Female Republican members of the House express their disapproval over the new breast cancer screening guidelines released from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.
House Oversights and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.) says during a mark-up of the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, a bill that would provide certain benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees, that he has concerns about the bill’s cost. (0:12)
Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) says the issue involving the WTO, the EU, Airbus and the U.S. military was like the movie “Cool Hand Luke. Says Roberts, “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” (0:38)
Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.) says he doesn’t “think our European friends should be rewarded with U.S. contracts for products they illegally subsidized. It’s time the Pentagon starts looking out for maintaining our own defense industrial base.” (0:28)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says Wednesday that “Now that WTO has ruled that what the EU and Airbus are doing is illegal, we don’t think they should be allowed to continue benefitting at the expense of our workers.” (0:46)
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says “unfortunately, Airbus and the European Union have refused to allow fair competition. They use the aerospace industry as a jobs program and they use billions of dollars in illegal launch aid to fund it. They don’t even require Airbus to repay the subsidies if the aircraft is unsuccessful. So it’s no risk, all reward for the company.”(0:43)
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Congressmen Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and other high ranking House Republicans Wednesday discussed a letter they sent to President Barack Obama outlining national security concerns raised by the administration’s decision to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons in the U.S.
“Throughout this year, a bipartisan majority in Congress has listened to the American people and voted against importing these dangerous terrorist into the U.S,” the letter stated. “Republicans want to work in a bipartisan way on a comprehensive plan to keep America safe, but we will not stand by as your administration defies the will of the American people and brings these terrorist to U.S. soil.”
Rep. Hoekstra also introduced a discharge petition to force a vote on his pending bill H.R. 2294, the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act. The bill was introduced earlier this year by House Minority Leader John Boehner and would require the president to notify Congress 60 days prior to the transfer or release of any Guantanamo Bay detainee.
TRNS Bureau Chief Ellen Ratner speaks with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) about where things stand with the senate healthcare bill. Levin says he is hopeful that a final bill in the Senate will come to the floor by the end of the week. Calling it a “long, complicated bill,” Levin explains that folks have some time to read the full legislation online. Finally, Levin, one of the more liberal members of the Senate, says it is essential for the Senate’s version to contain a public option plan. Click on the audio icon below to listen to the entire conversation. (5:02)
By Laura Smith – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
A bipartisan collection of lawmakers urged the Department of Defense Wednesday not to award a military contract to European based aviation company Airbus following a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that the company received illegal subsidies from the European Union.
“We need fair competition with fair rules. [The] Department of Defense should not favor Airbus more than the WTO does. This is not a French government decision, this is a U.S. government decision,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) said.
Airbus is competing for a $40 million contract from the Air Force against U.S. based manufacturer Boeing to replace aerial refueling tankers. The Department of Defense has said in September that they won’t consider the ruling by the WTO that Airbus received illegal subsidies.
Lawmakers, such as Brownback, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), are asking the Department of Defense to “level the playing field.”
“Airbus and the European Union have refused to allow fair competition,” charged Murray. “They use the Aerospace industry as a jobs program and they use billions of dollars in illegal launch aid to fund it. They don’t even require Airbus to repay the subsidies if the aircraft does unsuccessful. So it’s no risk, all reward for the company.”
“We can’t afford to undercut American companies,” added Bond. “We need a fair competition and a level playing field for American workers and American companies.”
By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Wednesday called the shootings carried out by Major Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood Army Base earlier this month the “most destructive terrorist attack on America since 2001.”
Lieberman said the Senate Homeland Security Committee will begin an investigation into the shootings to determine if they could have been avoided.
“We are interested in getting the facts and correcting the system so that our government can provide the best homeland security possible for the American people,” Lieberman said during an afternoon press conference, “At the completion of the investigation the committee will issue a report and recommendations.”
Lieberman said the investigation will focus on answering two specific questions: did the Federal Government know information concerning Major Hasan that could have prevented the attack on Fort Hood, and, how does this incident affect the government’s understanding and enforcement of “home grown Islamic terrorism” in the U.S.?
A Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on the Fort Hood attacks was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but has been postponed until the following day.
“Our hearing tomorrow will begin with a focus on what we know on the public record about the Fort Hood attack and Nidal Hasan,” Lieberman added.
