Democrats $15B Jobs Bill Advances in Senate with GOP Help
In a rare sign of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, five Republican senators broke ranks with their party on Monday to advance a $15 billion job-creation measure put forward by Democrats. Senator Scott Brown, the newly elected Republican from Massachusetts, was the first member of his party to cast his vote for the measure. The bill focuses mostly on tax breaks for companies to encourage hiring. The bill has come under criticism by the Congressional Black Caucus for not directing any money to poor communities. Black lawmakers had sought a job bill where ten percent of the money in each of its provisions go to communities where at least 20 percent of the people are low-income.
Report: Wall Street Bonuses Increased 17 Percent in 2009
In other economic news, the New York State Comptroller has revealed Wall Street bonuses increased by 17 percent this year. Thomas DiNapoli said over $20 billion in bonuses were handed out. The bonuses come just a year after many of the same Wall Street firms were bailed out by taxpayers.
Obama Outlines Healthcare Priorities Ahead of Bipartisan Meeting
President Barack Obama is trying to revive his stalled healthcare reform effort. On Monday the White House released an eleven-page document outlining what the President would like to see in the heathcare bill, including the expansion of coverage to millions of people who are uninsured, while taking steps to control soaring healthcare costs. The President’s plan does not include a “public option” for a government-run plan. Obama will push the proposal at a bipartisan healthcare summit on Thursday. The White House is now urging Republicans to publish their own healthcare reform plan prior to the meeting.
EPA Delays New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying plans to force power plants, oil refineries and other industrial polluters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions until at least 2011. The EPA also said it won’t target small emitters of greenhouse gas emissions until 2016. In December, the EPA announced it will draft regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Since then, the agency has faced harsh criticism from lawmakers from states that rely on coal mining and electricity generated from fossil fuels. On Monday, Democratic Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia pressed for legislation to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Democratic Senators Max Baucus of Montana and Carl Levin of Michigan have also opposed the EPA’s plan to regulate emissions. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson will be testifying before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works today.
Energy Department OKs Loan Guarantee for Solar Power Plant in California
The Department of Energy has offered a $1.4 billion loan guarantee to a California company planning to build a large-scale solar power plant in the Southern California desert. The loan guarantee would go to a company called Bright Source Energy, which is backed by Google, Morgan Stanley, Chevron and BP. The solar plant will be built by Bechtel. The loan guarantee is the largest ever given by the Energy Department for a solar power project, but it is just one-sixth of the size of the $8.3 billion loan guarantee pledged by the department last week for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia.
Poland Confirms Secret CIA Flight Landings
A Polish governmental agency has confirmed secret CIA flights landed in Poland as part of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. Poland has long been accused of housing a secret CIA prison, but the government has denied the allegations. On Monday, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency released flight logs that show at least six flights linked to the CIA landed in Poland between February and September 2003.
Lawmakers Calls for Phasing Out of Military Contractors
In other news from Capitol Hill, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky plan to introduce legislation today to phase out the military’s controversial use of private security contractors in war zones . The Stop Outsourcing Security Act would also require that all diplomatic security be undertaken by US government personnel.
Police Officers Acquitted in Sodomy Case
And here in New York, a police officer accused of using a baton to sodomize a man in a subway station has been acquitted along with two officers who allegedly covered up the incident. Attorneys for the man said they will now seek a federal probe into the incident.
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