Stimulus Package Wasn't Meant To Act As Magic Wand Says Sec. Salazar

By Aaron Richardson - Talk Radio News Service

The stimulus package is working but it will take time for America to see positive results, said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar during testimony before the House Budget Committee on Friday. Salazar was joined at the hearing by Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood.

“This was a program that was supposed to work over time, it was not supposed to essentially be a magic wand that from one day to another would take the economy out of a deep ditch, which it had gotten into,” said Salazar.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he is worried that the stimulus package may not work the way it was designed to.

“Even though the stimulus is possibly, maybe starting to kick in, right around the corner at the end of next year massive tax increases are already coming into law. We think that the fiscal policy coming out of Congress just candidly is the wrong fiscal policy,” said Ryan.

Vilsack argued that the stimulus package will eventually produce positive, tangible results that Americans will notice.

“The recovery act is working. It is transitioning America from bad times to better times and getting the work accomplished around the nation that Americans want done,” he professed.

Great Plains GOP Senators Say No To Cap And Trade

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

Three GOP senators from Great Plains states criticized the cap-and-trade bill that recently passed in the House of Representatives, and is currently being reviewed in the Senate.

According to Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Ky.), the bill is a "wet dog that is not welcome in the farmhouse or the ranch." Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) firmly said that "this bill is not going to work in the Senate," and claimed that it lacks "even a 5% chance of being successful."

Sen. Johanns, formerly the Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush, said that the legislation would hurt the economy, especially in agricultural communities. "The average farmer will never buy into the idea that maybe, just maybe, if they pay higher production costs and go through this regimen that is going to be established, that they might do better," he said.

The Senators dismissed testimony given by the United States Department of Agriculture to the Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. "The USDA analysis...has holes enough to drive a grain truck through," said Sen. Roberts. He said it was based on assumptions of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], which he argued is "driven by their agenda. I don't think it is driven by accurate assessment...as to the effect on farmers and ranchers in rural, small-town America."

Sen. Johanns said he has worked with the economists of the USDA in the past, and that they produce "excellent work." He maintained, however, that this analysis is "tragically incomplete" and it is "remarkable how deficient it is in analysis."

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) questioned how effectively the legislation could protect the environment, arguing that other carbons will not act to cut carbon emissions, thus stripping the U.S. of competitive advantage in the marketplace. He said that the "costs are real and the savings are theoretical."

The GOP Senators suggested that another piece of legislation could gain bipartisan support. "We ought to be serious abut reducing CO2 emissions," said Thune. He emphasized "incentives for rural renewable energy production," which he said would avoid a "crushing economic burden on American business."

Senate Appropriations Committee on Food Safety and Beef Recall

At the Senate Appropriations Committee on Food Safety and Beef Recall, Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) said Americans were appalled to see cattle being "too sick to stand - much less walk- being chained, dragged, fork-lifted, kicked, jabbed, and dumped." Even worse, he said, the company on the video (Westland/Hallmark of Chino, California) was one that was a major supplier to the school lunch program.

The people do not want double-speak, Kohl said. The camera never blinks, and the USDA needs to know if there are violations occurring behind their backs. His question, he said, was where does the USDA stand on a straight, bright-line downer ban, stiffer penalties for inhumane treatment of animals, and the continuous surveillance of live animals.

Kohl said, "Here is an opportunity for the USDA to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem." He read a brief statement from Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), where she stated that in her view, inspection alone will not solve the problems in the food safety inspection system.

Edward T. Schafer, Secretary of Agriculture, said the people rely on the inspectors and the safeguards they have developed to ensure the meat they consume is safe. Our food supply, he says, is safe. They issued a Class 2 recall which means that there was a minimal risk. He said he did not agree with Senator Kohl's statement that there were sick animals in the food supply. Schafer went on to say that they are determined to find out what went wrong at the plant, and are examining the inspection system to deter future violations at that plant and elsewhere.

They are taking the following steps for humane handling of animals: directing inspectors to be more random in their inspections, prioritizing inspections based on information where they think the most inhumane treatment is occurring, and auditing the purchasing activities.

Schafer said they recognize that the shutdown of Westland/Hallmark will cause loss of jobs, but they believe they are taking the right actions. By taking these actions, he said, they are ensuring that the children who get the school lunches are safe. They are sending a "clear message" that they will continue to uphold their food standards to the highest.