Archive for the ‘White House’ Category

Grandstanding 101

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

You’d think, given the fact that state lawmakers will reconvene next month to pass a state budget after failing to do so in the regular session, that Senate Republicans would be hard at work meeting with the Guv to work out a GOP-backed plan, especially considering their last try netted zero Republican votes in the Indiana House.

Instead, they’re sending letters about something over which they have absolutely, positively no control and that doesn’t, in any way, affect the daily operation of state government. And Republicans wonder why they’re headed for the wilderness among moderate voters?

Thirty-one Republican state senators have asked U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar to oppose the nomination of an Indiana University law professor nominated by President Barack Obama for a senior position in the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a letter May 15, the state senators said Dawn Johnsen’s advocacy of abortion rights “is more than simply pro-choice — she is pro-choice in an extremely radical way.”

The letter, citing statements and writings by Johnsen, asks Bayh, a Democrat, and Lugar, a Republican, to oppose Johnsen’s nomination to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department.

“It’s a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus,” said Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. “It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice, it is based on the fact that she is radically so.”

Johnsen, in response to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment, replied with an e-mail saying that as a nominee she was not to talk with the media.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said Johnsen “will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we’re pleased that both of Indiana’s senators have expressed support for her nomination.”

Posted in Congress, IDP News, Indiana General Assembly, National Politics, Quality Of Life, White House | No Comments »

Feds Take DWD To Task Over Jobless Benefits

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

UPDATED: After the original story broke, the Guv’s Office issued this response in today’s Indianapolis Star:

Jane Jankowski, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mitch Daniels, considered the report standard for all states and said its insights into Department of Workforce Development procedures were helpful.

“The agency will no doubt become more efficient,” she said, “and provide better service.”

Here are more details from the updated AP story:

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development also broke federal laws and rules in writing and awarding contracts, including a rushed $7 million deal with Ivy Tech Community College last June that should be canceled immediately, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration said.

The March 9 report, obtained this week by The Associated Press, found 41 instances in which Workforce Development did not comply with federal regulations for activities such as delivering services and managing grants and programs. It identified 31 areas of concern over how the agency administers federal employment and training programs.

A Workforce Development spokesman said Wednesday the agency was reviewing the report and had made some changes, including canceling the Ivy Tech contract.

The report comes at a pivotal time for Indiana. Workforce Development distributes jobless benefits and coordinates retraining for unemployed Hoosiers, who numbered 324,000 in February, giving the state a 9.4 unemployment rate - the highest in 25 years.

At the same time, the state’s unemployment fund is paying out millions of dollars more in benefits than the employer taxes it takes in.

Sure seems like the Guv and his people were asleep at the switch on this one.

EARLIER: Someone needs to call Mitch Daniels to the front of the class for an explanation of this still-developing story about the Department of Workforce Development’s shoddy track record. This is aiming higher? The Associated Press has the exclusive:

The U.S. Department of Labor says Indiana’s unemployment agency broke federal rules in writing and awarding contracts, including a rushed $7 million deal with Ivy Tech Community College last June that it says must be canceled immediately.

A labor department report also says the Indiana Department of Workforce Development miscalculated jobless benefits at a rate five times the national average.

The March 9 report obtained by The Associated Press says the state agency might be contributing to the insolvency of the state’s unemployment insurance fund by ignoring a federal mandate to check a national database for newly hired workers.

A Workforce Development spokesman says the agency is reviewing the report and has begun implementing some suggested improvements.

Posted in Congress, IDP News, Indiana General Assembly, Mitch Daniels, State Agencies, White House | 2 Comments »

Study Shows Staggering Number Of Hoosiers Uninsured

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Think access to health insurance isn’t a major issue in our state and nation right now? Check out this survey, reported in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, that shows almost one-third of Hoosiers under 65 didn’t have health insurance at some point over the past two years:

Twenty-nine percent of Hoosiers younger than 65 lacked health insurance at some point during 2007-08, according to a report released Thursday.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the number of people who don’t have health insurance for the full previous calendar year. But the data collected by Families USA, an advocacy group that promotes universal health insurance, also include those who were uninsured for a portion of the 2-year period studied.

Based on this calculation, about 1.6 million Hoosiers were uninsured, including 1.1 million who were uninsured for six months or more.

