Obama to make earmark threat promise in State of the Union - TheHill.com

We will see...........

Obama to make earmark threat promise in State of the Union - TheHill.com

Congress Looking For a Suitable Date to the State of the Union

The idea of civility doesn't mean having to sit with the opposing party member. This "Kuymbaya" moment is an embarrassment to the integrity of the political institution. Just the sight of it is revolting. This is not a high school classroom or the pageantry of a high school prom. These are matured individuals making laws that govern this land. I just don't know the purpose of this juvenile charade.

(Politico) — Lawmakers on the Hill haven’t quite broken out the corsages — yet — but the high school level drama is on as senators and representatives scramble to find suitable across-the-aisle seating partners for Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

The very public rollout of odd-couple pairings this week, from lofty press releases to tweets to public displays of bipartisan affection on national TV — where Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) kicked off a Capitol craze on “Meet the Press” last Sunday by announcing their intentions to sit together — has turned conventional State of the Union wisdom on its head.

A night typically marked by highly symbolic partisan coordination, from seating charts to dramatic, orchestrated applause for the president, now has become about the buildup: Which Democrat will sit with which Republican on which side of the aisle? And now that the room is all mixed, will it become as awkward as a high school dance where no one knows exactly what to do when sitting next to a new partner?

Perhaps the hubbub is not quite what Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) had in mind when he sent an open letter to Congress asking his colleagues to break tradition this year because of the Jan. 8 shootings at a constituent event for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). Approximately 60 lawmakers have signed onto Udall’s letter.

But this is Congress, and if lawmakers weren’t trying to get a few minutes of attention, even for the noblest of causes, it wouldn’t be right.

And no pair symbolizes the uniqueness of this arrangement better than Democrat Anthony Weiner and Republican Pete King, whose wife, in suggesting the two sit together, called them the “biggest loudmouths” in the House.

Last summer, Weiner got into a shouting match with King on the House floor over the 9/11 first-responders health care bill, yelling repeatedly, “The gentleman will sit! The gentleman will sit!” in what became one of the most iconic — or, at least, viral — moments of the 111th Congress.
Tuesday, the gentleman will be sitting. Right next to Weiner.

“To me, this is really stretching the outer limits of civility for Weiner and I to be sitting together,” King told POLITICO, crediting his wife for the idea. “He wants to sit on the GOP side with me, so I guess for one night he can pretend he’s in the majority.”

“It’s a nice thing. I’m going to be sitting on the Republican side, so not only will Peter King be my date, he may be my security detail also,” Weiner added. “Look, Peter and I have had our moments. We disagree on a lot of things, and from time to time we disagree very loudly, but if we’re going to get stuff done for New York, we’re going to have to work together.”

House GOP Lists $2.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts

As promised, the Tea Party Republicans in Congress is cleaning house. They already got the 112th Congress to repeal Obamacare. Today, the Tea Party Republicans aggressively presented to the House a way to eliminate $2.5 Trillion in spending in the next 10 years. At this point, the GOP establishment and Liberals are scared that the Tea Party Republicans will change how Washington will function. Now, this is the "Hope and Change" we can all believe in.

(Yahoo) Here is the overview provided by the Republican Study Committee:

FY 2011 CR Amendment: Replace the spending levels in the FY 2011 continuing resolution (NYSE: CR - News) with non-defense, non-homeland security, non-veterans spending at FY 2008 levels. The legislation will further prohibit any FY 2011 funding from being used to carry out any provision of the Democrat government takeover of health care, or to defend the health care law against any lawsuit challenging any provision of the act. $80 billion savings.

Discretionary Spending Limit, FY 2012-2021: Eliminate automatic increases for inflation from CBO baseline projections for future discretionary appropriations. Further, impose discretionary spending limits through 2021 at 2006 levels on the non-defense portion of the discretionary budget. $2.29 trillion savings over ten years.

Federal Workforce Reforms: Eliminate automatic pay increases for civilian federal workers for five years. Additionally, cut the civilian workforce by a total of 15 percent through attrition. Allow the hiring of only one new worker for every two workers who leave federal employment until the reduction target has been met. (Savings included in above discretionary savings figure).

"Stimulus" Repeal: Eliminate all remaining "stimulus" funding. $45 billion total savings.

