Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Senate Approves Aid Package to States
Thursday, August 5, 2010 -WSJ.com
By COREY BOLES
WASHINGTON—The Senate voted Thursday to approve a package of $26 billion in aid for state and local governments, funded partly by an $11 billion tax increase on U.S. multinational corporations.
In what was one of the final moves by the Senate before lawmakers depart Washington for the summer recess, Democrats were able to score a significant victory for a core constituency of their party: labor unions and public-sector workers.
But at the same time, they handed a hefty tax bill to U.S. companies with units overseas that have been able to pay a lower corporate income tax rate on profits derived from their foreign businesses.
The Senate voted 61-39 to approve the measure, with just two Republicans joining with every single Democrat to vote in favor of the legislation.
House Democratic leadership indicated Wednesday they plan to bring back lawmakers in that chamber to give final approval to the legislation, likely Aug. 10.
The House began its six-week recess at the end of last week. It is rare for lawmakers to return to Washington in the midst of a recess.
For Democrats, whose various efforts to boost job creation have been largely stymied by Republicans in the Senate, the vote will provide ammunition for campaigning during the break.
The legislation would provide $16 billion in aid to help states pay rising Medicaid costs.
Current federal funding for the expansion of the program, which provides health care for the poor, expires at year end. Democrats are seeking to continue the funding through the first six months of 2011.
Hospital stocks have been rising in anticipation of the final vote but were down slightly in recent trading amid a broader market downturn.
Robert W. Baird analyst Whit Mayo said Wednesday that despite the recent rally, he sees more upside, adding the group could rally another 10% or so higher in the next few days.
The bill would steer a further $10 billion to local governments to help them avert layoffs of teachers and other public-sector workers like firemen and police officers.
Democrats said the legislation would enable state and local governments to avert layoffs or create 290,000 public-sector jobs this fall.
The legislation's full $26 billion cost is offset by tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. This was what allowed Democrats to break the logjam and win enough Republican support to pass the legislation.
The majority of Republicans were critical of the legislation, arguing it was handing U.S. corporations—which they say are proven job creators—another reason to move more of their operations to other countries. At the same time, they said, it was essentially rewarding traditional Democratic supporters at the expense of large firms.
By COREY BOLES
WASHINGTON—The Senate voted Thursday to approve a package of $26 billion in aid for state and local governments, funded partly by an $11 billion tax increase on U.S. multinational corporations.
In what was one of the final moves by the Senate before lawmakers depart Washington for the summer recess, Democrats were able to score a significant victory for a core constituency of their party: labor unions and public-sector workers.
But at the same time, they handed a hefty tax bill to U.S. companies with units overseas that have been able to pay a lower corporate income tax rate on profits derived from their foreign businesses.
The Senate voted 61-39 to approve the measure, with just two Republicans joining with every single Democrat to vote in favor of the legislation.
House Democratic leadership indicated Wednesday they plan to bring back lawmakers in that chamber to give final approval to the legislation, likely Aug. 10.
The House began its six-week recess at the end of last week. It is rare for lawmakers to return to Washington in the midst of a recess.
For Democrats, whose various efforts to boost job creation have been largely stymied by Republicans in the Senate, the vote will provide ammunition for campaigning during the break.
The legislation would provide $16 billion in aid to help states pay rising Medicaid costs.
Current federal funding for the expansion of the program, which provides health care for the poor, expires at year end. Democrats are seeking to continue the funding through the first six months of 2011.
Hospital stocks have been rising in anticipation of the final vote but were down slightly in recent trading amid a broader market downturn.
Robert W. Baird analyst Whit Mayo said Wednesday that despite the recent rally, he sees more upside, adding the group could rally another 10% or so higher in the next few days.
The bill would steer a further $10 billion to local governments to help them avert layoffs of teachers and other public-sector workers like firemen and police officers.
Democrats said the legislation would enable state and local governments to avert layoffs or create 290,000 public-sector jobs this fall.
The legislation's full $26 billion cost is offset by tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. This was what allowed Democrats to break the logjam and win enough Republican support to pass the legislation.
The majority of Republicans were critical of the legislation, arguing it was handing U.S. corporations—which they say are proven job creators—another reason to move more of their operations to other countries. At the same time, they said, it was essentially rewarding traditional Democratic supporters at the expense of large firms.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Official Ousted From Ag Department Had Taken USDA to Court, Won
Published July 20, 2010
FoxNews.com
The Agriculture Department has a lengthy history with the official forced to resign Monday over a controversial YouTube clip -- it turns out she and a group she helped found with her husband won millions last year in a discrimination suit settlement
with the federal government.
The information about the suit only thickens the plot that has evolved seemingly by the hour since Shirley Sherrod resigned late Monday as the department's Georgia director of rural development.
She claims the video clip, which showed her telling a story about how she withheld her full assistance to a white farmer, omitted key details, and she argues she was pushed out by the Obama administration without getting a chance to tell her side. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is standing by his decision.
But it's not the first time Sherrod faced off against the federal government. Days before she was appointed to the USDA post last year, her group reportedly won a $13 million settlement in a longstanding discrimination suit against the USDA known commonly as the Pigford case.
