Marking It Up

Here's all 736 pages of the latest legislative text of the Senate's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Find anything unusual?

Let us know...

Lynch Will Appoint Republican If Obama Nominates Gregg

Gov. John Lynch (D-NH) indicated today he'll appoint a Republican to replace Sen. Judd Gregg if Obama nominates the New Hampshire senator to be Secretary of Commerce. In a statement, Lynch said that Gregg made it clear that he would not resign the seat if it would tip the balance in the Senate, and that Lynch believes that the president ought to have the advisers he wants.

"I have had conversations with Senator Gregg, the White House and U.S. Senate leadership. Senator Gregg has said he would not resign his seat in the U.S. Senate if it changed the balance in the Senate. Based on my discussions, it is clear the White House and Senate leadership understand this as well," Lynch said.

"If President Obama does nominate Senator Gregg to serve as Commerce Secretary, I will name a replacement who will put the people of New Hampshire first and represent New Hampshire effectively in the U.S. Senate," he said. Full statement after the jump

Continue reading "Lynch Will Appoint Republican If Obama Nominates Gregg" »

Obama To Roundrobin With Networks Tomorrow

The President's about to enlist the public in the fight to pass the stimulus package.

He's giving interviews tomorrow to network anchors.

 

Coming Very Soon

Something completely different in this space.

With comments!

Stay tuned.

 

Q & A On Daschle: Who Knew What And Why That Matters

Based on interviews with aides and public documents provided to reporters by the finance committee, here's what is known about former Sen. Tom Daschle, his tax liaibilities, and his disclosures to the friendly White House and to the friendly-but-constitutionally neutral Senate Finance Committee.

 

What did Daschle know in June of 2008?

 

There have public reports in June that he knew he had a tax liability; the Daschle team strenuously denies it. In their chronology, June of 2008 was when Daschle first become aware of the potential that he might have had to declare the Hindery driver and car as income. The self-awareness, it seems, came from a conversation about drivers and perks that Daschle participated in during a social event.  After this realization, Daschle notified his personal accountant and asked him to look into the matter.

 

When did Daschle learn that he'd have to adjust his taxes? 

 

Unrelated to the car, and during the first phase of the vetting, in late November, Daschle was informed that he improperly deducted certain charitable contributions; in one case, he named an individual, rather than the charitable entity to which the individual belonged, as the recipient of the money; he did not have receipts for other gifts.   On December 2,  Hindery's company, Intermedia, told Daschle that it had neglected to report $83,000 in income Daschle earned to the IRS, so Daschle would have to pay back taxes - although the company took responsibility for the mess-up.

 

When did Daschle learn that he had to pay taxes on the car?  

 

In mid-December; after he had been nominated (December 11); Daschle asked his accountant to report back to him on that car thing he had first mentioned in June. Daschle's accountant asked him for information on the duration of his use of the car and said he would calculate the retroactive tax burden for Daschle. 

 

Was the vetting team aware of the charitable contribution fix and the Intermedia income fix in December? 

 

Yes.

 

Was the vetting team - herein a catch-all phrase for the Obama transition team / White House team - aware of the car and driver issue in December? 

 

No.

 

Why?

This is a little fuzzy. It's probably because Daschle did not know how much taxes he would have to repay, what the procedure would be, and wanted to essentially tie up the box before he presented it to the relevant Congressional committee;

 

Shouldn't Daschle have told the Obama inner circle that there was something more amiss than just the Intermedia payment and the charitable contribution fixes?

This is a question for Daschle and for the White House.  Because Daschle would have paid the taxes anyway, he clearly intended to disclose the car issue to his team at some point.  The explanation from Daschle's world is that he wanted to fix the problem, to figure out exactly how much taxes he owed, so that when he turned over his tax documents to the committee, there'd be a complete story to tell with no loose ends.

 

When did Daschle pay his taxes? 

 

On Jan. 2.

 

When did Daschle inform the White House that he had to amend his tax returns to include the use of Hindery's car and driver?

 

 Jan 4.

 

Who brought the issue to the attention of the Finance Committee? 

 

According to the committee and to Daschle aides, it was Daschle and the Obama vetting team who disclosed the information.

"Like Porcupines Making Love," An Enthused GOP Ponders Steele, Taking On Obama

Former Maryland lieutenant-governor Michael Steele's defeat of South Carolina Republican chairman Katon Dawson on the sixth ballot was not only a symbolic first in the history of the GOP, but also an indication of the hunger for change felt by many of its downtrodden supporters.  After an election cycle in which Republicans lost virtually every demographic bloc except for white southerners, Steele's election seemed to raise the possibility of building a more moderate, inclusive GOP.

