Archive for November, 2009:
A Clean Energy Future
After stops in Japan, Singapore and China, and a final stop in South Korea today, President Obama is nearing the end of his first official trip to Asia.
Yesterday, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy. The White House blog posted a good round up of the six new clean energy measures:
The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country.
The U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative will include joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects, all aimed at eventual deployment of electric vehicles to reduce oil dependence.
The U.S. China Energy Efficiency Action Plan will allow the two countries to work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances, culminating with an annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, rotating between the two countries.
The U.S. China Renewable Energy Partnership will facilitate development of roadmaps for wide-spread renewable energy deployment. A new Advanced Grid Working Group made up of American and Chinese developers and strategists will help plan for grid modernization in both countries, and a new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Forum will be held annually, rotating between the two countries.
A 21st Century Coal Initiative, for which the two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses of coal, will include large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects.
A Shale Gas Initiative, will allow the U.S. and China to use experience gained in the United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promote environmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conduct joint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gas resources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China through the U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.
The U.S. China Energy Cooperation Program will leverage private sector resources for project development work in China across a broad array of clean energy projects, to the benefit of both nations.
You can read the unabridged version and access fact sheets on coal, energy efficiency and electric vehicles here.
Morning News
From the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid scrambled Tuesday to lock down votes behind a health-care bill that he may present as early as Wednesday…
The leader was more outspoken in describing his measure, boasting to reporters: "Of all the bills we've seen, it'll be the best: saves more money, is more protective of Medicare, is a bill that's good for the American people."
Preliminary estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation's official scorekeeper, have indicated that the Senate measure would cost far less than the bill the House approved last week, while lowering the federal deficit further over the long term, said several senior Democratic aides who have reviewed the CBO data…
From Talking Points Memo:
Last month Organizing for America solicited homemade health care ads from supporters, and today they released the winning video…
In an email asking for donations to put the ad on television, David Plouffe says the Organizing for America Health Reform Video Challenge shows "our supporters' creativity and passion is more than a match for the slick ads and partisan spin doctors on the other side…"
Plouffe said 3 million people watched the 1,000 ads submitted…
From the Santa Clarita Valley Signal:
Federal stimulus funds have saved nearly 350 jobs in the Santa Clarita Valley's five budget-strapped school districts.
"Our staff is much smaller than it was, but it would have been even smaller had we not gotten the stimulus money," said Sue Guthrie, chief financial officer for the William S. Hart Union High School District.
The Hart district this year has cut 68 certificated positions - employees who work with kids in classrooms, including teachers - this year by eliminating vacant positions, offering retirement incentives and increasing class sizes.
The stabilization funding that spared the districts from further cuts came from the $787 billion federal stimulus package. The money, which totals about $17 million for all five school districts, was designed to offset budget cuts and keep jobs in education…
From the Mesa Progressive Examiner:
...As a group here in Phoenix gathered at the Democratic headquarters downtown late Monday morning, the meeting got under way and the participants quieted down. The meeting started off by thanking the 15 or so people who had come from all over the valley to take part in this meeting and event. The speaker began by outlining the facts of the House bill passing with a 220-215 vote last Saturday. The plan was to split into districts and place calls to registered Democrats around the valley.
The objective of these calls were split into a few simple segments. First was to ask if the person was available. Once reached the caller was to introduce themselves by name and as a volunteer with President Obama's group Organizing for America and ask how the caller was doing today.
Once the initial pleasantries were finished, the caller jumped right to the point explaining that, as you may already know, the House of Representatives passed a health insurance reform bill with a public option. In District 5 our Representative Harry Mitchell supported this bill and we we're wondering if you'd mind taking a few minutes out of your day to call and thank Mr. Mitchell for his vote? The number for his local office was given and the volunteer reminded them that there is still one more vote that the House must take part in and encourage Mr. Mitchell to continue his support of the bill.
The volunteer then informed the constituent that neither Sen. McCain nor Sen. Kyl support the bill and that it is extremely important to let them know that Arizonans will not stand quietly by if they vote against health insurance reform. They were then given both senators numbers and informed that the senate debate may start as soon as tomorrow, meaning that it cold go to a vote with little or no warning to the public…
And the Winner Is . . .
From David Plouffe:
After nearly 1,000 submissions, 20 amazing finalists, and more than 3 million views, we have the winner of the Organizing for America Health Reform Video Challenge.
