All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-Ore.) is seeking co-sponsors for the "Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act," which he suggests could raise $150 billion per year through a securities transaction tax.

The money raised "will be invested in the current needs of Main Street America," according to a message DeFazio sent to House colleagues seeking support for the effort.

"We cannot sit back and assume that job creation will turn around," the message says. "We must make it clear to our constituents that we know Main Street is suffering and a restored Wall Street should now share in its recovery with everyone else. Timely job creation and deficit reduction is the fair thing to do."

The tax would be applied to stock transactions (at 0.25 percent), futures, swaps, credit default swaps and options. In an effort to make sure it does not affect pension funds or average investors, it would be refunded for the first $100,000 of transactions annually, as well as for tax-favored retirement accounts, education savings accounts and health savings accounts.

Read full post…

A conservative Web site announced yesterday it has sent millions of "pink slips" to members of Congress, conveying citizens' dissatisfaction with certain legislative activity and the country's current anti-incumbent mood.

Conservative site WorldNetDaily is running a campaign to send members of Congress a "pink slip" warning that if they vote for "government health care," "cap and trade," "hate crimes," or "any more spending," their "real pink slip will be issued in the next election." Since September, WorldNetDaily has offered to send pink slips to all 535 members of Congress on behalf of readers for a price of $29.95.

The organizers of the campaign held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that it had sent out 5 million pink slips. The press conference, held on Capitol Hill, was attended by Republican politicians including Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Steve King (R-Iowa) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.).

"This is part of the reason... why we haven't seen this legislation on health care come through earlier," said Bachmann, who received the pink slips along with all other congressmen. "People are shocked that 5 million people have taken the time and the money ... to send these pink slips."

Read full post…

By tomorrow, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, will have the honor of being the longest-serving member of Congress ever, breaking the record set by former senator Carl Hayden.

Politico reports that Byrd, who is 91, has now officially served 20,774 days -- or 56 years, ten and a half months -- in Congress. Byrd was elected to the Senate in 1959 after serving three two-year terms in the House of Representatives, and has since been reelected eight times. He accomplished a unique feat by earning a law degree while in Congress, graduating in 1963; and he is President pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in the line of presidential succession behind Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"On Nov. 18, a West Virginian breaks all records and makes history," West Virginia governor Joe Manchin said in a recent news release. "Sen. Byrd sets the gold standard for what it means to be an outstanding public official, and next week he will reach a historic national milestone for length of service."

Byrd has attracted significant attention throughout his time in Washington for his controversial background, his efforts to further West Virginia's economic development and his record-setting career longevity. Between 1995 and 2006, Byrd sent more than $1 billion West Virginia's way, and most of the $215 million in federal funds given to the state during fiscal 2008 was a result of his work, according to the Charleston Gazette. The Gazette also reports that he was the first candidate to win all 55 counties in one West Virginia election- an accomplishment that he has since repeated twice.

Read full post…

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Obama sounds uncomfortable with the health care bill's abortion amendment...

** The president settles on a new Afghanistan strategy...

** Restoring American influence in Asia...

FORT HOOD: President Obama and the first lady travel to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas today to meet with the families of those killed during last week's shootings as well as with wounded soldiers.

Mr. Obama will then address the Fort Hood community during a memorial service. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Obama will meet with wounded soldiers at Darnall Army Medical Center before flying back to Washington.

CBS News coverage of the Fort Hood tragedy

Associated Press' Ben Feller, "Obama pressed into role as national healer"

Read full post…

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will conduct an investigation into last week's shootings at Fort Hood, beginning with a public hearing next week, the committee's leaders announced Monday.

While the investigation will not interfere with the Army or FBI's criminal investigations, "this murderous attack should be examined from every angle to make sure nothing like this occurs again," Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said in a statement.

The committee will investigate the potential motives of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the man accused of opening fire at the military base. It will also look into whether the government missed warning signs of the incident and what lessons can be gleaned from the tragedy to prevent such future attacks.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood

"As this investigation continues, we would do no favor to the thousands of Muslim Americans who are serving our military with honor and the millions of patriotic and law-abiding Muslim Americans by ignoring real evidence that an individual Muslim American soldier may have become a violent Islamist extremist," Lieberman said.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the ranking Republican on the committee, said Congress owed the investigation to the military, their families and their communities.
"Our military must be prepared to detect the warning signs for potential violence and to intervene and prevent similar attacks in the future," she said. "This hearing is vital to assuring the men and women serving in our military and their families that their safety is a top priority for us."

Read full post…

Even in tough times, it's good to be a lawmaker: According to a report released this week by the Center for Responsive Politics, there are 237 millionaires serving in Congress, according to 2008 figures.

