Job Creation Remains Vital In Economic Recovery Says Biden

By Justine Rellosa-Talk Radio News Service

Vice President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the economy is, in fact, "on the mend" and added that job creation is still at the forefront of change.

According to government figures, the Recovery Act has created 2.5 million jobs so far and it increased the current GDP by as much as three percent last quarter. Biden said that nearly $100 billion of the Recovery Act tax cuts are pulling "double-duty" shifts by helping families gain efficient income through multiplier effects and boosting economic activity.

"The economy is clearly on a mend. In the first quarter of this year we added 54,000 jobs per month. Now, I know, and we all know, that that rate of job growth is too slow to bring down the unemployment rate," Biden said. "Continued weakness in job creation remains a major challenge, one the President and the whole administration is committed to meeting."

The Vice President said that the plan for economic growth includes rules and regulations that protect consumers and tax payers, education reform, sustainable federal spending and energy independence.

"The next expansion is characterized by prosperity that is broadly shared by new economic opportunities for the middle class," Biden said. "By finally tearing down the barriers to health care and education [and] by starting us down a path toward energy independence, we’ll be building the America we need in order to compete... and lead in the 21st century."

Clinton Grilled Over Abortion Views At Committee Hearing

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, answered questions for almost four-hours on foreign policy priorities in the Obama administration in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today.

Upon entering Clinton was met with protest signs from Code Pink asking the State Department to begin talks with the Palestinian government even if it did include Hamas, as they were democratically elected to their positions. One protester held a sign which read, “It is called the ‘state’ not ‘hate’ department.”

During the hearing Clinton made it clear that talks between the Obama administration and Hamas. She said, “The President’s policy...is very clear, we will not deal with, nor in any way fund, a Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agreed to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian authority. That is our policy, but we want to leave open the door so that can happen.”

This was Clinton’s first appearance to the House since her confirmation hearings earlier this year. In her opening statement she spoke of the progress she had made nearly 100-days into her new role. Clinton reiterated the Presidents goals in Afghanistan and and Pakistan and stated the administrations “core goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda, to prevent their return to safe havens in Afghanistan or Pakistan.”

On Iran Clinton said, “We are deploying new approaches to the threat posed by Iran, and we are doing so with our eyes wide open and with no illusions. We no the imperative of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons after years, during which the United States basically sat on the sidelines, we are now a full partner in the P5+1 talks.”

Before taking questions Clinton told the committee, “We are in this together. We have to row in the same direction for the benefit of our country and our children.”

From the Republican side, Clinton was asked multiple questions on her thoughts relating to abortion around the world. Congressman Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) led the talk by asking whether “the Obama administration would be seeking in any way to weaken or over-turn pro-life laws and policies in African and Latin American countries either directly or through multilateral organizations.” Clinton told the committee, “It is my strongly held view that you are entitled to advocate and everyone who agrees with you should be free to do so anywhere in the world and so are we. We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health and reproductive health includes access to abortion, that I believe should be safe, legal and rare.”

Clinton told the committee that during her time as First Lady helped create the campaign against teen pregnancy which saw the rate of teen pregnancy decrease. She said, “I am sad to report that after an administration of 8-years that undone so much of the good work, the rate of teenage pregnancy is going up”. To which she received applaud from members of the public listening at the hearing.

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) continued on the topic of abortion stating, “I don’t believe we should use American foreign policy to export abortion.” He feared it would “undermine” foreign relations with other countries. Congressman Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) also asked about abortion, asking Clinton her views on forced abortion in China. To which Clinton repeated her stance as First Lady stating this was “absolutely unacceptable.”

The hearing also saw clear partisan disagreement from the members on President Obama’s handshake with President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez. Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said he was “not amused” by these pictures and called Chavez a “Catro wannabe in the region”. Congresswoman Shelley Berkely (D-Nev.) addressed Pence’s during her statement, stating, “as an American I would have been mortified if our President had done anything other than what he did.” Addressing this argument Clinton said, “

Another area of partisan division lay in the decision to investigate some detainee tactics used during the Bush administration. Clinton repeated Obama stating, “No-one will be prosecuted who acted within the four corners of the legal advice that was given, following that advice to perform that function, that, that person believed was legal. However those who formulated those opinions and gave those orders should be reviewed and the President has referred that to the Attorney General.”

Asked by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) whether they she would be in favor of releasing documents that Dick Cheney has requested be released. Clinton responded, “It won’t surprise you that I don’t consider him a particularly reliable source of information.”

Clinton also answered questions relating to safety on the Mexican border, human rights in Cuba, terrorism, and Africa and Iraq amongst other top political issues. -

Federal Reserve to be more transparent about lending policies

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Ben Bernanke testified before the House Financial Services Committee concerning "An Examination of the Extraordinary Efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank to provide Liquidity in the current Financial Crisis."

Chairman Barney Frank, (D-Mass) said in his opening statement: "I read before coming here, the new Treasury of the Secretary's announcement of his plans to use the TARP funds. It is very clear that the Obama administration, as did the Bush administration is using the money in the TARP program in conjunction with the lending authority of the Federal Reserve."

