Export – Import Bank Reauthorization … signed

Signing Export-Import Bank Reauthorization

President Obama signs the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012, which will reauthorize the Bank to continue financing U.S. exports and ensure a level playing field for U.S. businesses at no cost to American taxpayers. May 30, 2012.More

President Obama Speaks on Food Security at G8 Meeting

Mitt Romney’s Taxes …5 things to know

---

If this is what we know already, voters deserve to see the rest.

Add your name to call on Mitt to come clean and release his tax returns.

1. Mitt’s got millions invested in the Cayman Islands
   “Although it is not apparent on his financial disclosure form, Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven.” – ABC News
2. Mitt pays a tax rate lower than most middle-class Americans
   Even though Mitt’s worth as much as $250 million, “Republican candidate Mitt Romney believes his effective tax rate—the share of his income he pays in federal taxes—is around 15%, or, as he put it, “probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything…” – Christian Science Monitor
3. Under Mitt’s own tax plan, he’d pay half of what he’d pay otherwise
   “Under his plan, Romney in 2013 would see his taxes cut by nearly half of what they would be if you use current law as a baseline.” – Washington Post
4. Mitt jokes he’s “unemployed,” but he’s still making millions a year off investments
   “In what would be the final deal of his private equity career, he negotiated a retirement agreement with his former partners that has paid him a share of Bain’s profits ever since, bringing the Romney family millions of dollars in income each year and bolstering the fortune that has helped finance Mr. Romney’s political aspirations.” – New York Times
5. Mitt made over $300,000 in speaking fees last year—but called it “not that much”
   “He also said he had earned ‘a little bit of income’ from his book, which he donated to charity, and ‘speakers’ fees from time to time, but not very much.’ Romney earned almost $375,000 in speaking fees from Feb. 26, 2010, to Feb. 20, 2011, according to his personal financial disclosure.” – Bloomberg

a message from Paul Begala … Stand Up For President Obama

Contribute now to Stop the Radical Republican Agenda

Help us reach 100,000 supporters in May fighting back against Republicans‘ radical agenda and supporting President Obama in 2012.

Contribute before the May Federal Election Commission deadline Midnight Tonight and a group of committed Democrats will match your gift 2-to-1.

The average gift today is $30.51

I’m sick and tired of these downright deceptive Republican attacks.

So here’s the plan: we’re going to call out their lies, hold Republicans nationwide accountable for their radical records, re-elect President Obama, and back him up with a Democratic Majority.

Does that sound good? Well then we need you with us.

Whether or not you’ve already given, President Obama needs your help right now so Democrats can go toe-to-toe with the Republicans and their Super PAC allies.

So do your part right now. Pitch in $3 or more today:

http://dccc.org/24-Hours

Thanks

Paul

CBO: Long-Term Budget Outlook

CBO to Release 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook Next Week

CBO plans to release its 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook on Tuesday, June 5. The report will be available on CBO’s website at 10 a.m. EDT. The 2011 report is available here.

These annual projections incorporate long-term demographic trends and the long-term impact of rising health care costs.

a message from Alan Grayson

Member of Congress?

Members of Congress can claim expertise in two things: getting elected, and getting re-elected. But they legislate on everything that the Constitution allows. So you have lawyers and businessmen conducting hearings on space exploration, lawyers and businessmen drafting legislation on mining, lawyers and businessmen voting on foreign policy resolutions.

Wouldn’t it be nice to support a candidate for Congress who is a true expert in something other than campaigning? Well, you can; his name is Dr. Lee Rogers, in California’s 25th Congressional district.

Dr. Rogers is a podiatrist and an award-winning medical researcher. He runs the Amputation Prevention Center in Los Angeles, and he teaches medicine. He pioneered a new protocol for diabetes patients that reduced amputations by 72%.

If you want to see a person like that in Congress, click here.

Back in the 1990s, I worked with someone who had a severe case of diabetes. I watched his health deteriorate over the years. The circulation in his legs weakened to the point where a foot was amputated.

It was terrible.

But if my friend were alive today, Dr. Rogers probably could save that foot.

Healthcare is now one-sixth of the US economy. Imagine how good it would be to have someone in Congress who knows it so well.

A doctor who would be in a position to improve healthcare in America? What a concept!

I’m happy that Dr. Rogers is a solid progressive. I’m happy that a Rogers victory means the defeat of Buck McKeon, who has been called the most corrupt Member of Congress. But I’m especially happy that Dr. Rogers knows something about something – a quality that Congress sorely needs. For the good of Congress, and our health, I’d like to see Dr. Lee Rogers in Congress.

California is holding its “jungle primary” next Tuesday, where Democrats and Republicans are lumped together. To have a chance against Dirty Buck in November, Dr. Rogers has to do well on June 5. Please show your support.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

the Daily Share … Teachers, Sen.Sanders …

The Truth About Bottled Water That You’re Not Supposed To Know

Bernie Sanders Has An Amazingly Simple Idea To Fix Social Security For The Next 75 Years

The Most Aggressive Defense Of Teachers You’ll Hear This Year

If ‘Corporations Are People,’ Why Don’t We See Any Of Them Under These American Flags?

