Boehner Accuses White House Of Lying About Stimulus

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

During a press conference Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio.) said President Obama and Vice President Biden have been telling lies about why the Stimulus package hasn't reversed the nation's spiraling unemployment rate.

“I found it interesting in the last couple of days, the Vice President and the President mentioned the fact they didn't realize how difficult an economic circumstance we were in. Now this is the biggest fabrication I’ve seen since I’ve been in Congress. I’ve sat through those meetings at the White House with the President, the Vice President, trust me there’s not one person that sat in those rooms that didn't know how serious our economic crisis was,” Boehner said.

Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wa) cautioned that the recent legislation put forth by the Democrats will do nothing but increase taxes which, in the long term, will hinder consumer spending.

“Republicans know and the American people know that what we need is fiscal discipline in Washington D.C and we need to give the American people a tax relief, working families, small businesses and family
farms need more of their hard earned money to put this economy back on its feet,” said Pence.

As for health care, McMorris-Rodgers explained that “We cannot forget that doctors are the experts, we must guard that relationship between the doctor and his patient; it is one of the most valued relationships
that we have,” adding that “We can reform health care, and we can give options to the uninsured without the federal government setting up shop as a big health insurance company or the health care gate keeper.”

Biden: Hospitals Back Health Care Reform

Hospital associations will be aiding the White House’s health reform effort by providing $155 billion in medicare and medicaid savings over the next ten years, announced Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday.

“All of these savings are based on policies the administration proposed in its budget to fund health care reform,” said Biden, adding that the announcement represented President Barack Obama’s goal to achieve deficit neutral reform.

The Vice President, who appeared with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for the announcement, stressed health reform’s urgency, stating that a plan needs to be in place by the end of August.

“We have tried for decades to fix a broken system. We have never, in my entire public tenure in public life, been this close,” said Biden.

The hospital associations will achieve the promised savings by reforming their delivery systems and reducing inflationary updates.

Green Jobs: Transforming The Blue Collar Worker Into The Green Collar Worker

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Business and political leaders are joining forces to ensure the creation of more green jobs in the United States. Vice President Joe Biden headlined Wednesday’s Green Jobs Summit hosted by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. Summit participants, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), are investing in clean energy and committing the U.S. to generating a stronger, environmentally friendly economy. 

“We have to act fast and we have to think of the future we want to build,” said Biden.
“The best part of building a clean energy economy [is that it] not only puts us on the path to a greener and more sustainable future but it necessitates the jobs that are going to get us there.”

Biden noted that the U.S. has to be competitive in the creation of a clean energy economy and become a leader in the twenty-first century. According to Biden, that means energy efficiency can not become an issue that gets put aside during the next four years. 

The Vice President also said we have a moral challenge to make certain that the younger generations inherit a safe and clean planet. 

“I am more optimistic about the place we are today. I’m more idealistic about what we can do today than I was when I was a 29 year old kid elected to the United States Senate in 1972. The slope is really steep but the opportunity is gigantic.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion dollar plan to stimulate the U.S. economy, was signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 and includes a three year extension of the renewable energy production tax credit which will be used to establish future investments in wind, geothermal, and biomass energy.

Today At TRNS

White House Correspondent Victoria Jones will be covering today's briefing at the White House with Robert Gibbs.

The Washington, D.C. Bureau will be covering the following events:

-A summit on green jobs with Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)

-An announcement from Republican leaders of a new health care bill.

-A press conference with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the heads of various military and veterans organizations.

-A hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Oversight of the Justice Department" with Attorney General Eric Holder.

-A House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on "North Korea's Nuclear and Missile Tests and the Six-Party Talks: Where Do We Go from Here?"

-A briefing on "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Suicide Prevention" with Sen. Max Baucu (D-Mont.), Sen Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Sen. Mike Johanns (D-Neb.).

-An event to deliver a letter from over 600 state legislators voicing support for health care reform.

Biden Stresses Transparency And New U.S. Economic Foundation

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden held a teleconference with reporters across the country to detail what the federal government has planned for the second 100 days of the Obama administration.

During its first 100 days the Obama administration created or saved over 150,000 jobs, Biden said.

“The measure of our progress here...is that as every month goes by we should be not merely incrementally but geometrically [increasing] the number of jobs we’re creating” said Biden.

The Obama administration is also trying to be transparent about its efforts to revitalize the economy, Biden said. He listed www.recovery.gov, and www.whitehouse.gov/recovery as two new websites that detail the public how government is spending the stimulus funds. The latter website provides a feature for citizens to share thoughts, observations, and stories with the government on its recovery plan.

Biden stated that even though the unemployment rate remains high, and while many jobless citizens question the stimulus packages, there would be 1 to 1.4 million more unemployed people were it not for the recovery acts. The current unemployment rate is 9.4 percent.

New stimulus-related jobs are focused more on alternative energy, education, health care, and creating a new infrastructure for the country. Biden stated, “We’re trying to lay a foundation for a new economy...We are investing not in digging more oil wells but in building more wind farms, investing in solar energy....We are going to have an economy that [is] not based on a bubble.”