Boehner: Politicians Beware

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

In light of Republican Senator Bob Bennett's failure to receive his party's support in Utah last Saturday and 14 term Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan's primaty loss in West Virginia Tuesday night, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that there is "a political rebellion going on in America.”

“Politicians beware,” Boehner said. “The American people are awake [and] they’re more involved in their government than anytime in our history.”

Boehner said that the American public is particularly upset and irritated by the “arrogance” of Washington and added that there will be similar political coups on the horizon unless, Boehner contends, Washington takes what Americans want into consideration.

“I think it’s critically important to listen to the American people and work with them to make the changes in the government here that the American people want,” Boehner said. "The sooner that happens the better."

BP President Concedes Responsibility, Says Company Will Respond To All 'Legitimate' Claims

By Benny Martinez – University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday that BP will take full responsibility for the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began on April 20th.

“Liability, blame, fault, put it over here,” McKay said. “We are the responsible party.”

As the country laments the death of 11 rig workers and the injury of 17 more, investigations remain ongoing in an effort to decipher what exactly went wrong.

“A full answer to those questions will have to await the joint investigation by the Departments of Homeland Security and Interior, Congress and an independent internal investigation that BP is conducting,” McKay said.

The biggest problem facing BP America is taking control of an oil well that continues to spew nearly 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the the Gulf of Mexico. Adding to the problem, an oil slick continues to threaten Gulf Coast states, adversely affecting the economy of the region.

A second attempt at capping the well using a containment system to funnel oil to ships 5,000 feet above is underway after an initial attempt failed. Biodegradable dispersants are being used to expedite the natural degradation process of oil and two relief wells are currently being drilled, a two to three week process, to permanently secure the spewing well.

Compensating Gulf Coast businesses and communities creates a more expensive challenge for BP to handle. According to McKay, BP is fully prepared to pay for the monetary damage resulting from the spill, even if that means exceeding a previously established $75 million liability cap.

“We are going to pay all legitimate claims,” the BP President said. “As to the $75 million, we think that we’re going to exceed that and that is irrelevant. We’re going to pay the claims and the entire resources of BP are behind this.”

Bennett's Loss Shows That The GOP Base Is Growing More Hostile, Says Hoyer

By Sofia Sanchez-Talk Radio News Service/University of New Mexico

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that the decision from Utah Republicans to drop incumbent Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) shows that the GOP is moving toward a smaller and more stubborn base.

"I think that the Republican party now has the narrowest base that I have seen … since I have been involved with politics, which has been for over four decades,” Hoyer said. “Their base does not want them to compromise, their base does not want them to sit down with people and discuss alternatives that are possible."

Republicans in Utah cited Bennett's vote in favor of the Troubled Assets Relief Program and his attempt to craft a health care reform compromise with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as the grounds for their vote. Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater garnered more support than Bennett and will face a primary vote this June.

Hoyer said that this new direction among conservatives will likely alienate more moderate voters.

"I think, ultimately, [this] will not be something the Independents believe is a good thing for our country."

Senate Democrats Replace Volcker Rule, Confront High Risk Propietary Trading

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced Monday that they have created an amendment that will replace the Volcker Rule, a provision proposed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker aimed at requiring banks to limit their riskier financial activities, in the Wall Street reform bill.

According to Merkley, the Volcker rule served as a place holder that asked regulators to conduct studies in search of problems in the financial market and would then provide Congress with suggestions on how to fix them, but the Senators’ new amendment would effectively eliminate high-risk proprietary trading, an element included in the language of the Volcker Rule and that lay at the heart of the financial meltdown.

“We are declaring as a Congress that high-risk proprietary trading is inappropriate to have in the same house as a bank holding company and then having the normal partnership with regulators to implement that direction, that direction being carve this off and remove it separately,” Merkley said.

The Democratic duo said that this bill has as many as 17 co-sponsors and is supported by Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and by the Department of Treasury. Despite the fact that the amendment does not have a single Republican co-sponsor, both Senators are riding the support of Chairman Dodd and said there will be a vote on the Senate floor soon.

“We clearly do expect that that will be the case based on the support of Senator Dodd,” Levin said. “We are confident that this will be voted on and we’re confident that it will have not just Senator Dodd’s support, but with that support, have an extremely good chance of passing.”

Mission To Restore Economy Is Far From Over, Says House Republican

By Sofia Sanchez
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Democratic and Republican members of the Joint Economic Committee expressed different feelings on Friday about the newly released April unemployment numbers.

With the nation's unemployment rate rising to 9.9% during the previous month, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) warned Congress that now is not the time to be celebrating.

“No one in Congress is raising a 'Mission Accomplished' banner just yet,” he said.

Brady lamented the fact that the federal government outpaced small businesses terms of adding payroll during the month. Manufacturing, hospitality, construction and mining, are all trailing big businesses in job growth so far this year, he added.

“I guess I am troubled by the thought that our main street...companies aren’t hiring,” he said.

Brady attributed the bad news to the enactment of "careless fiscal polices" by both the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, claiming they will eventually create an economic collapse in the U.S. parallel to the one in that has occurred in Greece, a nation that is requesting billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) just to keep its economy afloat.

Others on the committee, however, chose to focus on positive elements within the report. Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) viewed the April job situation in a different light.

“Although the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent, the increase is due to re-entrance into the labor force, a sign of increased optimism about job prospects...We have come a great distance in the past 15 months,” she said.