Speaking to members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlines two key elements of financial reform in the United States: The capacity to manage the failure of financial institutions and limited emergency authority. (0:31)
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Friday morning brought the fourth day of the Senate Finance committee’s markup of the America’s Healthy Future Act. A large portion of Friday’s talks consisted of concerns over health care czars, keeping transparency within the bill and blocking age discrimination for premiums.
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) proposed an amendment evoking the advise and consent clause, stating that any czar associated with health care should face a Senate confirmation process similar to those required for cabinet secretaries.
Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was once again quick to deny the Republican amendments.
“The job title czar does not exist,” he countered. “Having a czar confirmed by the Senate and the chance to testify would be a waste of time.”
The amendment ultimately failed with 10-13 vote.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) offered a bill that would stop age discrimination, but after more than an hour of debate on whether the amendment was germane, Kerry ultimately withdrew his amendment upon the request of Chairman Baucus.
Friday’s session recessed at noon. It will return Tuesday, September 29 at 9:30
Travis Martinez. University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Sen John Kerry (D-Mass.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called upon the U.S. and China to escalate their efforts to prevent climate change Tuesday.
“These conversations [about climate change] between the U.S. and China are at a critical stage… they need to speed up. They need to focus,” Kerry said during a conference call.
“The U.S. needs to lead, we [the U.S.] have an obligation to lead”, Kerry added. However, Kerry stressed that this did not release China from responsibility.
“China needs to understand along with the developing world that we [the U.S.] cannot enter into a global treaty without meaningful commitments”, Kerry said.
China and the U.S. lead the world in CO2 emissions.
Efforts are currently being made to secure new climate change agreements among the international community before 192 countries converge in Copenhagen this December.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill said during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that while U.S. troops are slated to slowly leave Iraq, the U.S. still needs to maintain effective relations with the country. (0:36)
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
“In the years I’ve been with the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration], I never thought I’d see the day when a strong and decisive commitment would be made on behalf of Amtrak,” said Jo Strang, the Acting Federal Railroad Administrator at a press conference where Vice President Joe Biden and members of Congress announced that Amtrak would be receiving $1.3 billion in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand rail capacity.
Vice President Joe Biden who has been a passenger on Amtrak for over 7,000 round trips said that Amtrak has been neglected in funding. “Amtrak relies on some subsidies. Every, every, every, every passenger rail system in the world relies on subsidies. We subsidize our highways and airports more than we subsidize Amtrak….Amtrak has been left out much too long in my humble opinion,” he stated. Biden also expressed that the $1.3 billion will nearly double Amtrak’s investment program over the next two years. “It is work that will take care of critical, long neglected needs. It will put people to work immediately and it’s an investment of dollars that will not only create jobs now but yield benefits for our economy for years to come. It will begin to build a platform for the economy in the 21st century.”
Amtrak depends on American tax funds and employs more than 19,000 Americans. 500,000 Americans use Amtrak a week, which amounts to 80,000 passengers a day. In the fiscal year of 2008 Amtrak set a record by transporting 28.7 million people, the most in Amtrak’s history.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) who attended the conference said “We lose about 4.2 billion hours a year to congestion on our roads….We lose close to 3 billion gallons of gasoline, just people sitting there going nowhere in congestion.” Kerry said that this money will help not only Amtrak but it will help better the environment as well. “It’s going to make America more productive. It’s going to make us more environmentally friendly, it’s going to increase the productivity, it’s going to create jobs, and it’s going to create a sustainable economy,” he concluded.
Some of the funding will go towards the replacement of the movable bridge over the Niantic River on the northeast corridor in Connecticut, for repairing damaged passenger cars, repairs to Amtrak facilities nationwide, and construction of a new station for the auto train in Sanford, Florida.
