Today at TRNS

Bureau Chief Ellen Ratner and White House Correspondent Victoria Jones will be attending a White House briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

The Washington Bureau will also be covering:

-Constitution Subcommittee hearing on "The Legal, Moral, and National Security Consequences of 'Prolonged Detention"

-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies to the Senate Appropriations Committee Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on proposed budget estimates for FY2010 for the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service

-Joint Economic Committee hearing on "TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) Accountability and Oversight: Measuring the Strength of Financial Institutions

-Defense Secretary Robert Gates' testifies to the Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates for FY2010 for the Defense Department

-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies to the Senate Appropriations Committee Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates for FY2010 for the Health and Human Services Department

-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) weekly pen and pad news briefing

-The Center for American Progress (CAP) discussion on "Stopping Pakistan's Militants: How to Support Pakistan's Civilian Government"

-Discussion on "The Future of Employer-Provided health care" at the Heritage Foundation

Hoyer Reiterates Party’s Health Care Plans

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) restated his party’s plan to revitalize healthcare, and said he hoped it would be with the support of the Republican minority.

“Republicans are essentially, in my opinion, out of touch with the American people. They began this year by opposing economic recovery legislation…Now we are moving to [a] critical item...health care reform,” said Hoyer during a pen and pad session with reporters Wednesday. “I'm hopeful that we can reach out and work with our Republican colleagues on both of these issues, because they are issues strongly supported by the American people and crying out for a definitive response."

Hoyer stated that lowering health care costs would be a major priority, a goal is shared by the Obama administration. The Majority Leader also offered assurances that individual Americans will still be allowed to choose their healthcare providers.

Hoyer also touched upon fiscal responsibility, describing it as a major concern for both Congress and the President.

"We need to obviously respond to the crisis to stabilize the economy, but that an equal priority is to assuring the fiscal well being of our country and stability of our country and responsibility of our country going forward,” said Hoyer

Hoyer: Democratic Caucus Supports Pelosi

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

This morning, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) stressed that the Nancy Pelosi-CIA debate should be left behind and that the media should focus on more important subjects. In a press briefing, Hoyer talked mainly about the Pelosi-Debate and what will be dealt by Congress in the coming days in order to recover from the economic crisis.

“I believe the Speaker when she says she wasn’t specifically briefed on the interrogation techniques,” Hoyer said. After the Democrats met last night, Hoyer pointed out that “the caucus is solid” and that “nobody mentioned the subject.”

Responding to the allegations that the CIA misled Congress, Hoyer said that the House was not advised of the specific techniques and that Leon Panetta, the director of the Intelligence Agency, could not speak truthfully because he was not present when the events happened. Additionally, Hoyer claimed that “Republicans and Democrats made it clear they wanted to have good relations with the CIA” but that they needed to keep updated.

Hoyer claimed the attacks made by Republicans on Pelosi are “a Republican tactic to distract the public from what was done” by the previous administration and as long as the story will make the headlines, the Republicans will not stop talking about the controversy.

Bringing an end to a tumultuous week of debates is necessary to tackle legislations that need to be dealt by Congress such as the Credit Card Bill, Energy or health care,Hoyer said. Congress started on a “very fast start”, he added, and it needs to continue in a fast pace in order to contend with the “substantial agenda” ahead.

Hoyer stated that the Democrats remain committed to economic recovery and responded passionately about how the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights Act “will be on the floor” very soon, possibly before Memorial Day.

Hoyer: Curtailing America’s Debt Is Not A Choice

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)

When financial giants Bear Stearns and AIG crashed, the American government came to their rescue to maintain stability of the economy. When “too big to fail” Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae did fail, the American government stepped in and prevented their demise.

However, “If a fiscal meltdown comes, there will be no one to bail out
America,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), adding that the U.S.’s lack of a responsible fiscal policy for the last 30 years has placed the nation in dire economic straits.

Hoyer spoke yesterday at the Bipartisan Policy Committee.

America’s 2009 budget is contending with a $1.7 trillion deficit, which will only inflate the national debt to $11 trillion. More than $3 trillion of that debt is held by foreign lenders, specifically China.

“Our debt has never been higher...(This) is our sad, debt-ridden fiscal state,” said Hoyer. As a result “hundreds of billions of dollars every year - hundreds of billions that could strengthen our national defense, or help young Americans go to college, or fund research for the next energy breakthrough - will instead go to interest payments, merely to keep us solvent.”

Hoyer stressed that Congress must take the lead and reform the nation’s economic policy in order to prevent such a devastating, demoralizing and dangerous event from ever occurring.

The first, and most important way to reshape America’s fiscal future is to reform the entitlement programs, such as Social Security Medicare and Medicaid.

“We will not bring our debt down if we do not reform entitlements,” Hoyer said, but cautioned that it will not be possible without bipartisan support. He cited Social Security reform in 1986, which was only possible because of a compromise between the Democratic Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neil, and President Ronald Reagan.

A Full House

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) presented the House Democrats’ agenda for the economy, energy, education and healthcare.

The economy remains the top item, divided between the budget and legislation to address the crisis. “The economy is continuing to suffer, we’re continuing to see the loss of jobs, many Americans continue to be put at risk,” Hoyer said.

The budget focuses on making “strategic investments” and reversing “years of irresponsible Republican policies,” he said. “We believe all of the bills we’ve passed are consistent with trying to create jobs and invest (in economic recovery).”

Two corrective legislations arebeing proposed. The “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009”, which is designed to require fairer interest rates and practices for consumers. For example, it would require that the highest interest rate-bearing part of a debt be reduced first by payments, rather last, as is now the often the case.

“In addition, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act should come out of committee this week or next,” Hoyer said.

There is a 600 page “discussion document” and four more hearings to shape the American Security and Clean Energy Act, which the House hopes to consider in early summer. He noted that this is this is the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, “I remember because I’ve been working here since the first one.”

The Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and the Education and Labor Committees are all simultaneously working on healthcare reform. Democrats hope to have healthcare legislation on the House Floor for consideration by the August break. The goal is universal coverage and accessibility, though probably not a publicly funded single-payer model.

Hoyer discussed his recent trip to South America. Mexico seems to be committed to working with the U.S. to fight drug smuggling and related violence. Panama is willing to work on their role as a drug smuggling highway, which has increased as American forces become more successful at interdiction at sea, and on money laundering. Columbia has reduced the power of the drug lords. He described the discussions with Brazil as “positive’” “useful” and “engaging,” and said they are interested in advancing a partnership with the U.S.

Gun control may have to remain in the DC voting rights bill, if it is to pass within this session, according to Hoyer, who said, “The biggest objective is to enfranchise the roughly 600,000 citizens of the United States who happen to live in the District of Columbia.” He called their current lack of voting rights “an egregious hole in the integrity of our democracy.”

Next congress looks at hate crimes legislation