Nationally, one in three people younger than 65 was uninsured at some point during 2007-08, or about 86.7 million Americans. That compares with 45.7 million people who were deemed uninsured for the entire 2007 calendar year, according to Census Bureau data.

“At this point, almost everyone in the country has had a family member, neighbor, or friend who was uninsured,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said in a statement “and that’s why meaningful health care reform can no longer be kept on the back burner.”

Ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected. In Indiana, 53 percent of Hispanics and 42.3 percent of blacks were uninsured, compared with 26.4 percent of whites, according to the report by Families USA.

Lower-income Hoosiers were more likely to be uninsured, and most uninsured Hoosiers in the report – 77.4 percent – came from working families.

Posted in Barack Obama, Congress, Quality Of Life, White House | 3 Comments »

Question Of The Day

Friday, March 6th, 2009

When Hoosier Republicans speak out about accountability with respect to the federal stimulus money, citing their concerns about whether it will be spent wisely, are they, in fact, prematurely indicting their own statewide leader, Mitch Daniels, who will oversee how Indiana’s share of the pie is divided?

Put another way: Can you really complain about something that’s going to help our state out of its current economic condition just because Democrats initiated it?

Posted in Congress, Mitch Daniels, White House | No Comments »

Does Rush Limbaugh Matter?

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

The cable news shows and op-ed columnists have been abuzz these past few days about the ongoing “battle” between the White House and its chosen enemy, conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who is fast emerging as the new face of the national Republican Party.

Republicans, including Indiana’s Sixth District U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, have rallied to defend Limbaugh, refusing to condemn his statements about wanting to see President Barack Obama fail in his leadership of our nation during these devastating economic times.

New York Times blogger Timothy Egan, an author and former reporter for the paper, makes this observation:

Smarter Republicans know he is not good for them. As the conservative writer David Frum said recently, “If you’re a talk radio host and you have five million who listen and there are 50 million who hate you, you make a nice living. If you’re a Republican party, you’re marginalized.”

Polling has found Limbaugh, a self-described prescription-drug addict who sees America from a private jet, to be nearly as unpopular as Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who damned America in the way that Limbaugh has now damned the nation’s newly elected leader. But Republicans just can’t quit him. So even poor Michael Steele, the nominal head of the Republican Party who dared to criticize him, had to grovel and crawl back to the feet of Limbaugh.

Your thoughts?

Posted in White House | 8 Comments »

Obama’s Foreclosure Prevention Plan To Help Millions

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

The Washington Post reports on the White House’s foreclosure prevention plan, which was announced earlier today:

The Obama administration today released guidelines of its massive foreclosure prevention program and it includes a refinancing program for homeowners with little equity in their homes and a loan modification effort for borrowers at risk of losing their homes.

It is expected to help up to 9 million homeowners lower their mortgage payments.Lenders can begin modifying troubled loans under the program immediately, the Treasury Department said in a statement. To be eligible for modification, the loans must have originated on or before Jan. 1 of this year. The program will end in December 2012, and loans can be modified only once under that part of the program.

It applies to first lien mortgages with a principal balance of up to $729,750.

Under the program, troubled homeowners can have their interest rate reduced as low as 2 percent to make their payments affordable, which is defined by the administration as 31 percent of their income. The program lavishes incentive payments on the lenders to encourage them to modify loans.

Check out this Associated Press article to find out if you qualify for help under the plan.

Posted in Barack Obama, White House | No Comments »

White House Releases Transportation Funding, Unveils New Emblem

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

The White House just released this news about the distribution of much-needed transportation funding:

President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden today announced the release of $28 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to states and local transportation authorities to repair and build highways, roads and bridges. This investment will lead to 150,000 jobs saved or created by the end of 2010. The President and Vice President were joined at the Department of Transportation by Secretary Ray LaHood.

State highway departments have already identified more than 100 transportation projects across the country, totaling more than $750 million, where construction can start within the month. The U.S. Department of Transportation will monitor state compliance and track job creation, and information on the projects will be posted on Recovery.gov .

Projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will bear a newly-designed emblem (see attached). The emblem is a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American people to invest their tax dollars wisely to put Americans back to work.

Here’s a look at the new emblem:
FINAL_ARRA

Do you think Gov. Mitch Daniels will use this logo instead of the “Major Moves” logo he’s been attaching to road projects since executing the long-term lease of the Indiana Toll Road?

majormoves_rdax_100

Posted in Barack Obama, Joe Biden, White House | 4 Comments »