Eliminate federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. $30 billion total savings.

Repeal the Medicaid FMAP increase in the "State Bailout" (Senate amendments to S. 1586). $16.1 billion total savings.

More than 100 specific program eliminations and spending reductions listed below: $330 billion savings over ten years (included in above discretionary savings figure).

Here is the full list of cuts:

Additional Program Eliminations/Spending Reforms

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.

Save America's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.

International Fund for Ireland. $17 million annual savings.

Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.

National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.

National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.

Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings.

Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.

Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually.

U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.

Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.

Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual savings.

John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.

Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.

Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.

Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings.

Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.

Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.

Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million annual savings.

Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings.

Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.

New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.

Exchange Programs for Alaska, Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts. $9 million annual savings.

Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.

Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.

Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.

Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.

Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual savings.

Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.

FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.

Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.

Economic Assistance to Egypt. $250 million annually.

U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings.

General Assistance to District of Columbia. $210 million annual savings.

Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.

Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.

No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million annual savings.

End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.

Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.

IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.

Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total savings.

Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion savings over ten years.

Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.

Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.

Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.

Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings.

Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.

USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.

Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). $93 million annual savings.

Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. $56.2 million annual savings.

Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.

Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings.

HUD Ph.D. Program.

Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act.

TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years

The Tea Party Movement Took the House and Repealed Obamacare

The new Tea Party Members of the House of Representatives took the 112th Congress and repealed Obamacare as promised!

(Politico) House Republicans passed a bill to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care plan Wednesday, taking their first major step toward rolling back the massive overhaul that has dominated the American political landscape for almost two years.

The vote was 245 to 189, and unanimous GOP support gave the vote the same partisan feel of the March vote to pass the law, underscoring once again the hardened political lines of the health care debate. Only three Democrats backed the repeal, a smaller number than Republicans had once predicted.

Boehner fires back at Dem senators with vow to push forward with repeal

Boehner reminds me of a Teddy Roosevelt motto, "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." It is good to know that Boehner won't take any flack from these Democrats!

(The Hill) Boehner's office responded to a letter sent by the Senate's top five Democrats, vowing to block a House bill repealing healthcare reform, with a terse, 65-word note.

Senators Reid, Durbin, Schumer, Murray and Stabenow:

Thank you for reminding us – and the American people – of the backroom deal that you struck behind closed doors with ‘Big Pharma,’ resulting in bigger profits for the drug companies, and higher prescription drug costs for 33 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D, at a cost to the taxpayers of $42.6 billion.

The House is going to pass legislation to repeal that now. You’re welcome.

- Speaker-Designate John Boehner’s Press Office

The note comes in response to a letter released on Monday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) office, in which the Democrats promise to block a bill repealing benefits within the healthcare law.

Republicans have disbanded the committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming

The 112th Congress will be cleaning house in the next several months. First order on their agenda is getting rid of unproductive committees and ousting Obama's czars.

(The Guardian) The kick-off of the 112th Congress on Wednesday also marked the end of an era in the House – the demise of a committee devoted solely to climate change and energy issues. The Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, created by Nancy Pelosi in 2006, has been shuttered under the new Republican leadership.

There had been some talk among Republicans of keeping the committee alive so it could be used to mock climate change and harass scientists, but leadership put the kibosh on that idea. It went out on a high note, and on its own terms, so I suppose we can take some small comfort in that.

Happy New Year as Republicans First Day as House Majority

Today is the first day of a Republican House Majority. Let's see if they adhere to the public outcry. To note, there are 19 Democrats who are extremely angry at Pelosi for causing a severe backlash in the last elections. When Rep. Nancy Pelosi lost 19 Democrats on Wednesday's vote to be House speaker, it marked the worst showing for a party's nominee in more than 80 years.

(Washington Times) Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio was elected speaker of the House Wednesday in a vote that saw a significant portion of the Democratic caucus vote for someone other than outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mr. Boehner received 241 votes, all Republicans, to capture the gavel and become second in the line of presidential succession, following only the vice president.

Mrs. Pelosi, meanwhile, received 173 votes, but watched as 19 Democrats from her caucus either opted for another candidate or merely voted "present."

It was the most defections from a party caucus's candidate in at least the last two decades, and underscored the simmering tensions among House Democrats who suffered staggering losses in last year's midterm elections.

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