House Republicans Call For Stimulus Audit

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and other House Republicans proposed an audit commission of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Wednesday, claiming that proper transparency of stimulus spending has not yet been provided.

“It’s time for Congress to demand answers on behalf of the hardworking taxpayers we represent,” Wilson said in a statement. “It is critical that American taxpayers receive adequate answers as to the whereabouts of stimulus funds.”

The bill calls for a 10 member bipartisan commission to be established, with a chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. The commission would investigate how jobs are being reported, the accuracy in the number of jobs being created and preserved and pursue future steps for job development.

“If you look at the number of jobs created by district and then look at the extraordinary cost, it is very revealing in itself,” Wilson said.

Reps. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Mark Sounders (R-Ind.) and Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) are co-sponsoring the bill, at Wednesday's press conference, each cited cost-benefit discrepancies on the official stimulus website recovery.gov.

“The Obama administration’s website creates phony Congressional districts and fishy jobs numbers,” Kingston charged. “It’s time to pull back the curtain and get some transparency."

Constituents More Concerned About Jobs Than Health Care Reform, Claim GOP Congressmen

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) claimed Tuesday that during the numerous town hall meetings held throughout the August recess, the focus was not just on health care reform. The top question being asked was: “Where are the jobs?”

Camp noted during a pen and pad session with reporters that only three counties in his district do not have a double digit unemployment rate, with one county nearing 16%.

The Congressmen touched upon health care reform, both reiterating their opposition to the public option.

“The American people don’t want another health care speech. They want another health care plan,” said Pence.

Camp added, “The public option is not the only concern,” but is “the most offensive part of the bill, because it will lead to many losing health insurance they already have."

When asked how will President Obama’s joint address to Congress Wednesday will be received, Pence responded “The Republicans will welcome the President back into the Congress respectfully."

Obama Wants You to Go Back to School

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April's numbers have already surpassed both the White House's and the Federal Reserve's projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.

Gingrich criticizes Obama's approach to Economy

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich criticizes President Barack Obama's approach to the economic stimulus bill. He specifically says that "governing is not campaigning", and that Obama may be approaching the bill too hastily, because it's a bill he will have to live with for the rest of his presidency.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Economic stimulus will reduce at least 61 million tons of CO2 every year

Greenpeace research on the economic stimulus plan as proposed by President Obama revealed promising results for the environment and economy. In a press conference today, Steven Biel, Greenpeace's global warming campaign director, stated, "We strongly support the legislation and we urge congress to pass it."

Kurt Davies, Greenpeace research director, explained how the energy and transport portions of this legislation are projected to fight global warming. "Taken together, they will cut at least 61 million tons of CO2 every year. That's the equivalent of taking 13 million cars off the road and equal to the electricity from about 7.9 million American homes, about 8 times the size of Chicago."


Furthermore, Greenpeace focused on how spending money on clean energy will create jobs. Research from the University of Massachusetts has found that investments in transit will create four times the amount of jobs when compared to investments in oil. Investments in efficiency are projected to produce at least twice as many jobs as investments in coal.

Beil concluded, "The job creating potential and environmental benefits of clean energy is virtually limitless, we would urge congress, if anything, to put additional investments into these programs."