President Obama ending the work of the 111th Congress by Roger Caldwell

The leaders of the 111^th session of Congress are working at a feverish pace to complete unfinished business and bills. Many of the lawmakers are well aware that they will not be back, so they are leaving their legacy: be it bad or good. The Democrats have from the beginning had an agenda and a strategy, and time is running out.



Harry Reid, Democratic Senate Majority Leader



Senator Harry Reid has threatened the Republicans that he is willing to work until December 30, and get the work completed. Many Republicans and Democrats know that is not realistic, but Reid knows that the tables will be switched in 2011. With the Republicans with more power in the Senate and a majority in the House, Reid wants major bills passed now and not later.

Reid wants to complete an approval of ratification of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, legislation to repeal the military's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy, a "package of land, water, and wildlife" bill, the passage of the Dream Act, as well as the confirmation of several presidential nominees. It is obvious that Reid will not get all this done in the next 10 days.

Usually the main reason that the lame duck sessions are so important is to complete its work on the spending or appropriation bills that form the basis of the annual federal budget. President Obama was personally involved in this lame duck session, because if the Bush tax cuts deal was not finalized, all Americans taxes would have increased by at least $2,500.

One of many bill
 signing ceremonies

The Senate passed the Bush tax cuts on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 by a vote of 81-19, and the House approved the measure by a vote of 277-148 on Thursday, December 16, 2010. Without the president getting involved the tax cut bill, it would not have passed so rapidly.

President Obama and congressional Democrats agreed to compromise in their opposition to extending the lower tax rates to the wealthy Americans, and also agreed to a lower estate tax than had been scheduled to take effect. In return, Republicans agreed to extend unemployment benefits with payroll tax cuts and other tax breaks, which conservatives generally opposed as government stimulus measures.

Many political experts believe that this is an indicator of how President Obama will operate with a split Congress, during 112th session. Instead of change, President Obama is talking about compromise, and he is ready to make deals to initiate a bi-partisan conversation and a sharing of power.

At President Obama's 29^th bill signing ceremony for the Bush tax cut legislature, there were representatives from both parties at the event. At the signing ceremony President Obama said, "The final product proves when we can put aside the partisanship and political gains, we can get a lot done. If we can keep doing it, if we can keep that spirit, I'm hopeful that we won't just reinvigorate this economy and restore the American dream, I'm also hopeful that we might refresh the American people's faith in the capability of their leaders to govern in challenging times."

The president has acknowledged that he was not completely satisfied with the tax cut deal, but his goal was to get the work done before the deadline. It is obvious that the "to do list" for the 111^th Congress will not be completed this year.

Obama signing another bill

With 29 bill signing ceremonies completed, there was unprecedented work done, and the implementation of the groundbreaking legislatures will take years. But now there is a different Congressional session getting ready to start, with different representatives, and with a different set of priorities.

The work of the 111^th Congress will never be completed, because one session carries to the next session and it takes months and years to get new bills operating and implemented.

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Should Democrats Support President Obama Tax Cuts Deal? …by Roger Caldwell

As Congress concludes its business for the 111^th session, the "Bush Tax Cuts" will determine if taxes are raised, and hundreds of thousands of people are impacted by the loss of unemployment insurance. The Republicans and President Obama have made a deal that the Obama administration can work with, and they believe it is good for the country and our depressed economy.

 

President Obama is aware that the new Congress will have a majority of Republicans in the House, and it will be necessary to negotiate and compromise. As a pragmatic statesman, President Obama is reaching out an olive branch to let the Republicans know that he is listening, and he is their friend.

 

He is aware that there are ideological and core differences in their philosophies, but the goal is to make America better for all Americans. The president is ready to make concessions to move forward the committee meetings and debates. There are going to be intense discussions on the direction the new Congress will take, and the Republicans in the House possess the votes to have their policies accepted.

Nevertheless this week in closed-door meetings, the Democrats made it clear to President Obama that they are not in support of the tax deal he made with Republicans. The words "Just say no" were the new mantra being espoused by many of the Democrats. They felt that President Obama was changing boats in the middle of the stream, and they were angry and upset.

 

Many Democrats believe that the wealthy are in a position to pay higher taxes to help improve the economy. If the tax cuts are extended for two years, it will cost the economy $120 billion that it will be missing in tax revenue, and over 10 years it will impact tax revenue by $800 billion.

I have no idea how the Joint Tax Committee comes up with its numbers, but it was my understanding that extending the tax cuts were only for two years. President Obama's plan according to most economists, is supposed to boost the economy. At the end of the two years, the administration and the Congress would sit down again and make an assessment of the economy and determine what direction to take.

At this point by extending the tax cuts, the administration would increase the money supply, reduce consumer uncertainty about raising taxes, and continue keeping the consumers spending money. In order for the economy to grow, it is necessary for the consumer to spend more money, and help put more Americans back to work.

