Tuesday
Jun232009
Graham Says Senate Rejects Certain White House Plans
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 3:47PM
By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.Car.) said Tuesday that there is clear bipartisan rejection in the Senate of several key White House initiatives, including energy and health reform. Graham said the Senate will continue to work on prudent legislation, but the legislative proposals from the White House are risky to American consumers and are unsustainable.
"I think the one thing I can tell you is that the public government option is not going to make it," Graham said. "That's all I can tell you. I think there is a lot of talk about different approaches, but the government option will kill private sector competition."
Republicans have been concerned about growing budget deficits and many, including Graham, believe that entitlement reform in areas like Medicare and Medicaid must be made if the Obama administration proceeds with its attempt to overhaul the nation's health care system.
"We can't have sustainable health care reform until you address the two government programs that exist today," Graham said. "Medicare and Medicaid combined in about ten years, are going to be the equivalent of today's entire budget. They're are on a unsustainable growth path."
Democratic lawmakers view cap-and-trade legislation as a possible source of income for health care reform. The hurdle for Democrats is finding a way to obtain majority support for such legislation in the Senate. According to Graham, the legislation was rejected in a bipartisan fashion because "it would create a $680 something billion cap-and-trade tax. . . that will have really hurt the American consumer and business."
Other opponents of cap-and-trade legislation argue that it will force businesses to relocate to countries without such laws, and that it will alienate poor communities by forcing taxes to increase.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.Car.) said Tuesday that there is clear bipartisan rejection in the Senate of several key White House initiatives, including energy and health reform. Graham said the Senate will continue to work on prudent legislation, but the legislative proposals from the White House are risky to American consumers and are unsustainable.
"I think the one thing I can tell you is that the public government option is not going to make it," Graham said. "That's all I can tell you. I think there is a lot of talk about different approaches, but the government option will kill private sector competition."
Republicans have been concerned about growing budget deficits and many, including Graham, believe that entitlement reform in areas like Medicare and Medicaid must be made if the Obama administration proceeds with its attempt to overhaul the nation's health care system.
"We can't have sustainable health care reform until you address the two government programs that exist today," Graham said. "Medicare and Medicaid combined in about ten years, are going to be the equivalent of today's entire budget. They're are on a unsustainable growth path."
Democratic lawmakers view cap-and-trade legislation as a possible source of income for health care reform. The hurdle for Democrats is finding a way to obtain majority support for such legislation in the Senate. According to Graham, the legislation was rejected in a bipartisan fashion because "it would create a $680 something billion cap-and-trade tax. . . that will have really hurt the American consumer and business."
Other opponents of cap-and-trade legislation argue that it will force businesses to relocate to countries without such laws, and that it will alienate poor communities by forcing taxes to increase.
Senate Begins Grilling Of Sonia Sotomayor
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now the ranking Republican on the committee, called Sotomayor’s comments on use of experience and background in judicial decisions “shocking and offensive” and distributed a thick stack of her past speeches to the media. The speeches were marked up to highlight passages where Sotomayor spoke about the differences her background would produce in her decisions. Sessions criticized the use of any factors outside of the facts and law of a case in making rulings.
Senators Sessions and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both said they planned to ask Sotomayor about her views on a range of issues, including abortion, property rights, the right to bear arms, and capital punishment. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as well said he was “deeply concerned by [Sotomayor]’s assertion that the law is uncertain.”
Speaking more generally, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Obama’s “empathy” standard used to select Sotomayor as his nominee. Graham went so far as to say that he would have to vote against Sotomayor under that standard, which he called “absurd” and “dangerous,” since it would encourage voting on the basis of agreement on issues and would therefore discourage potential nominees from expressing their opinions. He did, however, worry about Sotomayor’s speeches made while she has been a sitting judge, since those might cast doubt on her objectivity when deciding cases. Graham did recognize that “unless [Sotomayor has] a complete meltdown,” she would be confirmed, bringing laughter from audience.
Democrats generally supported the nominee by describing her record as centrist and reserved, and repeating her personal story of being raised by a poor, single mother and working to raise herself up to a federal judgeship. By the time it was Sotomayor’s chance to speak, the audience had heard the story several times.
A couple of Democrats took the opportunity to criticize the previous administration. Senator Specter (D-Pa.), a recent defector from the Republican party, spoke of President Bush’s wiretapping program, saying that a split among circuit courts in different areas of the country has prevented adjudication of the legality of those programs. He expressed hope that a new Supreme Court would resolve this disagreement and generally agree to hear more cases. Senator Feingold (D-Wisc.) lauded the Supreme Court’s role as a check on the president, offering as examples the Court’s rulings that Guantanamo detainees have rights to U.S. courts, and saying that an important quality in justices is a willingness to stand up to the president.
In Sotomayor’s short opening statement, she said that her judicial philosophy was simple: “fidelity to the law.” She said that her record would show that she applies the law according to Congress’s intent, applying relevant precedents. She finished by saying she looks forward to answering the senators’ questions.