Hoyer Calls For Cuts In Defense Spending

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) addressed the deficit Tuesday morning, and emphasized the need to cut defense spending in addition to creating what he called “budget restraints.”

“Defense spending cannot be above careful scrutiny and analysis,” said the Majority Leader during a conference hosted by the organization Third Way.

He stressed that current levels of defense spending cannot be maintained and that unnecessary weapons systems must be cut. Hoyer stated that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already asked Congress to discontinue funding for C-17 cargo planes and an additional engine for the F-35 strike fighter.

“I wish more of us in public life were as honest about hard budget choices as Secretary Gates has been,” said Hoyer.

By making these “hard choices,” Majority Leader Hoyer hopes to lessen and ultimately dissolve the deficit so that future generations “have the money and ability to respond in an effective way” to the current disasters and issues facing their country.

“Let us hope they look back on our generation and say ‘they were up to the task.'”

White House Puts Out Plan To Tackle Homelessness

Robert Hune-Kalter-Talk Radio News Service

The White House put forward an ambitious strategy to tackle homelessness Tuesday during a forum held by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).

The plan, entitled Opening Doors, seeks to provide affordable housing, stabilize the U.S. economy, link health care and assistance programs and ultimately acknowledge homelessness as a crisis.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan laid out the goals the Obama administration hopes to achieve through the strategy.

“First, we will end chronic homelessness in five years. Second, we will prevent and end homelessness among veterans in five years,” said Donovan. “Third, we will prevent homelessness for families, youth, and children within a decade and, finally, we will set a path for ending all types of homelessness in this country.”

Donovan stated that the aims will be backed by the $2 billion dollars in Recovery Act funds awarded to USICH to help fund the programs.

The plan has already helped provide 30,000 units of permanent supportive housing to veterans and their families.

According to Donovan, the plan will be presented to Congress shortly.

Administration Has Zero Tolerance For Stimulus Fraud, Says Biden

By Sarah Mamula
Talk Radio News Service

Despite the fact that his administration has received frequent criticism over the Recovery Act, Vice President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that it has been a success. By acting with “transparency, responsibility, and accountability,” he argued that the Recovery Act, or stimulus bill, has revived the U.S. economy by spurring growth and creating jobs with minimal cases of fraud.

According to Biden, out of 170,000 checks that have been sent out to companies and individuals involved in stimulus projects, only .2% are under investigation for fraud.

Biden who was tapped by President Barack Obama last year to oversee the implementation of the Recovery Act, echoed the President's desire to fully account for all money spent, and that appropriate actions will be taken to handle evidence of fraud.

"We should take every action possible [and] legally under our power to...impose sanctions in freezing those funds," said Biden.

The Vice President said he believes new technologies and programs that allow the government to detect fraud more easily will deter future attempts at fraud.

“We have weapons,” he said. “We have weapons that we didn’t have, didn’t use before.”

In Ohio, Obama Touts Merits Of Stimulus

By Robert Hune-Kalter
Talk Radio News Service

President Barrack Obama visited Columbus, Ohio on Friday to mark a milestone of the Recovery Act, which he signed into law over one year ago. Later this summer, the 10,000th road project funded by the law will commence in Columbus’s downtown district and, according to the administration, is expected to generate 300 jobs.

After touring the site of the project, Obama made brief remarks, comparing the planned road improvements to those two centuries earlier.

“Our first nationally funded highway, the National Road, was extended across Ohio, bringing a generation of settlers west to this new frontier, paving the way for the automobile that would transform our landscape,” he said.

Columbus small businesses figure to be big beneficiaries of the stimulus later this year. The administration says they will receive between $44 and $53 million worth of Recovery Act funds. In addition, eleven million dollars will be provided to them in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.

“It is with that vision of a brighter future for this city and for the country that we begin this project, and I am looking forward to seeing all that you achieve in the years and months to come,” Obama added.

Today At TRNS

The Washington Bureau will be covering the following:

The Republican National Committee will hold a conference call briefing to discuss the "failed $862 billion stimulus package and President Obama's visit to Columbus, Ohio" with Ohio State Auditor and candidate of Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor.

Vice President Joe Biden will announce new Initiatives for identifying and eliminating government waste, fraud, and abuse with Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag.

A phone interview with Prince William County (Virginia) Board Chairman Corey Stewart about his proposal to enact Arizona's illegal immigration bill in Virginia.