to go, but we disagree on how we’re going to get there.

“These uncertain times present us with a defining moment. The actions and decisions we make and the actions we take in our nation’s capital and in the state capitals across this country will have a profound impact on the way of life for years to come.

“Families facing tough decisions at home know this because they are confronting the same challenges. Washington needs to understand this reality as well. It’s difficult to fully appreciate, but every time Congress and the President spends a dollar, it’s actually a dollar PLUS interest that our children and our grandchildren will have to pay back.

“We must remind ourselves of this fact every single day. Unfortunately, Washington is in a state of denial. Our spending habits haven’t gotten better, they’ve only gotten worse.

“It seems that every morning you pick up the newspaper, you’re reading about another multi-billion dollar government spending plan being proposed or even worse, passed. The numbers are so large, and the deficits so staggering, it’s difficult for the average person to imagine how much money we’re talking about. We become numb to what the dollar figures really mean, or the obligation that accompanies them. Let me take a moment to try to explain what is happening in Washington right now, and what it will mean for all of us down the road.

“This week, the president submitted to Congress the single largest increase in federal spending in the history of the United States, while driving the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible. If we just look at what our debt spending will cost us in interest payments alone, we are talking about 4 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, more than a billion dollars of interest payments every day. Think of that 4 trillion as a finance charge on your credit card bill – you have to pay, but you get nothing for it in return. This finance charge obligates more than $52,000 for every family in America over the same 10 year period.

“These payments don’t even make a dent in the balance we owe. In fact, the balance on our credit card continues to grow as we continue to spend. Like a family that find itself choking under the weight of credit card balances and finance charges, the federal government is quickly obligating the American people to a similar fate.

“This is why we must keep our eye on the big picture. For two centuries, the American Dream has depended on the simple belief that men and women work hard so their children would have a better future. Looking at the spending priorities of Democrats in Washington in the proposed budget and over the past month, it’s hard to escape the reality that for the first time we could see the American Dream vanish. Now, instead of working hard so our children can have a better life tomorrow, we are asking our children to work hard so that we don’t have to make tough choices today.

“It’s long past time to show restraint and to make the tough choices that will help put our fiscal house in order. Generations of Americans past have often been called on to make great sacrifices for their country. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Is it not time for government to make sacrifices for future generations? It’s time for those elected to lead. Will we rise to the challenge, and make the tough choices necessary? Or will we simply hand the obligation to our children and wish them good luck?”

President Obama Weekly Address 02/28/09 PODCAST VIDEO TEXT


SATURDAY, February 28, 2009 WEEKLY ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE Download MP3 4.7 mb

Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address Saturday, February 28th, 2009 Washington, DC

Two years ago, we set out on a journey to change the way that Washington works.

We sought a government that served not the interests of powerful lobbyists or the wealthiest few, but the middle-class Americans I met every day in every community along the campaign trail – responsible men and women who are working harder than ever, worrying about their jobs, and struggling to raise their families. In so many town halls and backyards, they spoke of their hopes for a government that finally confronts the challenges that their families face every day; a government that treats their tax dollars as responsibly as they treat their own hard-earned paychecks.

That is the change I promised as a candidate for president. It is the change the American people voted for in November. And it is the change represented by the budget I sent to Congress this week.

During the campaign, I promised a fair and balanced tax code that would cut taxes for 95% of working Americans, roll back the tax breaks for those making over $250,000 a year, and end the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas. This budget does that.

I promised an economy run on clean, renewable energy that will create new American jobs, new American industries, and free us from the dangerous grip of foreign oil. This budget puts us on that path, through a market-based cap on carbon pollution that will make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy; through investments in wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient American cars and American trucks.

I promised to bring down the crushing cost of health care – a cost that bankrupts one American every thirty seconds, forces small businesses to close their doors, and saddles our government with more debt. This budget keeps that promise, with a historic commitment to reform that will lead to lower costs and quality, affordable health care for every American.

I promised an education system that will prepare every American to compete, so Americans can win in a global economy. This budget will help us meet that goal, with new incentives for teacher performance and pathways for advancement; new tax credits that will make college more affordable for all who want to go; and new support to ensure that those who do go finish their degree.

This budget also reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession. Given this reality, we’ll have to be more vigilant than ever in eliminating the programs we don’t need in order to make room for the investments we do need. I promised to do this by going through the federal budget page by page, and line by line. That is a process we have already begun, and I am pleased to say that we’ve already identified two trillion dollars worth of deficit-reductions over the next decade. We’ve also restored a sense of honesty and transparency to our budget, which is why this one accounts for spending that was hidden or left out under the old rules.

I realize that passing this budget won’t be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington. I know that the insurance industry won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medicare and lower health care costs for American families. I know that banks and big student lenders won’t like the idea that we’re ending their huge taxpayer subsidies, but that’s how we’ll save taxpayers nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable. I know that oil and gas companies won’t like us ending nearly $30 billion in tax breaks, but that’s how we’ll help fund a renewable energy economy that will create new jobs and new industries. In other words, I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this:

So am I.

The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t. I work for the American people. I didn’t come here to do the same thing we’ve been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November. That is the change this budget starts to make, and that is the change I’ll be fighting for in the weeks ahead – change that will grow our economy, expand our middle-class, and keep the American Dream alive for all those men and women who have believed in this journey from the day it began.

Thanks for listening.