House Republicans Ready Enhanced Sanctions Against Belarus

By Agot Deng

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) said Monday that the U.S. and EU should work together to increase efforts to bring about democratic reform to Belarus.

Today marked the one-year anniversary of the bloody December 19, 2010 election-night crackdown in Belarus, which, in the words of Smith, “swept up more than 700 opposition supporters who dared to challenge the rule of Alexander Lukashenka.”

“The last year has been an awful one for the Belarusian people,” Smith told reporters. “The tactics employed on the infamous election night…and afterwards confirm the nature of Lukashenka’s rule — a dictatorship that perpetuates a pervasive climate of fear to squelch dissent.”

“The dictator has undertaken repressive measures on a scale and a brutality which has not been seen in Europe for more than a decade,” Smith added.

Smith called on Belarus to immediately release all of its political prisoners.

Smith and fellow House Republicans Dan Burton (Ind.) Frank Wolf (Va.) and Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.) have introduced a bill to reauthorize the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, which has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and also to Committees on the Judiciary and Financial Services for consideration.

Smith and his co-sponsors would like to see the international community apply sanctions on the Government of Belarus, including economic sanctions, provision of weapons or weapons-related technologies or weapons-related training, cooperation of the Government of Belarus with any foreign government or organization for purposes related to the censorship or surveillances of the internet.

Smith has also drafted a letter to the ICC asking for the indictment of Lukashenka based on his 17 years of rule.

Poll: Gingrich Sees Lead Dissolve, Ties With Romney

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s status as GOP frontrunner has dissolved, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll.

Gingrich now ties with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 28 percent. In the previous poll, conducted between November 18th and the 20th, Gingrich lead Romney by 4 points.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul comes in third place with 14 percent. No other candidate scores double digits.

The results come amid increased scrutiny over Gingrich’s record coupled with criticism from an array of conservative illuminates. The former Speaker of the House has reportedly been scrambling to maintain his lead by beefing up his staff and committing additional time to the campaign trail.

Since the start of the Republican debates, several other candidates have emerged to become an alternative to Romney, including Texas Governor Rick Perry and former businessman Herman Cain. Both ultimately saw their leads collapse.

The poll was conducted among 436 Republicans between December 16th and 18th. It comes fifteen days before the Iowa caucuses, the first major contest of the primary season. While Gingrich has been expected to fare well in the hawkeye state, a survey released Sunday by Public Policy Polling placed him at third place, behind Ron Paul at 20 percent and Mitt Romney with 14 percent.

Boehner Abandons Temporary Payroll Plan, Pushes Year-Long Deal

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced Monday that the lower chamber will be pursuing a one year plan to extend payroll relief after House Republicans balked at supporting a two-month extension passed through the Senate.

“A two month extension creates uncertainty,” Boehner said during a press briefing Monday. “No more kicking the can down the road.”

Boehner said the House will still vote on the temporary extension, but that his colleagues will likely reject the Senate’s proposal and instead ask for additional negotiations between the two chambers.

Without Congressional action, payroll relief will expire on January 1st, bringing taxes on Americans’ paychecks from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. The White House has continually warned that an expiration means Americans will be paying an additional $1,000 on average next year.

Boehner denied Monday that he was fully on-board with the two month extension, explaining that he believed the inclusion of language that would require the White House to make a decision on the construction of the Keystone pipeline was a victory, but that he had always voiced reservations over a temporary fix.

The two-month extension passed through the upper chamber with overwhelming 89-10 support.

Kim Jong Il Dead At 69

UPDATE — Yonhap News, a South Korean media outlet, is reporting that North Korea test fired two short-range missiles Monday. According to a South Korean official cited by the news agency, the test is not believed to be linked to the death of Kim Jong Il.

North Korea announced Sunday that its longtime ruler, Kim Jong Il, died over the weekend.

The 69-year-old dictator reportedly passed away after becoming fatigued during a train ride on Saturday. The news was broken yesterday at noon during an official North Korean state television broadcast.

The following analysis courtesy of global intelligence firm Stratfor:

“Kim’s death comes as North Korea was preparing for a live leadership transition in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim’s father and North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung, a transition that had been intended to avoid the three years of internal chaos the younger Kim faced after his father’s death in 1994. Kim Jong Il had delayed choosing a successor from among his sons to avoid allowing any one to build up their own support base independent of their father. His expected successor, son Kim Jong Un, was only designated as the heir apparent in 2010 after widespread rumors in 2009 and thus has had little experience and training to run North Korea and little time to solidify his own support base within the various North Korean leadership elements. Now, it is likely that Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, will rule behind the scenes as Kim Jong Un trains on the job. Like the transition from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, it is likely that North Korea will focus internally over the next few years as the country’s elite adjust to a new balance of power. In any transition, there are those who will gain and those who are likely to be disenfranchised, and this competition can lead to internal conflicts.”

“The immediate question is the status of the North Korean military. Kim Jong Un is officially the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party of Korea and was recently made a four-star general, but he has no military experience. If the military remains committed to keeping the Kim family at the pinnacle of leadership, then things will likely hold, at least in the near term. There were no reports from South Korea that North Korea’s military had entered a state of heightened alert following Kim Jong Il’s death, suggesting that the military is on board with the transition for now. If that holds, the country likely will remain stable, if internally tense.”

“Kim’s death does not necessarily put an end to recently revived discussions with the United States and others over North Korea’s nuclear program. Pyongyang has increasingly felt pressured by its growing dependence on China, and these nuclear talks provide the potential to break away from that dependence in the long term.”

Payroll Tax Cut Deal Sets Up February Showdown

The Senate on Saturday morning voted to extend the current payroll tax holiday for employees by another two months.

The 89-10 tally prolongs the popular two percent tax cut until February 29, meaning that lawmakers will again wrestle over a full-year extension when Congress returns from its holiday recess in early January. The $30 billion measure also extends long-term jobless benefits and prevents a steep cut to Medicare reimbursement payments from happening on January 1.

Earlier this week, the House passed a bill to extend the tax cuts for a whole year. The White House, however, rejected the GOP’s bill due to how it was paid for and the fact that it would have forced the administration to approve or decline a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the next 60 days.

Faced with the possibility of seeing the tax cut expire in 15 days, Senate Democrats begrudingly allowed the Keystone rider to make its way into the short-term extension. Inclusion of the measure represents a huge victory for Republicans, who say the Canada-to-Texas pipeline will create thousands of jobs and will lessen the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Most Democrats had previously supported President Obama’s decision to delay approving the pipeline, citing the need to further study its environmental impacts. The proposed route of the transnational pipeline would take it across a giant fresh water reserve located in Nebraska. The project would also cross over Nebraska’s Sandhills, an enormous wetland ecosystem.

Despite the Keystone language, the White House signaled its intention to support the short-term extension.

“The President said that Congress cannot go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million hardworking Americans, and the deal announced tonight meets that test,” said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer. “This is an important step towards enacting a key provision of the President’s American Jobs Act and a significant victory for the American people and the economy.”

The Senate decided to offset the cost of the 60-day tax cut by raising the fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge mortgage lenders.

The bill is expected to clear the House when lawmakers return Monday from their weekend off.