The winning video shows that our supporters' creativity and passion is more than a match for the slick ads and partisan spin doctors on the other side. In the next few days, we'll be using this video as the basis for a new television ad that will air across the country -- and you can help, by ensuring we have the resources to make the biggest impact.
Check out the winning video and then donate $25 or more to help make sure as many people as possible see the final ad on national television.
With Congress wrapping up its last round of negotiations and closely gauging the public's mood in these crucial final weeks, now is the exact time to get this grassroots message out far and wide.
Your passion has brought our country closer to health reform than we've ever been before -- and it's what will keep our momentum strong so that we finish the job before the end of the year.
So please watch the winning video, pass it on to everyone you know, and give what you can to spread the message on national television:
http://my.barackobama.com/WinningVideo
Thanks,
David Plouffe
Morning News
From the New York Times:
President Obama and President Hu Jintao of China met in private off Tiananmen Square here on a frigid Tuesday morning to discuss issues like trade, climate change and the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, in a session that signaled the central role of China on the world stage…
At a news conference where both presidents appeared, neither took questions from reporters, staying in line with the minutely stage-managed atmosphere of Mr. Obama’s first visit to China. They said in separate speeches that the two nations would work together to stabilize the teetering world economy, contain the dangers of climate change and prevent nuclear proliferation…
Although it was carefully choreographed, the event gave Mr. Obama a little room to prod the Chinese authorities toward more openness. In his initial remarks at the forum, Mr. Obama said the United States was not seeking to impose its political system on other countries, but he called freedom of expression and worship among the “universal rights” common to all people…
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Democrats are emailing thousands of people who backed Barack Obama last year in two GOP-controlled Pennsylvania congressional districts, asking them to protest their representatives' recent "no" votes on health care reform legislation.
The email urges supporters to drop by the offices of Republican Reps. Jim Gerlach, of Chester County, and Charlie Dent, of Lehigh County, to complain in person. Both representatives voted against the health overhaul bill on Nov. 7.
Organizing for America, the Obama campaign arm of the Democratic National Committee, is targeting the 32 Republican House members in districts carried by Obama who also voted against the reform bill, including Gerlach and Dent.
"Democracy is not a spectator sport. And right now, we need you in the game," Mitch Stewart, the director of OFA, wrote in the email. Representatives "must understand that caving to the well-heeled lobbyists in Washington, D.C. has consequences at the ballot box back home," the email says…
From Roll Call:
If you’ve got a dog in the health care reform fight, you might want to keep this weekend open for another nail-biter vote — this time in the Senate…
Democratic leaders told staffers Monday they expect that CBO score to be ready today. But even under the most optimistic scenarios, Senate Democratic aides said the chamber would be unlikely to vote on whether to start debate before Friday, and several said a Saturday or Sunday vote was more likely…
“We’re confident Members will have all the information they need to assess this bill before we take it to the floor,” was all one senior Senate Democratic aide would say.
The message leadership has been sending to fence-sitting moderates is that the delay in the debate over the Thanksgiving holiday should satisfy their demands that the American public be given enough time to review the bill before the amendment process starts when Congress returns on Nov. 30.
Plus, aides are making clear that Reid’s mash of a Senate Finance Committee measure and a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill is not written in stone.
“It’s really just a starting point for negotiation with some Members to see what they need to secure their votes for final passage,” one Senate Democratic source said…
Another Bogus Report
Every time we’re about to take a critical step on the road to passing health insurance reform, opponents of reform release another bogus report in a last-ditch effort to scramble progress.
In mid-October, just days before the Senate Finance Committee voted to pass reform legislation, Blue Cross Blue Shield and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released self-serving reports that falsely claimed health reform would increase costs for American families. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm retained by AHIP to write the report, undermined the credibility of their own work when it issued a public statement admitting they had produced a skewed analysis of only part of the bill because that is what the insurance industry paid them to do.
Now, as the Senate prepares to take up health insurance reform legislation, opponents of reform are at it again.
This morning the Washington Post reported that the Chamber of Commerce is proposing to spend $50,000 to hire a “respected economist” to write a report that would buttress the thoroughly debunked insurance industry claim that health reform would be harmful to the economy. Here it comes: another bogus report with a self-serving outcome that’s so flawed its hard to take seriously.
