Obama Will Grant Limited Benefits To Same-Sex Couples

By Learned Foote - Talk Radio News Service

President Obama will sign a memorandum on June 17th granting limited federal benefits to same-sex couples, and requesting that the Office of Personnel Management issue guidance within 90 days preventing discrimination against federal employees based on factors other than job performance.

John Berry, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Obama administration, said that he and the Secretary of State have “conducted internal reviews to determine whether the benefits they administer may be extended to the same-sex partners of federal employees within the confines of DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act].”

These benefits will not include health insurance, survivor or retirement benefits, or any other benefits outlawed by the Defense of Marriage Act. The Obama administration recently defended DOMA using arguments and language condemned by the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and other advocates for LGBT rights. Obama has promised to repeal DOMA if the appropriate legislation reaches his desk.

The benefits granted to civil-service employees will include long-term care insurance and sick leave to care for ailing partners. Foreign service employees and their partners will gain the use of medical facilities, medical evaluations from abroad, and consideration of family size in housing units. The memorandum also requests that the heads of executive departments and agencies conduct an internal review to locate other benefits that may be legally extended to same-sex couples.

The Clinton administration issued guidance requiring that many executive agencies grant some of the benefits identified in Obama’s memorandum. Berry said these benefits thus far have been “subject to the whim of a supervisor.” Berry said that “what the president is doing today is making this no longer optional; he is making it mandatory and is making it clear that this is now the policy of the federal government.”

Within 90 days, the OPM will issue guidance regarding civil service laws that make it illegal to discriminate against federal employees for reasons other than job performance. Berry said this guidance will not impact "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," a law that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military.

“This is a first step, not a final step,” said Berry.

Tax Experts Spar Over “Cap And Trade” Policy

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

The Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing to assess what impact the Obama administration’s carbon cap and trade program might have on tax legislation. 

The committee’s testimony dealt with a narrow set of questions such as whether or not carbon allocations should be distributed for free or auctioned off, and whether or not carbon allocations should be considered income or capital asset. In addition, the committee debated whether or not previous legislation governing the emission of sulfur dioxide can be used as an analogy to carbon taxes.

A panel of tax policy experts offered contradictory pieces of advice to the committee. 

“In considering the direction for the tax treatment of CO2 allowances, the most logical place to start is with the current treatment for SO2 [sulfur dioxide] and NOX [nitrous oxide] allowances. These allowances were established under Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,” said Keith Butler, Senior Vice President of Tax at Duke Energy. “These allowances should be granted with zero-tax basis and they should not be taxed upon granting it, because that just creates an ultimate cost that I don’t think we need to create,” he said. 

“To use that distant stuff from the past for this new market which is so vast is, you know, I mean, why don’t we bring over the laws from Amsterdam and apply them in New York today,” said Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He added that carbon allocations should be treated as income rather than capital gains, and that following the precedent set by SO2 caps is “mind-boggling.” “What you’re gonna do is throw out a couple hundred billion dollars,” he said. 

According to committee chairman Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the SO2 cap governed less than 120 facilities, whereas a carbon cap and trade program would affect over 7,000 entities if enacted. All of the panelists agreed that the analogous legislation would have to be revised if a carbon cap and trade proposal is enacted, and Hufbauer said that a “blank slate” would be most appropriate.

Pro-Trade Advocates Stress Need For Bipartisan Support

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

Advocates of free trade argued for reestablishing a bipartisan consensus in favor of open markets during a briefing on Capitol Hill. The panel included Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), founder of the Congressional Pro-Trade Caucus, and Daniel J. Ikenson, Associate Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. 

"The bipartisan pro-trade consensus which existed after World War II collapsed during the Bush administration," said Ikenson. He said that Democratic support of free trade began to decline in the 1990s. Ikenson cited the political allegiance between the Democrats and advocates for labor and the environment as one influential factor in this trend, but also said that Republican efforts to push through the pro-trade agenda without involving the Democrats sharpened the partisan divide during the Bush years.

Rep. Cuellar argued that both parties should work together to form a consensus. "You have to do it in a bipartisan way, and you got to include the minority from the beginning," he said. "For the Democratic Party, it would be a mistake to turn our backs to trade."  

