Senate Democrats Blame Stagnant Economy On Stalled Congress

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

A duo of Senate Democrats pointed their fingers the Republican party Thursday and accused Senate Republicans of stalling an agenda aimed at boosting the economy.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) posed a simple question to voters heading into the summer recess.

“Whose side are you on?” he asked.

Menendez asserted that more could have been accomplished this year had Republicans not repeatedly stalled legislation and denied the economy of countless beneficial provisions.

“As [Democrats] try to give those small businesses the tax breaks and incentives to be able to grow this economy and hire more Americans, Republicans, every step of the way, are impeding our ability to create those jobs,” he said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said that it is frustrating to move legislation in the Senate because negotiations get delayed and are not made in good faith.

Menendez agreed, and said Senate Democrats will try to pass energy legislation, repeal tax breaks and help small businesses when the Senate reconvenes in September.

“What we want at the end of the day is to help middle-class families in this country get over this difficult time and realize their hopes and dreams and aspirations,” he said.

However, the lawmakers’ ambitious remarks were met immediately with skepticism.

“Senators Menendez and Whitehouse have imposed an immeasurable burden on small businesses with mountains of new spending and debt and countless new tax hikes under the failed Pelosi-Reid economic agenda,” said Parish Braden, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee (RNC).

In fact, 83,000 total jobs have dissapeared in Rhode Island and New Jersey since one of the Democrats’ biggest legislative achievements - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - was passed in early 2009. Both states have also seen their unemployment rates rise considerably in that time.

“Democrat leaders pledge to support small businesses while at the same time are planning yet another job killing tax hike on the same businesses,” Braden added.

Mexico Slowly Bringing Oversight To Its Oil Industry

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

The head of a new agency within the Mexican government tasked with regulating carbon extraction said Mexico will soon be getting tougher on its largest state-owned oil company.

Juan Carlos Zepeda Molina, President of the newly created National Commission of Hydrocarbons, told a panel gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., that his department will bring necessary oversight to Pemex, one of the largest companies in the world, worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

(Click here for a more in-depth article from the Wall Street Journal)

“Our main focus right now, is to go into Pemex and check whether Pemex has all internal procedures according to best practices. The second thing is to assign a specific regulation. The third level of regulation, as I mentioned, we have the technical assessment,” he said.

One procedure Molina finds to be of the utmost importance is to implement a double-key authorization.

“Before a critical decision is taken, I believe we have to enforce a double-key procedure to make sure certain procedures are done and that you have the concourse of more than one judgement in order to take a final decision,” said Molina.

Lourdes Melgar, an independent energy consultant studying at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., worries that Pemex has future offshore drilling plans that exceed the company’s technologies and practices.

“How does a company such as Pemex, and how do we think we can do this with such a weak regulation or nonexistent regulation, do the quantum leap from 1200 meters to 2520 meters?” said Melgar.

Melgar also worries about Mexico’s lackadaisical response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“One cannot just pretend nothing is going on,” she said. “Why has the Mexican government been so quiet about something that is happening right there in the Gulf of Mexico? After all it’s called the Gulf of Mexico, it’s something we share.”

EPA Unsure Of Longterm Effects Of Dispersants In Gulf

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

According to an EPA official, it may take time to determine the permanent environmental effects of the chemical dispersants used by BP to combat the massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast.

“The long-term effects on aquatic life are still significantly unknown and BP has used over 1.8 million gallons of dispersants, a volume never before used in the United States,” Dr. Paul Anastas, the Assistant Administrator for Research and Development at the EPA, said during a hearing Wednesday with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

While the use of dispersants has been criticized by many environmentalists, Anastas explained that the dispersants are keeping oil off the beaches of the Gulf and away from sensitive ecosystems.

Anastas asserted that the oil spill has made it evident that additional research is needed.

“We want to have more science, more data, [and] more testing, upfront, so when we’re making decisions in an emergency situation, you have that data [and] you have that perspective at your fingertips,” he said.

Oil Spill Killed Hundreds Of Sea Turtles, Say Researchers

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

According to experts, the massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast has killed hundreds of sea turtles. 

“We have about 560 stranded turtles documented. Most of those stranded turtles are dead, that’s the normal course for stranded turtles,” Barbara Schroeder, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries National Sea Turtle Coordinator, said during a conference call with other researchers.  “About 60 were found alive and about 45 remain in rehabilitation.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Sea Turtle Coordinator Sandy MacPherson explained efforts to relocate sea turtle nests to the Atlantic Coast.

“The unified command approved plan is currently being implemented and it involves excavating sea turtle nests along Alabama and Florida panhandle beaches and carefully placing them in specially prepared boxes using sand from their own nests,” explained MacPherson. “They are then carefully tended by innovative health applications biologists in a climate controlled facility at the Kennedy Space Center.”

MacPherson said that researchers do not know if the turtles will find their way back to old nesting grounds after being released on east central Florida beaches.

“This nest translocation effort is primarily a rescue effort to prevent hatchlings from encountering oil, or oil product,” MacPherson said.

Embattled Rangel Will Stand Trial In September

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

A House Ethics Subcommittee laid out 13 charges of House rules violations this afternoon against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), and began making preparations to hold what promises to be a highly watched trial.

Rangel had worked feverishly this week to strike a plea bargain with the committee, but ultimately came up short in that effort. Such a deal would’ve likely required the 80-year-old Rangel to admit to some wrongdoing.

The list of charges against the former Ways and Means Chairman was read by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) and Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) who lead the investigation into Rangel’s alleged misconduct.

“The charges in the Statement of Alleged Violation relate to four general subject matters,” said Green.  “Solicitations and donations to the Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College [of] New York; errors and omissions on Rep. Rengal’s Financial Disclosure Statements; use of rent-stabilized residential apartment by respondent’s campaign committees; and failure to report and pay taxes on rental income on Respondent’s Punta Cana beach villa.”

Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) both agreed that the trial would be necessary for the House to regain the trust of the American public.

“The American people deserve to hear the truth in this case and the charges against [Rangel],” said McCaul.  “[House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] herself has said that we are entering into an era of transparency and accountability. I agree. Let us begin today, let justice be served.