Why June 5 Is So Critical To Our Democracy

 

CARE …Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE

Schoolchildren have become agents of change in Kenya to help bring some relief to their mothers shouldering this daily burden. Learn how here. Sincerely, Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE

the Progress Report : Wisconsin Recall Update: Jump Ball

By         ThinkProgress War Room

Down to the Wire in the Badger State

Next Tuesday, the voters of Wisconsin will decide the fates of Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and four state senators, including Scott Fitzgerald, the co-majority leader of the Wisconsin State Senate and brother of Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R). Walker is facing off against his 2010 opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

This election will definitely go down to the wire and it’s clear that either side could still prevail.

Here’s the latest.

Polling

Most public polling in recent weeks has shown Walker with a single-digit lead; however, the trend is clear: Barrett is closing in on Walker and the race is tied. A poll released last Friday showed Walker with 49 percent and Barrett with 46 percent. A poll by the same pollster a week earlier had pegged the spread at 51-44. Today, a new poll shows the race a dead heat with each candidate tied at 49 percent.

TPM’s poll tracker pegs the rolling average at 49.4 percent for Walker and 48.6 percent for Barrett — in other words, well within any poll’s margin of error and very, very close.  Democrats and labor unions are promising an extensive, aggressive ground game of the sort that can drive the turnout needed to win an election this close.

Dirty Tricks

One week before Wisconsinites vote on whether or not to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), a conservative group is engaged in dirty tricks that have shut down the Democratic challenger’s campaign phones.

According to multiple reports, independently verified by ThinkProgress, the following spam text message is being blasted out to many Wisconsin cell phones:

FRM:WI@obamasaliar.com SUBJ:Union Puppet MSG:Tom Barrett is a Union Puppet who will give Union Thugs everything they want. Call & ask why 414-271-8050

The phone number is that of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s campaign headquarters. The influx of calls following this spam text message has shut down phones at Barrett’s campaign, just days before Election Day and right as get-out-the-vote efforts are ramping up.

Scott Walker’s Legal Woes Mount

In recent days, much attention has been focused the FBI’s “John Doe” corruption investigation of Scott Walker’s office when he was the Milwaukee County Executive.  Walker has not been officially named in the probe, but it remains shrouded in mystery.

Walker has now diverted a total of $160,000, including $100,000 very recently, in campaign donations to bankroll a legal defense fund. For what charges does he need a legal defense? He won’t say.

Walker’s latest campaign finance report reveals that he recently made two transfers totaling $100,000 toward a fund meant to protect him from a “John Doe” corruption investigation.

The three-year long investigation is targeting Walker employees who may have committed a host of corrupt activities — accusations include embezzlement, coercion, and use of taxpayer funds for campaign work. According to the Huffington Post, “Mike Tate, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, says state law permits Walker to set up such a fund only if he is charged or under investigation for election or campaign violations.”

No one knows exactly if any allegations have been leveled against Walker, or what those might be. However, at the beginning of this year, a Walker appointee and staffer were both arrested and charged with felony embezzlement. Another Walker supporter — one of his funders — was convicted with exceeding campaign spending limits. Whatever Walker’s legal exposure, he is concerned enough to divert substantial campaign funds to his legal defense just days before the election.

Walker previously made another huge transfer of cash into the fund to pay his legal defense.

The Governor is required by law to have donors sign off on a transfer of funds, but the Walker campaign will not reveal who those people are.

And just this afternoon, Walker appeared to potentially concede that he himself was under investigation by saying that the money would not be used for defending his aides. The only remaining legally-permissible purpose for the fund would bankrolling a defense of Walker himself from an investigation or charges.

Stay Tuned

As Dan Rather said on the night of the 2000 presidential election, this one’s tighter than a rusty bolt on ’55 Ford. To keep you informed with all of the latest news, ThinkProgress will be reporting on the ground in Wisconsin during the final days of the election.

Evening Briefing: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

Why is the media ignoring Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s massive voter suppression effort that could steal the election?

Maybe medical school debt is not the reason for the lack of primary care doctors in the U.S.

Mitt Romney still refuses to say if he supports paycheck fairness.

Tony Perkins is still concerned about the consequences of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — even if it takes 10 years for them to be evident.

An anti-abortion group has invented a controversy that women are getting sex-selective abortions.

How can the television networks find effective ways to incorporate ads into internet streaming technologies.

A nationalized Spanish bank is using Spiderman to lure young depositors.

Does Mitt Romney think Dwight Eisenhower wasn’t qualified to be president?

Putting a price tag on unpaid housework.