Ikenson noted that Americans now view trade agreements with increasing disapproval. "America's souring on trade over the past few years is the product of a top-down process," he said. He argued that public opinion is influenced by false myths about free trade, which discount free trade's potential to engender wealth creation and peaceful foreign policy. 

Both Cuellar and Ikenson said that they believed President Obama would sway public opinion by advancing a pro-trade agenda. Cuellar sad that he was worried by some of Obama's campaign rhetoric, which included harsh criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but has been impressed by Obama's cabinet appointments, including Ron Kirk as United States Trade Representative. "I feel very, very good about President Obama," said Cuellar. 

With health-care reform and global warming bills coming up in Congress, Cuellar said that trade agreements may be put on hold for the summer, in order to avoid splitting the Democratic caucus. He said that he hopes trade agreements will be established with Panama and Colombia before the year is over.

Supreme Court Rules Against Alien, Defines "Aggravated Felony"

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 3rd Circuit in Nijhawan v. Holder, Attorney General on June 15th. The law says that the government may deport an alien who is convicted of an “aggravated felony.”

The question before the court dealt with the interpretation of the term “aggravated felony.” Immigration law holds that this crime includes “fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000.”

The word “felony” may be read with a “categorical” or a “circumstance-specific” interpretation. A categorical interpretation defines the crime generically, and requires a judge to examine the statute in question for a monetary threshold. The statutes used to indict the petitioner did not require the jury to rule on the amount of the loss.

However the Supreme Court ruled that the statute contains both categorical and circumstance-specific language, but the “aggravated felony” language allows for a circumstance-specific interpretation, which examines the facts of the case in question. Sentenced to pay $683 million in restitution, the petitioner had committed crimes resulting in a loss much greater than $10,000.

The petitioner also argued that in order to determine the amount of the loss, evidence presented by the government must include the ruling of the judge or the verdict of a jury. However, the petitioner had at least one opportunity to contest accusations regarding the amount of loss, which he did not do. He presented no conflicting evidence during the trial, and his sentence required him to pay $683 million. Justice Breyer delivered the Court’s opinion.

Von Brunn To Be Charged With Homicide, Possibly Hate Crimes

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

On Wednesday at 12:50 p.m., 88-year-old James Whittaker Von Brunn opened fire immediately upon entering the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. He shot and killed 39-year-old Stephen Tyrone Johns, a special police officer who died later that day.

Joseph Persichini, Assistant Director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said that Von Brunn's act may be charged as a hate crime in addition to homicide. “We know what Mr. Von Brunn did yesterday at the Holocaust Museum,” he said during a press conference today. “Now it’s our responsibility to determine why he did it. We have to ask ourselves, did all these years of public display of hatred impact his actions?”

Johns had opened the door of the museum for Von Brunn, said Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of Police with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. After Von Brunn shot Johns, other police officers standing near the entrance quickly returned fire. Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who also attended the press conference, acknowledged the heroism of law-enforcement officials. “Their efforts yesterday to bring this gunmen down literally saved the lives of countless people,” he said. “This could have been much, much worse.”

James Von Brunn remains in critical condition.

Persichini said that the FBI did not have an open investigation on Von Brunn at the time of the shooting. However, FBI investigators were aware of Von Brunn’s activities as an anti-Semite and a white supremacist.

“Law-enforcement’s challenge every day is to balance the civil liberties of the United States citizen against the need to investigate activities that might lead to criminal conduct,” Persichini said. He said that expressing opinions is not a crime, and that “many of these individuals are totally aware of what you can and cannot say in crossing the line which would initiate a domestic terrorism investigation.”

The FBI and MPD are continuing investigations of the crimes. As a convicted felon, Von Brunn could not legally possess a firearm, and Lanier said that law-enforcement officials would investigate as to how he obtained the weapon. Persichini said that any person who has information concerning Mr. Von Brunn should contact the FBI as soon as possible. “We will do everything possible, not only to stop Mr. Von Brunn, but the other Mr. Von Brunns that are around here in this nation today,” he said.

Mayor Fenty assured that “[The city] will get past this. The arrests have been made and the district remains an open, safe city for tourists and visitors.”