The Rural Development Leadership Network announced last summer that New Communities Inc. -- a group Sherrod formed with husband Charles, who is a civil rights activist, and with other black farmers -- had reached the agreement. The RDLN said the USDA had "refused" to offer new loans or restructure old loans to members of New Communities, leading to the discrimination claim.
The announcement said that in addition to the $13 million to New Communities, Shirley and Charles Sherrod would each get $150,000 for "pain and suffering."
A USDA official told FoxNews.com on Tuesday that the settlement had "nothing to do with" Sherrod's hiring last year -- likewise, the official said her resignation was only the result of her comments in the video.
"This is all about her comments," the official said.
Sherrod's settlement was a drop in the bucket in terms of the money the federal government has paid out in Pigford claims to other black farmers over the years. The suit claimed the USDA racially discriminated against black farmers by not giving them fair treatment when they applied for loans or assistance. The case was first settled in 1999, resulting to date in more than $1 billion in compensation payments from the federal government.
In addition, the Obama administration has called for another $1.15 billion to settle claims for other black farmers -- Congress has not yet granted the money.
However, the case has attracted some scrutiny.
Former Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer told Fox News that while those who were discriminated against "should be reimbursed," there are other hangers-on trying to game the system.
"The problem you have with the class-action lawsuits is a lot of people jump in that may be on the fringe, that maybe don't deserve it, that sounded good because their neighbor got a check ... (It) is very expensive, very time consuming," Schafer said. "It probably in the long run is going to be cheaper just to settle the whole thing -- so some people will get paid that probably don't deserve it. And to me, I don't like that kind of thing. I like to settle it on merit."
Vilsack appeared to reference the Pigford case, or the backstory behind it, in his statement Tuesday defending his decision to effectively dismiss Sherrod.
"Yesterday, I asked for and accepted Ms. Sherrod's resignation for two reasons. First, for the past 18 months, we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at USDA and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. Second, state rural development directors make many decisions and are often called to use their discretion," he said.
Sherrod claims the administration never bothered to find out "the truth" about the video clip. She says she was telling a story about something that happened more than two decades ago when she was working for a local nonprofit group. She ended up helping that farmer and says she was, in recalling the story, trying to impart a lesson about the importance of looking beyond race.
FoxNews.com
The Agriculture Department has a lengthy history with the official forced to resign Monday over a controversial YouTube clip -- it turns out she and a group she helped found with her husband won millions last year in a discrimination suit settlement
with the federal government.
The information about the suit only thickens the plot that has evolved seemingly by the hour since Shirley Sherrod resigned late Monday as the department's Georgia director of rural development.
She claims the video clip, which showed her telling a story about how she withheld her full assistance to a white farmer, omitted key details, and she argues she was pushed out by the Obama administration without getting a chance to tell her side. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is standing by his decision.
But it's not the first time Sherrod faced off against the federal government. Days before she was appointed to the USDA post last year, her group reportedly won a $13 million settlement in a longstanding discrimination suit against the USDA known commonly as the Pigford case.
The Rural Development Leadership Network announced last summer that New Communities Inc. -- a group Sherrod formed with husband Charles, who is a civil rights activist, and with other black farmers -- had reached the agreement. The RDLN said the USDA had "refused" to offer new loans or restructure old loans to members of New Communities, leading to the discrimination claim.
The announcement said that in addition to the $13 million to New Communities, Shirley and Charles Sherrod would each get $150,000 for "pain and suffering."
A USDA official told FoxNews.com on Tuesday that the settlement had "nothing to do with" Sherrod's hiring last year -- likewise, the official said her resignation was only the result of her comments in the video.
"This is all about her comments," the official said.
Sherrod's settlement was a drop in the bucket in terms of the money the federal government has paid out in Pigford claims to other black farmers over the years. The suit claimed the USDA racially discriminated against black farmers by not giving them fair treatment when they applied for loans or assistance. The case was first settled in 1999, resulting to date in more than $1 billion in compensation payments from the federal government.
In addition, the Obama administration has called for another $1.15 billion to settle claims for other black farmers -- Congress has not yet granted the money.
However, the case has attracted some scrutiny.
Former Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer told Fox News that while those who were discriminated against "should be reimbursed," there are other hangers-on trying to game the system.
"The problem you have with the class-action lawsuits is a lot of people jump in that may be on the fringe, that maybe don't deserve it, that sounded good because their neighbor got a check ... (It) is very expensive, very time consuming," Schafer said. "It probably in the long run is going to be cheaper just to settle the whole thing -- so some people will get paid that probably don't deserve it. And to me, I don't like that kind of thing. I like to settle it on merit."
Vilsack appeared to reference the Pigford case, or the backstory behind it, in his statement Tuesday defending his decision to effectively dismiss Sherrod.
"Yesterday, I asked for and accepted Ms. Sherrod's resignation for two reasons. First, for the past 18 months, we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at USDA and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. Second, state rural development directors make many decisions and are often called to use their discretion," he said.
Sherrod claims the administration never bothered to find out "the truth" about the video clip. She says she was telling a story about something that happened more than two decades ago when she was working for a local nonprofit group. She ended up helping that farmer and says she was, in recalling the story, trying to impart a lesson about the importance of looking beyond race.
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