All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

In a move hailed by anti-smoking advocates as a major victory in the fight to reduce tobacco-related fatalities, President Obama on Monday signed into law legislation giving the U.S. government broad powers to regulate tobacco products.

"Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new regular, daily smokers, and almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday," Mr. Obama said before signing the legislation. "I know; I was one of these teenagers. And so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time."

The bill puts tobacco under the authority of the Food And Drug Administration, which will now regulate tobacco as a drug. A new entity within the FDA – the Center for Tobacco Products – will oversee the regulation, and it will have the power to mandate lower nicotine levels in tobacco products.

The legislation also bans candy-flavored cigarettes by October 2009, requires the full disclosure to the FDA of all ingredients and additives in cigarettes by January 2010, bans youth-focused marketing of cigarettes (including sponsorship of sporting events and clothing and cigarette giveaways), prohibits the use of misleading terms like "light" and "mild" on tobacco products by July 2010, and mandates new and stronger warning labels on tobacco products by July 2011.

"Kids today don't just start smoking for no reason," the president said Monday. "They're aggressively targeted as customers by the tobacco industry. They're exposed to a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn, and where they play. Most insidiously, they are offered products with flavorings that mask the taste of tobacco and make it even more tempting."

"Today, thanks to the work of Democrats and Republicans, health care and consumer advocates, the decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco has emerged victorious," he added. "Today, change has come to Washington."

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President Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to swiftly approve "paygo" legislation, which would require any new tax cut or entitlement program to be paid for.

"Entitlement increases and tax cuts... are not free, and borrowing to finance them is not a sustainable long-term policy," Mr. Obama said at the White House.

"Paygo" -- or the "pay-as-you-go" system -- requires that any bills designed to cut taxes, or to establish new programs or expand programs, be offset by higher taxes or benefit cuts somewhere else. The law would make automatic cuts in mandatory programs as penalties for violations. The House and Senate adopted paygo principles in their rules in 2007, but they are not enforceable.

"The 'pay-as-you-go' principle is very simple," Mr. Obama said. "Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere. This principle guides responsible families managing a budget."

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Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell today said there are no plans to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibits openly gay troops from serving in the military.

President Obama vowed to repeal the controversial 1993 policy during the campaign, but according to Morrell, there have not been serious discussions between the White House and the military about doing so.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen are "aware of where the president wants to go on this issue, but I don't think that there is any sense of any immediate developments in the offing on efforts to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,'" Morrell said.

Morrell indicated that the White House has not formally sent a request to Congress to abandon the policy. He said there have only been "initial conversations in their early stages" about the situation.

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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today indicated that President Obama will not intervene to keep gay servicemembers from being dismissed from the military, despite his vow to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Gibbs said "the policy isn’t working for our national interests," but added that ending it will "require more than the snapping of one's fingers."

"To get fundamental reform in this instance requires a legislative vehicle," Gibbs said. "The president made a promise to change this policy; he will work with the Joints Chiefs of Staff, the administration and with Congress to ensure that we have a policy that works for our national interests."

Noted a reporter at the briefing: "He is the Commander-in-Chief. I mean, if the president and the Secretary of Defense can bring about a new leadership in Afghanistan, replace the commanding general there, couldn't the president and the secretary of defense delay any more people getting fired under 'don't ask, don't tell'?"

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President Obama this afternoon signed the $5.7 billion Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which triples the size of the AmeriCorps program.

Appearing at the SEED school in Washington, the president called the bill "the boldest expansion of opportunities to serve our communities and our country since the creation of AmeriCorps."

"What this legislation does, then, is to help harness this patriotism and connect deeds to needs," he said. "It creates opportunities to serve for students, seniors and everyone in between. It supports innovation and strengthens the nonprofit sector. And it is just the beginning of a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to involve our greatest resource, our citizens, in the work of remaking this nation."

The bill will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 slots to 250,000 over eight years. It will "focus that service on today’s challenges, including clean energy, education, health care, veterans care, and economic opportunity," according to the White House, and "provide new service opportunities for millions of Americans at all stages of their lives."

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Yesterday was April 20th – or 4/20 – a kind of national holiday for marijuana advocates. As CBSNews.com’s Brian Montopoli reported here, the day was celebrated with protests, calls for marijuana legalization and pot-themed parties.

"There's some data out there that shows 47 percent of Americans have smoked marijuana at some point in their life," Keith Stroup, founder of the marijuana legalization organization NORML, said in the story. "That was five years ago, and that means there are likely more living Americans today who have smoked than have not. That tells me that we are very close to a tipping point on this issue."

Last night, CBS 5 in Northern California also took a look at the issue and the large protest held at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. You can watch their report below:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning joined relatives of those murdered at Virginia Tech two years ago to unveil a new ad pushing for the closure of the so-called gun show loophole.

CBS' "60 Minutes" explored the loophole, which exists in Virginia and a number of other states, in last night's broadcast. It allows those who are not professional gun sellers to sell weapons – including assault weapons – to buyers without a background check.

As detailed last night, the loophole means that so-called "occasional sellers" can sell guns out of their home or cars and at gun shows without background checks. At gun shows, many "occasional sellers" walk around carrying the guns over their shoulders. Attached to the guns are signs advertizing their availability.

The new ad, which comes both on the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre and the tenth anniversary of the killings at Columbine high school, features Omar Samaha, whose sister Reema was one of the 31 people killed at Virginia Tech.

"Her killer got his guns because of a gap in Virginia's gun background checks," Samaha says. "There's still another huge loophole – the gun show loophole, which allows convicted criminals to purchase guns completely unchecked."

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Recession, war, health care and energy all occupy major portions of President Obama's current agenda and you can now add one more side dish: a serving of immigration reform.

A White House official tells The New York Times Thursday that the president's goal is to enact "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system."

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A group called the National Organization for Marriage, which worked to overturn gay marriage in California, is out with a controversial new ad that suggests opponents of same-sex marriage are now being victimized for their beliefs.

"There's a storm gathering," one woman says as the spot opens. Says another woman: "I am afraid."

Later in the spot, a man says same-sex marriage advocates "want to bring the issue into my life." He is followed by a woman who says "my freedom will be taken away."

Another woman says same-sex marriage advocates "want to change the way I live." A teenage girl intones, "I will have no choice."

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The House voted Tuesday afternoon to spend $5.7 billion on a bill that will triple the number of participants in the AmeriCorps program and help nonprofits attract and manage new volunteers.

The bill now goes to President Obama, a former community organizer who has been pressing Americans to step up their engagement in national service. He is expected to sign it.

As the Associated Press points out, the president's budget proposal calls for an increase of more than $210 million in funding for national service programs, for a total of $1.1 billion.

The bill will increase the number of AmeriCorps participants to 250,000 over eight years. Participants spend 10 months in the program, usually for a stipend of around $12,000, and are tasked with activities such as building homes. Under the new legislation, money given to participants for education will increase to $5,350.

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