Senate Democrats Look To Beef Up Border Security

Senate Democrats introduced new legislation Thursday that is aimed at beefing up security along the country’s Southwest border.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), alongside Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), unveiled a $600 million emergency measure in an effort to fully secure the U.S.-Mexican border.  The proposal would deploy 1,500 new enforcement agents and fund unmanned aerial vehicles to boost border surveillance.

“This package shows a serious commitment to securing the border, even though we know it will take comprehensive immigration reform to fully address the problem,” Schumer said. “We plan to push this measure immediately in the Senate, and it will send the personnel and equipment we need along the border.”

Sens. Schumer and McCaskill touted the new bill by distinguishing it from a similar bill introduced by Senate Republicans. Under the GOP’s version, funding would originate from surplus Recovery Act funding, a measure Democrats said would eliminate jobs.

Democrats plan to fuel this measure without increasing the nation’s debt while simultaneously creating jobs.

“[The bill] would avoid adding to the deficit by raising fees on a handful of foreign corporations that exploit U.S. visa programs to import workers from India,” the Sens. said in a statement. “The Senate Democrats’ proposal is paid for by raising fees on companies that take jobs away from U.S. workers.”

The Senate duo are hopeful this measure hits the floor running and comes up before the Senate breaks for recess.

Harry Truman is turning in his grave because of the mistakes made in Iraq

The report being made public today, "Hard Lessons", addresses an almost staggering number of issues and problems; poor contracting practices, inadequate staffing at all levels, inexperienced staffing, goals that are beyond our capabilities, and a shocking lack of planning," said Linda J. Gustitus, of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first hearing was on: Lessons from the Inspectors General: Improving Wartime Contracting. This was the first of what will be many hearings discussing the failed contracting efforts in Iraq.

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) wants Iraq to assume more responsibility for their own reconstruction. She also wants to ensure that goods and services purchased by the American government are truly the best value for the tax payer. She said that this is important because "last year the federal government spent 532 billion dollars, last year alone, in contracts, and that is a 140% increase from 2001-2008".

"Every interested American knows that there was rampant fraud waste and abuse following the invasion of Iraq. They all know it and they want us to demonstrate that we are willing to do something about it, not simply in terms of process, but in terms of accountability," said Senator Jim Webb (D-Va). He expressed the view that the obligations that the Commission will face is that of the most important oversight obligations, and that while there is a role for contractors, he believes that "the pendulum has swung way to far."

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) says that Harry Truman has been rolling in his grave for the past five years and that he would be astounded at the fact that "we allowed this problem to get this far out of control. This has been a massive failure. We have failed our military, and we have failed the American people." She emphasized that accountability is missing with this situation.

Stuart W. Bowen, Jr. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction was put in the hot seat during the hearing as he discussed what went wrong in Iraq. When asked which mistakes to avoid repeating in Afghanistan he replied, "don't replicate the weak quality assurance that has characterized the effort in Iraq" which essentially means that government experts go out to sites to make sure that the work meets contract expectations. Since there is no system of checks and balances to ensure that money cannot just vanish into thin air, much of the the money spent in Iraq has just disappeared.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service and Staff

"Just Vote!"

Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY) held a press conference today discussing the “GOP obstructions of bills that would ensure fair pay and enhance veterans benefit.” Claire C. McCaskill (D-MO) took also part in the conference.

The senators urged their republican co-leagues to end the delays of the fair pay vote and construct a voting ceremony to resolve the long-awaiting problem. Senator Schumer pointed out that the problem seems not important amongst the Republican senators, especially when, during very busy campaigns, Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are going to be present for the vote, whereas Senator McCain, who has no busy schedule, will be absent. “Delay and obstruction has become their middle name” said the vice chairman, outraged by the latest Republican filibusters.
The reason why the Republicans have been delaying the vote is because, according to Senator Schumer, “They do not know what direction to take, they have no answers, they need to obstruct when people want change, and they do not want to do this.”

Senator McCaskill started off by giving remarks of the way things are being handled and stated that she was confused as to why the floor cannot debate the veteran’s bill, she said “what difference does it make?” She just urged her coworkers to “just vote.”

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Obama Campaign Communications Director Robert Gibbs Promote the Presidential Hopeful's Stance on Earmarks

The Obama Campaign today hosted a conference call to discuss the presidential hopeful’s position on earmarks featuring Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Obama campaign Communications Director Robert Gibbs.

Gibbs emphasized the fact that Senator Obama is “a leader in ethics reform.” He referred to Obama’s “Google for Government” plan, used to allow citizens to use the internet to clearly see where government money is spent.

Senator McCaskill endorsed Gibbs’ comments, backing Obama’s stance on earmarks and his condemning of wasteful government spending.