That's a slight decline from the previous year, when there were 239 millionaires in the House and Senate. But it still reflects the fact that the average lawmaker is far wealthier than his or her typical constituent. While about one percent of Americans are millionaires, 44 percent of those serving in Congress can claim as much.

"The biggest takeaway from all of this is that even thought the collective wealth of members of congress appears to have declined, members of Congress are still so much more wealthy than the average American ? and even more wealthy than a lot of wealthy Americans," CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal told Hotsheet.

The richest member of Congress is Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa, whose net worth is estimated to be in excess of $250 million. He's followed by four Democrats: California's Jane Harman (approx. $245 million), Wisconsin's Herb Kohl (approx. $215 million), Virginia's Mark Warner (approx. $210 million) and Massachusetts' John Kerry (approx. $209 million).

Among the top 25 wealthiest legislators ? which includes boldface names Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein and Olympia Snowe ? there are 14 Democrats and 11 Republicans, suggesting no clear wealth divisions between party.

The net worth calculated for the lawmakers is not exact, and CPR offers a wide range of possible net worths for each member. Levinthal said that lawmakers tend to report assets and liabilities, income, gifts and asset transactions, as required by law, in very broad ranges; the listed figure, he said, represents an estimate between two possible extremes. (Primary residences and government salaries are not reported, and thus not included.)

The least wealthy member of Congress, the report found, is Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings, whose net worth is calculated to be negative $4,732,002 (!). Other lawmakers to make the bottom 25 are Montana's Max Baucus and Ohio's Dennis Kucinich. Keep in mind, however, that these lawmakers likely have substantial unreported assets, including their residences.

In the executive branch, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the second wealthiest, with a net worth of about $21 million; she trails only Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. The least wealthy administration figure is Vice President Joe Biden, whose net worth is estimated at just $27,012. (President Obama comes in at $3,670,505.)

Read full post…

In June, lawmakers received letters ostensibly from the NAACP and local Hispanic, seniors, women and veterans groups stating that those organizations had serious reservations about the then-pending climate change legislation.

Eventually they learned the letters, which were printed on official stationary, weren't real: They had come from a D.C. lobbying group called Bonner and Associates, which is headed by Jack Bonner. (Here's one sample.) Yesterday Bonner was called before House lawmakers to explain the fake letters. He took responsibility, National Public Radio reports, but also claimed he knew nothing about them when they were drafted.

"This improper activity was undertaken without the knowledge of anyone at our firm. It was the actions of one rogue temporary employee, acting on his own, against our company's policies and without the knowledge of anyone else at Bonner and Associates," Bonner said. He said the employee had been fired.

Read full post…

Republican Ohio Rep. Steven LaTourette engaged in what The Awl described as a "one minute stand-up routine" on the House floor this week, and it's well worth it checking out. Watch at left.

"We couldn't stop a one-car parade," LaTourette says of his fellow Republicans, noting the relatively small number of GOPers in the House. "This health care discussion is a fight between the left, and the far left."

"This is a bad bill," he concludes. "They can't even get their own team to row the boat. But they want to say 'Republicans don't want health care.' Waaah."

As LaTourette wraps up, laughter can be heard in the chamber.

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Tallying the jobs saved by the Recovery Act...

** Health Care reform still a tough battle...

** More than 30 politicians face ethics investigations...

PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY: The Recovery and Transparency Board will release its reports detailing how the economic stimulus plan's funds have been spent through Sept. 30 and how effective the plan has been in terms of job creation, with the White House claiming the plan "has created and saved at least 1 million jobs." More on that below...

President Obama, meantime, meets with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan "in one of the final steps before deciding whether to send thousands more US troops to war," writes Agence France-Presse's Stephen Collinson.

"Obama invited the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the heads of the branches of the US armed services, to the secure White House Situation Room to hear their input on his war plan and deliberations on troop numbers, officials said.

"He will hold the meeting a day after his poignant visit to witness the return to home soil of fallen Americans from Afghanistan, after which he said the heavy sacrifice of US soldiers was weighing on his decision-making...

"Expectations are mounting that Obama could reveal his answer to McChrystal's request before he leaves for an eight-day trip to Asia on November 11. But he is believed unlikely to reveal his decision whether to reinforce the 68,000 US troops in the country before the Afghan run-off election on November 7."

Read full post…

Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida has apologized for calling an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke a "K Street whore."

"I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke," Grayson said in a statement emailed to reporters. "I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women."

"This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize," he added.

While appearing on the Alex Jones radio show a month ago, Grayson complained that "this lobbyist, this K street whore, is trying to teach me about economics." (The comments were posted online this week.)

He was roundly criticized by members of both major political parties for the comment, with Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner asking, "Is this news to you that this guy?s one fry short of a Happy Meal?"

But until now, Grayson has stood by the comment.

Read full post…