Unemployment Benefits Filibuster Frustrates House Democrats

A collection of House Democrats expressed frustration Wednesday with Senate Republicans over their continued push against the extension of unemployment benefits.

Speaking at a press conference, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, called Republicans hypocritical for demanding that Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) be offset in the budget, while the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were not offset by budget cuts.

The House approved the extension earlier this month by 270-153, despite concerns from Republicans over the extension’s $34 billion price tag.

Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) stated that the Senate will likely be unable to pass the package until a new Senator is named to replace the late Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)

The package, if passed, will extend benefits until November.

Uganda Bombings Highlight Need For Vigilance In Africa, Says Administration Official

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

The U.S. must maintain vigilance over the Horn of Africa following an upswing in violence from the Somali terrorist organization Al Shabbab, an Obama administration official told reporters Tuesday.

The briefing came in the wake of Al Shabbab’s July 11 bombings in Kampala, Uganda during a World Cup party.  The official said that this is the first time the terrorist group has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.  

“Al Shabaab has always engaged in domestic terrorism,” said the administration official, “but have now manifested outside of Somalia.”

Al Shabaab has been fighting the weakened Somali transitional government for control, and has hijacked foreign aid and launched attacks against African Union forces assisting the Somali government, of which Uganda is a part of. The official emphasized that “we need other countries in the region to know that the United States stands by them,” and noted that it is imperative to “stabilize the transitional government” in Somalia, and “continue to provide assistance to Uganda, Burundi, and Somali refugees.”  The official also said that the FBI has sent a team to assist Ugandan law enforcement in their investigation, and that there was no advance warning of the attack, saying that the United States is “working very closely with countries in the region.”

The administration official also voiced caution concerning Al Shabaab’s ties to Al Qaeda, noting that “their agenda is similar to Al Qaeda.”

“Ties have always existed… Individuals in Al Shabaab have associations with Al Qaeda in East Africa and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. There is a lot of bundling together of individuals at the top of these organizations,”according to the official.

The official said that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the most operationally active group and that the administration was concerned about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

The official also touched upon several United States citizens who have travelled to Somalia and joined Al Shabaab, saying that the FBI and law enforcement agencies have watched those citizens “very closely.”  Several Somali-Americans from Minnesota have joined Al Shabaab, including one who participated in a suicide bombing.

Today At TRNS

The Washington Bureau will be covering:

Senators Menendez, Schumer and Lautenberg will hold a conference on BP and Lockerbie Bomber.

Senators Stabenow and Menendez will hold a conference on Democrats for the middle class.

Representatives Levin, McDermott, John Lewis, Pascrell, Van Hollen et al will hold a conference on extending unemployment benefits.

The House Budget Committee will hold a full committee hearing on “The Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: An update.”

Dr. Christina Romer, chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, will hold a conference call with media to discuss today’s release of the latest quarterly report to Congress on the impact of the Recovery Act on the economy.

Richard Holbrooke, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “Afghanistan: Governance and Civilian Strategy.”

Gulf Officials Demand Local Leadership, Spill Emotions Like Oil

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

Local officials met with President Barack Obama’s special BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission in New Orleans Tuesday to deliver a strong message to Washington from Gulf Coast citizens.  

“The response needs to be driven locally,” said A.J. Holloway, Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Charlotte Randolph, President of Lafourche Parish, LA said that local residents can serve as guides to cleanup crews struggling to keep up with the spewing well.

“In a war, there are two things that happen. Number one, you find the people in that particular area who can speak the language, and number two, you find the people who know the terrain,” Randolph said. “It’s our territory, we know it. Let us advise you all the way in how to attack this.”

Local leaders compared the administration’s handling of the Macondo/Deepwater Horizon gusher to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, during which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has since become somewhat of a dirty word on the Coast, was harshly criticized for having worked remotely and inefficiently.

“We’ve been through hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, recessions, depressions and we survived it all,” Mayor Holloway said. “What we have trouble dealing with, is something that will not end. It’s a new oil spill every day, every single day.”

Mayor of Grand Isle, La. David Camardelle said that locals are standing strong and lending helping hands when needed, but is still uncertain as to what the future holds for the Gulf.

“We’re not gonna give up, but I can tell you one thing, by taking everything away from us, from the waters, I don’t know what the hell’s gonna happen to us,” said Camardelle.

Use Of Dispersants In Gulf Questioned By Presidential Commission

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

The President’s Commission on the BP-Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling raised questions on the use of chemical dispersants in managing the leak in a meeting in New Orleans, Tuesday.

Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response for the Environmental Protection Agency, cautioned that, “despite dispersants being a tool … [dispersants] must be the tool of last resort.” Stanislaus continued that the federal government has repeatedly advised that chemical dispersants must only be used in the event that containment booms and burns are insufficient.

Stanislaus revealed that the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard raised concern over BP’s “skyrocketing” use of surface dispersants as far back as May,  requiring that BP cut back on dispersant use by 75%.  According to Stanislaus, BP has reined in their application of the chemicals by 69%.

The official did not comment, however, on the safety of controlled burn methods, which have raised concerns by many in the general population due to possible air polluting effects, which may reintroduce toxic chemicals into the water column by natural climatic processes.