House Republican Says U.S. Involvement In Honduras Is Harmful

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

Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said Wednesday that U.S. intervention in the Honduran elections is punishing American commercial and economic interests in the region.

“During my recent visit to Honduras I was struck by the harmful effect U.S. policy is having on American interests and citizens in that country,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

Conflict began in Honduras earlier this summer when President Manuel Zelaya was ousted and removed from the country on June 28 after he defied a ruling of the Supreme Court to cancel a constitutional change that was deemed illegal.

Following Zelaya's ouster, Interim President Roberto Micheletti took over, causing conflict with those who supported Zelaya and perceived his removal to be a military coup.

U.S. officials and other countries have said that they will not recognize the results of the upcoming Nov. 29 elections in Honduras until the conflict is resolved and Zelaya is returned to power.

However, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said that the elections are imperative to improving the country's conditions.

“Since when does the U.S. not support free, fair, transparent and constitutionally mandated elections?” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement last week. “It makes no sense that the U.S. would side with Manuel Zelaya and his ALBA buddies at the expense of Democracy.”

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent three top U.S. delegates to Honduras Wednesday to attempt to negotiate a solution to the political crisis ahead of elections.

Export of e-waste could be hazardous

Twenty to 50 million tons of electronic waste (e-waste) are exported worldwide said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) in a hearing today. Watson said it is possible to export these materials from the United States because this type of waste is exempt from export laws. According to Watson, "e-waste" pollutes water, air, and soil. She calls this development a "cyber-age nightmare."


E-Waste is harmful because it contains dangerous toxins like lead and mercury, said Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-A.S.). It can be harmful for the United States as well because products we import "exposed to dangerous levels of toxins," Faleomavaega continued. He said we have made developing countries a "dumping ground" for our "e-waste."

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Environment Protection Agency's enforcement in this area is not sufficient. Even though there were regulations for the export of cathode-ray tubes, a particularly hazardous type of e-waste, the GAO found that companies are easily circumventing these rules. John Stephenson, director of natural resources and environment issues at the GAO, said that the countries most affected by e-waste are Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Singapore, and Pakistan. He called the exporting of e-waste a "public health issue."

Today at Talk Radio News

Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Tamboli will be covering Supreme Court decisions. Chief United Nations Correspondent Dan Patterson will be covering events at the UN. The Washington Bureau will also be covering the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on "Russia, Iran and Nuclear Weapons: Implications of the Proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement", the Joint Economic Committee's hearing on "The Future Costs of Funding the Iraq War", the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's markup of a proposed report on the investigation of contacts between the White House and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee's hearing on the condition of the nation's infrastructure, which New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be attending, the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) briefing on "President Bush's FY2009 Budget Request for Biodefense", House Foreign Affairs Committee's hearing on "U.S.-Japan Relations: An Overview", the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's hearing on the relationship between U.S. renewable fuels policy and food prices, and the Republican press conference with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), House Leader John Boehner, (R-Ohio), and House Whip Roy Blunt, (R-Mo.).

Chairman Ackerman and Chairman Delahunt Angry at the Administration's Lack of Cooperation

The Foreign Affairs Committee held a joint hearing today on discussing the U.S. commitments to Iraq. The subcommittees organizing the hearing were the Middle East and the South Asia, led by Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY), and International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, led by William D. Delahunt (D-MA).

The hearing was scheduled to have two different panels. First with the Honorable David Satterfield, senior advisor to the Secretary and Coordinator to Iraq, U.S. State Department, and the Honorable Mary Beth Long, assistant Secretary of Defense on International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense. Professor Oona A. Hathaway from Yale Law School and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Lawrence Korb were the witnesses of the second panel.

Senior adviser David Satterfield presented the “progress towards developing a basic framework for normalized relations with the Iraqi government, which will include what is known as a Status of Forces Agreement”. This agreement raised couple of concerns amongst the members of the committee. They were upset of the ongoing lack of consultation of the current administration with Congress. The issue of starting a war without the authorization of Congress was also brought up by Chairman Ackerman, leaving both representatives of the departments with no direct answers. The chairman also questioned the administration’s ability to understand and act upon the Constitution