Other recent Progress Reports

May 29, 2012: Birther-in-Chief

Mitt Romney Stands By Birther King This evening in Las Vegas, birther king Donald Trump will host a $2 MILLION fundraiser for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. This comes on top of $600,000 raised at a “birthday party” for Ann Romney that Trump held last month at his New York City home. It was just [...]

May 25, 2012: Mitt Romney Blows Up 30 Years of GOP Economics

Draconian Spending Cuts Are In Fact Bad for the Economy Every so often, Mitt Romney is accidentally honest about something important. One such moment happened earlier this week. Here’s the rundown. It’s Republican orthodoxy that the way to get our economy moving is to massively cut government spending, which they falsely claim is somehow “crowding [...]

May 24, 2012: Next Battle in the War on Women: Paycheck Fairness

Will Republicans Really Defend Paying Women Less? The Senate will soon take up the Paycheck Fairness Act, an important bill that protects women who sue over being paid less than their male counterparts. The law builds on the important foundations laid by the Equal Pay Act and Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Republicans almost unanimously opposed [...]

May 23, 2012: Why Mitt Romney’s Time At Bain Capital Matters

Mitt Romney Was Not a Job Creator As we discussed yesterday, Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital is once again back in the news — big time. As President Obama said, this is not a distraction, it’s central to the main question of this campaign: do we create an economy that works for everyone, not [...]

CONGRESS: the Republican led House – the Senate back 6/14

• Convenes: 2:00pm June 4, 2012
• Following the prayer and pledge, the Majority Leader will be recognized.  It is the Majority Leader’s intention to resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.3220, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
• At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #613, the nomination of Timothy S. Hillman, of MA, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts.  There will be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.  Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), there will be a roll call vote on confirmation of the Hillman nomination.
• As a reminder to all Senators, cloture was filed on the motion to proceed to S.3220, the Paycheck Fairness Act on Thursday, May 24^th.  That cloture vote will occur at 2:15pm on Tuesday, June 5^th.

————————————————————————————————–

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MAY 31, 2012

112TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

 

-The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. today.10:00:44 A.M. -MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House proceeded with Morning-Hour Debate. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House will recess until 12:00 p.m. for the start of legislative business.10:00:36 A.M. -The Speaker designated the Honorable Daniel Webster to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.10:00:22 A.M. -The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

9:30 am

Hearing: Rhetoric vs. Reality: Does President Obama Really Support an All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy?Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Full Committee

10:00 am

Hearing: NRC Policy and Governance OversightCommittee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy

10:00 am

Hearing: “Barriers to Lower Health Care Costs for Workers and Employers”Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

10:00 am

Hearing: The Broken Budget Process: Legislative ProposalsCommittee On The Budget: Full Committee

10:00 am

Markup: Markup of H.R. 1588, the “Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act” and H.R. 3128, a bill to amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to adjust the date on which consolidated assets are determined for purposes of exempting certain instruments of smaller institutions from capital deductions.Committee on Financial Services: Full Committee

10:00 am

Hearing: Assembling the Facts: Examining the Proposed National Network for Manufacturing InnovationCommittee on Science, Space, and Technology: Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation

10:00 am

Hearing: A Review of FAA’s efforts to reduce costs and ensure safety and efficiency through Realignment and Facility ConsolidationCommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Aviation

10:00 am

Hearing: The FISA Amendments Act of 2008Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

10:00 am

Markup: Markup of:  H.R. 436, “Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011;” H.R. 5842, “Restoring Access to Medication Act;” H.R. 1004, “Medical FSA Improvement Act of 2011;” and H.R. 5858, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve health savings accounts, and for other purposes.”Committee on Ways and Means: Full Committee

10:15 am

Hearing: Reviewing the Implementation of Major Provisions of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: Full Committee

10:15 am

Hearing: International Proposals to Regulate the InternetCommittee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

11:00 am

Markup: Full Committee Mark Up – FY 2013 Legislative Branch BillCommittee on Appropriations: Multiple Subcommittees

12:00 pm

Hearing: The Department of Justice – Civil, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax DivisionsCommittee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law

1:30 pm

Hearing: Rhetoric vs. Reality, Part II: Assessing the Impact of New Federal Red Tape on Hydraulic Fracturing and American Energy IndependenceCommittee on Oversight and Government Reform: Full Committee

2:00 pm

Hearing: TSA’s Surface Inspection Program: Strengthening Security or Squandering Scant Resources?Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Transportation Security

2:30 pm

Hearing: To amend Public Law 89-732 to modify the requirement for a Cuban national to qualify for and maintain status as a permanent residentCommittee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement

Congressional Budget Office

Supplemental Information: Crop-Level Detail for the Estimated Change in Commodity Payments Under Title I of S. 3240

Change in commodity payments under Title I of S. 3240, as introduced on May 24, 2012, compared to CBO March 2012 baseline

Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 5651, the Food and Drug Administration Reform Act of 2012

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects for an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 5651, as posted on the Web site of the Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 25, 2012

 

H.R. 4471, Gasoline Regulations Act of 2012

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 25, 2012

read more