Education Secretary Says Future For Education Is Bright

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday that 19 states remain as finalists for the $3.4 billion that are available in the second round of funding for the “Race to the Top” competition. 

“Race to the Top” is a competition aimed at bolstering the education system with funding, specifically targeting schools in low-income neighborhoods.

“We have 2,000 high schools that account for half of America’s drop outs [and] those 2000 high schools also produce 75% of drop outs from our nation’s minority community,” said Duncan in a speech at the National Press Club.

Duncan said that the competition is meant to increase funding to low-income schools in order to provide them with an opportunity to host well-educated and qualified teachers.

“We’re putting $4 billion dollars behind the bottom 5% of the schools,” Duncan said. “If it takes $10,000 or $15,000 or $20,000 to get a great science teacher to work in an under served community or a disadvantage community or Indian reservation, do it.”

According to Duncan, the 19 finalists in the reform are those with the boldest plans for the future. Together, with parents around the nation, teachers can change and improve educational opportunities for today’s students and future generations. 

“Every state that applied will benefit from this process of collaboratively creating a comprehensive education reform agenda,” said Duncan.

We're Going to Have to Kill A Lot of Taliban, Says Expert

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

Dr. David Kilcullen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that in order to reach the point of reconciliation with insurgents in Afghanistan “we’re going to have to kill a lot of Taliban to get them to negotiate.”

Kilcullen , non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said bluntly that “when governments fight insurgents, they win 80% of the time, however, when governments fight insurgents in other countries, they are victorious 20% of the time.” 

Kilcullen said a government that is fighting insurgents at home has a political need to negotiate. Therefore, Kilcullen asserted that the United States will need to “negotiate from a position of strength,” and that the Taliban must believe that “they will have more to gain from talking to us than continuing to fight.”

Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Iraq, agreed with Kilcullen saying that “reconciliation is only possible when insurgents are unsure if they are winning.”

Crocker also criticized the deadline for troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the effects of publicizing will have on the attitudes of insurgents. While it is very complicated and nuanced, Crocker said he was concerned as to how the Taliban viewed the deadline, stating that they see it “as a date they need to hold out to, then they’ll be ok.”

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, briefly touched on the 90,000 leaked documents regarding the war in Afghanistan from the public whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

“It’s important not to overhype or get excessively excited about the meaning of those documents,” said Kerry. “To those of us who have lived through the Pentagon Papers… there is no relationship whatsoever between that event and these documents.”

Democrats Eye New Oil Legislation Before August Recess

By Alexa Gitler-Talk Radio News Service

Before Congress leaves for its annual August recess, Democrats are eager to pass a series of measures in both the House and the Senate that would set new minimum safety standards for wells and require offshore drilling rigs to be built in the United States.

The House is set to debate and vote on a 238-page drilling package on Friday. The legislation, which attempts to stitch together several drilling bills advanced by committees in recent weeks, includes a bipartisan measure  that would set minimum standards for the design of wells, cement barriers at the sites and blowout preventers that are designed as a last defense against uncontrolled surges of oil and natural gas. The second measure, a 16-page bill, is aimed at allowing whistleblowers in the industry to voice their opinions without fear of retribution.

The package, which will be amended this week, would also bar companies with bad safety records from drilling on federal land.

SEC Chair Expects Commission To "Hit The Ground Running"

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

With the signing of the Dodd-Frank reform bill last week, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Schapiro said Tuesday that massive reforms on Wall Street will soon start to take affect. Schapiro said the commission will “hit the ground running” as it prepares to tackle close to 100 new regulatory rules.

Schapiro said that the commission plans to move forward by incorporating the input of the public and by ensuring transparency is established.

“The idea is to offer maximum opportunity for public comment and to provide greater transparency,” said Schapiro.

The SEC Chair said interested parties will be able to offer their ideas on financial regulatory laws through emails, comments and scheduled meetings with the SEC staff. 

“We are determined to do this right,” said Schapiro.

Schapiro said the SEC plans to work on provisions including broker-dealer standards, transparency of corporate financial information and ensuring hedge fund advisers are registered with the commission.  The SEC Chair said this would ultimately allow the commission to track the private funds these professionals advise. 

Schapiro also said the agency is “energized” and prepared to implement provisions of the new financial regulatory bill, but has also asked Congress for approximately 800 more staffers to take on the job.

“Our goal is a high quality regulatory regime in the United States,” said Schapiro. “We do expect that we can show leadership in a lot of these areas.”

Gulf Coast Tourism Industry May Not Be Compensated

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

Gulf Coast Claims Facility Kenneth Feinberg told the Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday that defining eligibility for adequate compensation of the Gulf Coast tourism industry is a complex issue.

“’What constitutes an eligible claim?’ is a major question here,” Feinberg said. “It’s easy to compensate a motel or a restaurant on the beach where there is oil, you don’t need the wisdom of Solomon for that claim [but] proximity is going to be the problem here.”

Feinberg said the biggest hurdle he is facing concerning tourism claims is defining the distance from oil soaked beaches an entity can be without negating the plausibility of its claim. 

Keith Overton, Senior Vice President of Tradewinds Resort, accused the media industry for falsely reporting that Florida’s beaches are ridden with tar, deterring prospective tourists.

“The media must be held accountable to accurate and fair reporting of the facts regarding this oil spill,” said Overton. “Hold them accountable for sensationalism and inaccuracies that are there.”

Feinberg said the claims facility should be operational in the next few weeks.

“I believe that the blue print that I have established for emergency payments to be paid as quickly as possible should be finished and available this week,” he said.