According to the Post:
Step two, according to the e-mail, appears to assume the outcome of the economic review: "The economist will then circulate a sign-on letter to hundreds of other economists saying that the bill will kill jobs and hurt the economy. We will then be able to use this open letter to produce advertisements, and as a powerful lobbying and grass-roots document."
Opponents of reform won’t let the facts get in the way of their efforts to defend to a status quo that has been so profitable for the insurance companies.
Last week, the Business Roundtable – which represents the chief executives of major U.S. companies – released a report showing that by 2019, large employers will spend $28,530 on health care costs per employee. With the cost containment measures included in health reform legislation, those same large employers stand to save $3,000 per employee. And an analysis by MIT Economist Jon Gruber determined that reform will save about 80,000 jobs in the small business sector over the next decade.
Morning News
From the Associated Press
Politely but firmly pressing for greater freedoms on China's own turf, President Barack Obama spoke against censorship Monday, saying tough criticisms of political leaders should be allowed and the free flow of information on the Internet "should be encouraged."
Opening his first-ever visit to China, a critically important U.S. partner on economic and security matters, Obama said crucial problems cannot be solved unless the world's only superpower and its rising competitor work together. "More is gained when great powers cooperate than when they collide," he said.
But on a visit that had him wading into sensitive territory with his tightly controlled host country, Obama also openly prodded Beijing to accept what he called "universal rights."
"We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation," Obama said at a town hall with Chinese university students, believed to be the most extensive such forum held by a U.S. president on Chinese soil. But, he said, such things as freedom of expression and worship, unfettered access to information and unrestricted political participation "should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation…"
From CQ Politics
President Obama’s 13 million-strong campaign e-mail list has been transformed into a mass political operation dedicated to enacting his agenda — along with its apparent readiness to help elect Democratic candidates and eventually re-elect the president…
The operation began with a few people in a room with an e-mail list; Stewart and his deputy, Jeremy Bird, along with former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe — known as the steward of the campaign e-mail list.
According to OFA officials, the group has now built a sprawling infrastructure to complement its vast membership. It now has offices, many housed within local Democratic Party outlets in 48 states, staffed by state directors, aides, local organizers and volunteers. The operation is sufficiently well-organized in that it has been able to organize numerous events on behalf of Obama’s health care overhaul initiative, one OFA official said. On Oct. 20, OFA generated more than 300,000 phone calls to Capitol Hill in support of the initiative…
From the Huffington Post
If there was any doubt that Senate Republicans are eager to drag their heels when it comes to health care reform, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) removed it on Sunday.
The Kentucky Republican, during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," demanded that the Senate take, at the very least, six weeks to deliberate legislation once it is sent to the floor for amendments.
"There will be a lot of amendments over a lot of weeks. The Senate is not the House, you saw in the House there was three votes and it was over in one day," McConnell warned. "This will be on the floor for quite a long time…"
From the Gloucester County Times
U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo can expect some visitors over his decision to vote against the Affordable Health Care for America Act.
The Republican from Ventnor, who represents the 2nd District, is one of two members of the House of Representatives from New Jersey being targeted by the Democratic National Committee…
“Last fall, voters in New Jersey’s 2nd and 7th Congressional Districts voted for President Barack Obama and sent Reps. Lance and LoBiondo to Congress,” said OFA State Director Samantha Gordon. “The House’s vote offered a choice for members — stand with your constituents and support reform, or side with the insurance companies by voting against reforming our broken health insurance system…
From the Commercial Appeal
Each e-mail began with the sender's name, complete mailing address and telephone number. They all basically said the same thing, just in different ways...
By Monday night, I had had enough. So when Hines' message arrived at 9:17 p.m. -- just as my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were applying a whipping to the Denver Broncos -- I decided to call her and find out, once and for all, what or who is behind this campaign to pester me night and day.
I expected double talk or no response at all. But I got surprising candor. Hines, like most of the other messengers, is an ardent supporter of President Barack Obama and sincerely wants Congress to pass health care legislation...
A registered nurse for 16 years, she often logs on to a pro-Obama Web site called Organizing for America. She and other e-mailers I talked to last week said they were prompted to send letters to their local newspapers expressing support for the bill and praise for their local U.S. representative who voted for passage.
The Organizing for America site gives supporters step-by-step instructions for sending the letter and includes some talking points for them to use. But the site stresses that the letter should contain the writer's personal story about why they support universal health care legislation.
