Joint Economic Committee Ready To Hear From America's CEO’s

By Monique Cala - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said on Wednesday that her committee sent surveys to the top 100 small business CEO’s for input on how to stimulate job growth. Feedback would be used by the committee to help other small businesses nationwide, according to Maloney.

With job growth number one on the President’s agenda, Maloney highlighted an idea being presented to Congress which would give tax credits to small businesses that hire new employees.

Maloney also touched upon national housing prices, which have increased for the month of January, along with personal income and the personal savings rate. The Chairwoman said that with exports, consumption and overall GDP on the rise, the nation's economy is slowly but surely recovering.

The committee will conduct a hearing next Tuesday featuring leading economists and small business representatives that will explore methods of boosting job growth.

Pentagon To Weigh Benefits Of Lifting 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

By Monique Cala- University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Tuesday during a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon is preparing to repeal 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ by launching a 45 day study on the effects of lifting the controversial measure that has banned gays from serving openly in the military.

“We have received our orders from the Commander in Chief and we are moving out accordingly,” said Gates. “However, we can only take this process so far, as the ultimate decision rests with you, the Congress.”

Admiral Michael Mullen announced his support for the president's call to repeal the measure.

“It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. We have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are, in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me personally, it comes down to integrity. Theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”

Mullen said he will give the president “the best military advice” on how to implement the repeal.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) presented the committee with a list of over a thousand signatures of former military officers opposing the lift of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.'

“This would be a substantial and controversial change to a policy that has been successful for two decades,” said McCain. “It would also present yet, another challenge to our military at a time of already tremendous stress and strain.”

Both Mullen and Gates agreed that the 45 day study will help repeal 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' without negatively affecting those who are already deployed.

“We believe that any implementation plan for a policy permitting gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces must be carefully derived, sufficiently thorough, and thoughtfully executed,” said Mullen.

Sebelius Touts $911 Billion For HHS In 2011 Budget

By Monique Cala - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

U.S. Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday that President Barack Obama's proposed 2011 budget includes $911 billion for HHS.

“Whether fighting a pandemic, protecting food safety, or transforming the health care system with electronic medical records, the investments we’ve made have been guided by some of the finest scientific and medical experts in the world,” said Sebelius.

HHS has announced further investment in ‘next generation health care technologies,’ which includes a move to electronic health records by hospitals and doctors to help reduce medical errors, coordinate care and cut costs.

“What we have today is a sick care system, where we wait until something goes wrong to intervene,” said Sebelius.

According to the Secretary, HHS will work on prevention tactics by tackling obesity, which costs the U.S. health care system $150 billion a year, as well as fraud prevention with projected savings of $9.9 billion over ten years.

For more details on HHS's FY2011 budget visit FY2011 Budget.

New Osama Tape Shows Desperation, Says Middle Eastern Affairs Expert

By Monique Cala University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

James Phillips, a senior research fellow with a focus on Middle Eastern affairs at the Heritage Foundation, says that the recent tape allegedly featuring Osama Bin Laden taking credit for the failed Christmas eve bombing of a commercial airliner shows desperation from the terrorist leader.

"He was so desperate to get his name back in circulation he would attach his name to this failed situation," said Phillips told Talk Radio News.

"One interesting aspect of the latest Bin Laden tape is that it was entitled 'Osama to Obama,'" Phillips added. "Osama wants to be seen the equal of a U.S. President."

Although Phillips contends that Bin Laden may be appearing weaker, he does not believe that should give the U.S. an excuse to abandon their search.

"The catching or killing of Bin Laden would be an important signal that the United States will not rest until it's brought to justice those who indiscriminately murder American citizens," said Phillips.

Phillips discussed the authenticity of the audio tape saying that to his knowledge none thus far have been fake. He does think that it is important to recognize the fact that Bin Laden only sends audio and not video, as to not give any clue away to where he might be or of his appearance.

Child Care Tax Credit Covers An Additional 200,000 Families

By Monique Cala University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

The Middle Class Task Force announced Monday a near doubling of the Child and Dependent Care tax credit for families making less than $85 thousand a year.

The Vice President's Chief Economic Adviser, Jared Bernstein, discussed the newly announced plan in a White House conference call with reports, and explained that the program will reach an additional 200 thousand families.

“The middle class can stretch a lot higher up the income scale than some of these programs previously reached,” said Bernstein. “Full time care for an infant can cost more than $10 thousand a year. Monthly child care fees for two children can often be higher than your rent. So these are serious budget issues affecting millions of working families.”

The budget for the child care tax credit and other progrms proposed by the Middle Class Task Force will be released on February, 1st. Additional plans include reducing school loans to 10 percent of the students income after graduation, with debt forgiveness after 20 years, or 10 years if a student decides to work in public service.

A full list of programs announced today can be found at www.astrongermiddleclass.gov