President Obama understands that in politics, there are no permanent friends and there are no permanent enemies. In order to arrive at a compromise, everyone must be willing to give up something. Everyone has a wish list, but they understand at the end of the day they will only get a portion of their demands and wishes.

The tax cuts end on December 31, 2010, and the Democrats can be stubborn and refuse to compromise, or allow the wealthiest two percent of Americans keep their tax breaks. By letting the wealthy have their tax breaks, millions of Americans will continue to have unemployment insurance, and millions of Americans will not have to worry about their taxes increasing.

The Democrats need to get on board and support the "Obama Tax Cut Deal." The Senate Democrats are on board but the House Democrats are angry and grand-standing. Many of these Democrats will not be back in the new session of Congress, because they lost their election.

It is my hope that the House Democrats support President Obama's Tax Cut Deal, so everyone can go home and have a wonderful and healthy holiday.

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Republicans Initiate Gridlock during “Lame Duck Session” by Roger Caldwell

As the 111^th Congress and Senate finishes its session before it recesses for the holiday season, the Republicans are drawing a line in the sand. They have developed a strategy and agenda that is based on the philosophy of cutting spending, not raising taxes, and stopping all earmarks.
Everyone in the country is well aware that the 112^th Congress and Senate session is the beginning of the conservatives taking back influential leadership positions in many major committees. The Democrats will only have the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives can stop major bills from being passed, because the two parties are on different sides of the fence.

The Republicans are determined to initiate their vision of a smaller federal bureaucracy while cutting spending, and repealing the new healthcare bill. The 42 Senators in the 111^th Congress have been circulating a statement that says, "We are not- we are going to block every piece of legislation that comes our way unless it's related to tax cuts or government spending." The gridlock of this week may be a sign of things to come next year.

The Republicans are adamant about expanding all of Bush's tax cuts and are refusing to give an inch on their position. This week President Obama had a summit at the White House with leaders of the Democrats and the Republicans to create a "spirit of cooperation." This was the first time since the Democratic beating in the election that there was a bipartisan meeting.

President Obama admits that there are "real philosophical differences" between the two parties and this is why there are Democrats and Republicans. While the summit was going on, the Republican leaders were agreeing to work together, and the other members were passing around a statement to block Democratic legislation.

President Obama and his administration are well aware that this past election is the beginning of a new dialogue with the Republicans. Getting bills passed in the next session of Congress will be very difficult and diplomatic negotiations will be the key. During the 111^th Congress, the Democrats had the majority in both houses and it was easy for the Democrats to railroad their agenda through without much resistance from the Republicans.

 


John Boehner



The Republicans will takeover as John Boehner becomes the Speaker of the House, and the numbers will be 242 Republicans to 192 Democrats. With this major shift in the dynamics of the House of Representatives, the Obama Administration will no longer have the numbers to get their bills passed.

The Republicans are now in a position to be a spoiler and create gridlock in the legislative process. In order to get anything done in Congress, the two sides will have to compromise and talk to each other.

Tim Geithner, Treasury Secretary

President Obama has appointed Jack Lew, the OMB budget director, and Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary to sit down with members of the House and Senate to find common ground and ensure middle-class Americans taxes don't go up.

Jack Lew, OMB Budget Director

 On the other hand, the Republicans want an extension on tax cuts for everyone. he Democrats no longer have a majority in both houses and there is now a level playing field. The next couple of weeks are an indicator of the chess match that will be going on in Congress. Maybe our representatives will find some common ground and eliminate a total gridlock and stalemate.             


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The tax cuts are slated to conclude at the end of the year, and the Republicans want a two-year extension on all tax cuts. This is a top priority for the Republicans in the Senate, and they are holding firm on their position. This is the beginging of a stalemate in the Senate, and there is a possibility that this gridlock will continue during the 112^th Congress.

Congressman Rangel Still Defiant After Censure by Roger Caldwell

On Thursday, December 2, 2010, Congressman Rangel from New York received a formal censure from the House of Representatives. A censure is a formal statement of disapproval of the practices and ethics of a member of the body. The member must give up any committee chair they hold, but they do not lose their elected position.


Congressman Rangel

  Congressman Rangel was the chairman of the Way and Means Committee and he is a 20-term Member of the House. The House found that the congressman had failed to pay taxes on a vacation villa, filed misleading financial disclosure forms, and improperly solicited donations for a college center from a corporation with business before his committee.

 

Rangel acknowledged some mistakes, calling himself sloppy, but he felt that the sub-committee had gone too far with censure. He admitted that at times he was overzealous, but said he never enriched himself while trying to help minority college students at City University of New York.

 

"I was not found guilty of corruption, I did not steal any money, I did not take any bribes, and that is abundantly clear." Nevertheless the House sub-committee found Rangel guilty of 11 ethics charges.

 It is really ironic that the chairman of the committee that sets up the procedures for taxes has problems paying his own taxes. After 20 terms in Congress and being eighty years old, maybe it is time to move over or find better accountants who can help the congressman with filing his taxes and tax preparation.



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