Through the magic of the Organizing for America site, each letter directed to The Commercial Appeal ended up in my e-mail box...
Lancaster resident Adele Taylor Ulrich is a dancer, choreographer, movement therapist and political activist. She is, in a word, busy.
"I've considered giving up eating and sleeping," she quipped in an interview, which was shoehorned into her jampacked schedule…
Much of her time these days is spent volunteering for Organizing for America, President Barack Obama's grass-roots political organization.
As OFA's community organizer for Lancaster, Ulrich has been running phone banks, and canvassing for support on behalf of the president's push for health care reform. Since the U.S. House of Representatives passed its health care bill, the battle over reform has moved to the Senate.
"It's going to be quite a fight, so we're working very hard to educate people," Ulrich said…
During the presidential primaries, Ulrich got a call from a friend, who was a local field organizer for the Obama campaign. Her friend asked Ulrich to open her home as a staging location for campaign staff and volunteers.
Still in pain from her cancer treatments, Ulrich agreed. That very evening, a half-dozen or so campaign staffers were at her dining room table, and Ulrich was all in…
LIVE: President Obama Holds Town Hall with China’s Youth
The President’s Weekly Address: Veterans Day and Fort Hood
The President’s Weekly Address: Veterans Day and Fort Hood
Morning News
Two powerful health care interest groups yesterday urged lawmakers constructing a sweeping health care overhaul to focus on cost containment and affordability.
The Business Roundtable, an association of top US business executives, issued an analysis saying the right combination of changes Congress is considering could slow health care cost growth by 15 percent to 20 percent over the next decade.
But the group warned that its support for any final bill would depend on how aggressively it constrained costs.
But the savings could be even greater if lawmakers implemented cost-containment measures - such as initiatives to pay doctors for quality and efficiency, not just for the number of treatments provided - faster and more broadly, the group said.
The roundtable’s report found that the changes under consideration could reduce average premiums by $3,000 per employee by 2019…
President Obama, who was traveling to Asia yesterday, said in a statement that the report “underscores what experts and business people have told us all along - comprehensive health insurance reform is one of the most important investments we can make in American competitiveness.”
From the Washington Post
President Obama plans to hold a White House forum on job creation next month, an attempt to signal his concern about the growing ranks of the unemployed and build consensus on future action to stoke the economy.
The summit will bring together small-business owners, corporate executives, economists, financial experts and union leaders to discuss ideas for accelerating job creation during the worst labor market conditions in a generation, Obama said Thursday.
"We all know there are limits to what government can and should do even during such difficult times," Obama said at the White House before leaving on a nine-day trip to Asia. "But we have an obligation to consider every additional, responsible step that we can to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country…"
From Roll Call
"I think there is an incredibly compelling economic, moral and political case for a major jobs initiative," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research center. "I am glad the administration is now visibly acknowledging that. I think it is very encouraging…"
Organizing for America is dispatching volunteers to the local offices of 32 House Republicans whose districts supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 election to demand that they support Obama’s health care reform initiative.
OFA volunteers will begin to drop by the offices Friday and continue doing so through the middle of next week. Among Members slated for visits are Reps. Dan Lungren and David Dreier of California, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Frank Wolf of Virginia, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Bill Young and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, and Mike Castle of Delaware.
“The message was clear in these districts: Americans want change, and they expect their Representatives to work with President Obama and reach across the aisle to help deliver it,” OFA Director Mitch Stewart said in a statement.
From the New York Times
President Obama has not made a decision about his new military strategy for Afghanistan. And the White House is happy to say so.
As Mr. Obama convened his war council for 2 hours 20 minutes on Wednesday, the final session before he departs on a trip to Asia on Thursday, he suggested that he was not satisfied with his options. Officials said that in the meeting, the eighth in the Situation Room on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the last two months, Mr. Obama pressed for clarifications on a series of questions…
While much has been made of the four military options that are on the table — all turning on how many troops to send to Afghanistan and for how long — the president also made clear that he is not yet fully satisfied with these choices and will not approve an open-ended commitment. He has also asked, officials said, that some of the options be redrafted…
Drawing on studies of how decisions were made to escalate the war in Vietnam, Mr. Obama and his aides seem intent on showing the nation and the world that he is not being rushed by the military, nor making a judgment without considering the long-term implications.