"There are also some important questions in the ways in which we govern ourselves. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve and indeed the Federal Reserve system, I believe were responding to the very real needs in society and people need not agree with every specific decision that the Federal Reserve made, to appreciate the sense of very important public purpose that has motivated them," Chairman Frank said.

The Trouble Assets Relief Program (TARP), was a program set up, in October 2008, by the United States government to allow them to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to help strengthen them during the economic recession.

The Ranking Member of the Committee, Representative Spencer Bachus, (R-Ala) said: "I believe in a democracy it should be a requirement in any agreement or transaction involving the government that...in the event that our governing officials come to the decision that the commitment of public funds is necessary, if a commitment of taxpayer funds or guarantees cannot be disclosed because of the circumstances involved it cannot and should not be made."

Chairman Bernanke answered questions for over two hours to the Committee concerning the Federal Reserve’s problems in this economic crisis.

"I firmly believe that central banks be as transparent as possible both for reasons of democratic accountability and because many of our policies are likely to be more effective if they are well understood by the markets and the public...The Federal Reserve is committed to keeping the Congress and the public informed about its lending programs and its balance sheet."

"To improve public access to information concerning Federal policies and programs, Federal Reserve staff are developing a new website that will bring together a new systematic and comprehensive way to find a full range of information the Federal Reserve already makes available, supplemented by new explanations, discussions and analysis. Our goal is to have this website operational in a few weeks."

Chairman Bernanke also referred to a new committee that will revue the Federal Reserve’s current publications and disclosure policies that will relate to the Federal Reserve's balance sheet and lending policies.

Shades of green: Obama, McCain advisors on energy policy

The energy policies of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were discussed at a conference hosted by the National Journal. In addition, panelists discussed their views of the political climate for legislative action in the coming congress.

Elgie Holstein, senior adviser to the Obama Campaign on energy, stated that both McCain and Obama have endorsed a cap and trade approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions, believing it to be the most economically friendly way to meet strict greenhouse gas emissions limitations that the campaign is hoping will become a part of national policy. However, the candidates differ in how aggressive they plan to be. Obama hopes to see a reduction of 80 percent below 1990 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while McCain would aim for a 60 percent reduction. In addition, Obama plans to auction off credits to companies that choose to continue polluting. Money from these auctions would be used to develop clean-energy technologies and underwrite the labor costs of transitioning to this new technology. McCain would not charge for these pollution credits, though would consider following a plan similar to Obama's years from now.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, domestic policy adviser to the McCain campaign, described McCain's intention of focusing on the vulnerabilities to our economy, environment and national security that our nation's reliance on foreign oil has caused. Holtz-Eakin stated that this reliance puts us at the mercy of leaders who do not share the same values as the United States, including Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez. As such, McCain advocates new oil and gas development on US shores, though not in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). He also favors research into new technologies to ease this dependence. Conversely, Obama is opposed to offshore exploration, favoring higher auto emissions standards along with a windfall profits tax on oil companies.

Despite their different policy preferences, Holstein noted that for the first time both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged that environmental issues can no longer be ignored.

Hillary hangs tough- doesn’t trade punches with Obama, criticizes “imperial” presidency

A confident, focused Hillary Clinton took the stage as the last of the three presidential candidates to speak at the annual Associated Press luncheon this afternoon. Clinton focused on promoting the initiatives she supports and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, avoided slamming her Democratic adversary Barack Obama and Republican opponent, John McCain.

The introduction to Clinton’s speech was similar to McCain’s, in that it discussed her support of a “shield law” to a crowd composed of mainly journalists, whom she thanked for their “courage” to report the news.

Clinton, like Obama’s speech did Monday afternoon, discussed the “power of the presidency” that she claimed has been abused under the Bush Administration. Clinton noted her intention to eliminate the “imperial” presidency Bush operates under. She criticized the current administration for “ignoring” and “rewriting” laws as they see fit.

Clinton forecast a multitude of challenges the incoming administration will have to face (fixing the economy, maintaining national security, and solving the crisis in Iraq), as she painted a portrait of herself as a leader, and longtime advocate of programs focused on helping all Americans, such as universal health care.

While Obama’s speech opened by discussing how the struggles he faced growing up have helped him understand how to relate to “everyday” Americans, Clinton modestly mentioned that she understood she was “blessed” to grow up in a middle-class household and, with government aid, fund a law-school education.

Clinton described her presidency as one that would restore the “evidence based decision making” that the Bush Administration, she argued, has strayed away from. Clinton called for an “immediate freeze on housing foreclosures” and, when asked about the role played by race in the election, said she wanted voters to base their decisions on the candidates based on their policy views, not gender or skin color.

As Clinton’s speech came to a close, she mentioning the tremendous economic success America achieved under her husband, Bill Clinton, and the lessons she learned watching him build an American powerhouse.