But Friday's proceedings also revealed the intraparty divisions that may stifle his efforts to revitalize the party's political operations over the next two years.  Steele's past involvement with the Republican Leadership Council, a socially moderate political action committee, seemed to be very much on the minds of the social conservatives in attendance, who had mostly rallied around the candidacies of Dawson and incumbent chairman Mike Duncan. 

 

There's "not a problem with [Steele's] own stances [on social issues] so much as the groups he was affiliated with," said Steve Scheffler, a national committeeman from Iowa who was supporting Dawson. Scheffler was disturbed by the RLC's association with "far left of center organizations" in Iowa, including one that supports gay marriage. "I believe in inclusion", he insisted, but was adamant that the RNC's next chairman be sensitive to the fact that the party's "base of activists tends to be conservatives." 

 

As party officials and volunteers devoured trays of cookies between the third and fourth rounds of voting, I spoke with a committeewoman from a southern state who echoed these concerns.  On condition of anonymity, she admitted she still had strong reservations about Steele's conservative credentials and was pledging her support to Dawson.  She was incredulous when asked if the GOP needed to recalibrate its message after its recent electoral setbacks, citing Republican victories in the Georgia Senate runoff and Louisiana's congressional elections. The party's present difficulties stemmed more from George W. Bush's "top-down approach" than from an absence of support among independents and Reagan Democrats, she said. "We've got to get back to being a bottom-up organization."

Continue reading ""Like Porcupines Making Love," An Enthused GOP Ponders Steele, Taking On Obama" »

What If Pepsi Wasn't Subtle About Its Obamaesque Design?

Obama Sends E-Mail To DNC/OFA List

It probably didn't come from his super-secure Blackberry, but President Barack Obama has e-mailed his 13-million-person campaign list with a direct request: participate in "Economic Recovery House Parties" that Obama's campaign organizers have put together for the weekend. Since Organizing for America is now a department of the Democratic National Committee, the DNC paid for the cost of sending the e-mail. Pressuring Congress to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the president's top priority, and one presumes that the action plan presented at this weekend's house meetings will include the mobilization of the masses in some way or another.

 

Friend --

The economic crisis is growing more serious every day, and the time for action has come.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will jumpstart our economy and put more than 3 million people back to work.

I hope to sign the recovery plan into law in the next few weeks.  But I need your help to spread the word and build support.

It's not enough for this bill to simply pass Congress. Americans need to know how it will affect their lives -- they need to know that help is on the way and that this administration is investing in economic growth and stability.

Governor Tim Kaine has agreed to record a video outlining the recovery plan and answering questions about what it means for your community. You can submit your questions online and then invite your friends, family, and neighbors to watch the video with you at an Economic Recovery House Meeting.

Join thousands of people across the country by hosting or attending an Economic Recovery House Meeting this weekend:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

The stakes are too high to allow partisan politics to get in the way.

That's why I've consulted with Republicans as well as Democrats to put together a plan that will address the crisis we face.

I've also taken steps to ensure an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Once it's passed, you will be able to see how every penny in this plan is being spent.

You can help restore confidence in our economy by making sure your friends, family, and neighbors understand how the recovery plan will impact your community.

Sign up to host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting and submit your question for the video now:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Our ability to come together as a nation in difficult times has never been more important.

I know I can rely on your spirit and resolve as we lead our country to recovery.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

P.S. -- If you can't host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting, you can still submit your questions for Governor Kaine and then share the video with your friends and family this weekend. Learn more here:

http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Tom Daschle's Letter Of Contrition

White House anger erupted briefly this weekend when senior administration officials told reporters that HHS nominee Tom Daschle had not disclosed to them that he had to pay back taxes on the car and driver Leo Hindery's concern provided him with. Daschle clarifies that timeline below, but his clarification raises additional questions. Daschle says that, in the course of the betting, improper deductions for charitable contributions were discovered by the vetting team. At the same time, on a separate frequency, Daschle's accountant suggested that it might well be time to consider paying taxes on the car and driver. Daschle didn't bring this latter issue to the fore until his accountant rendered an opinion, on December 10. Why he didn't alert the transition vetting team to this potential error earlier is still unclear. (Why someone with that knowledge decided to leak it this weekend, thereby jeopardizing Daschle's chances even further, is also a mystery, perhaps more of one.)

Dear Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley:

Thank you for the work you and the Committee are doing to move forward on my nomination by President Obama to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. I know that despite the heavy workload from both the Economic Recovery Act and SCHIP, as well as all the nominees the Committee is handling, your staff has worked diligently on my nomination. I also appreciate the strong commitment to fairness you both have expressed.

As you can well imagine, I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors that required me to amend my tax returns. I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them. I will be happy to answer any Committee members' questions about these issues. In the meantime, as a follow-up to our conversations, I would like to briefly review three issues discussed at my meeting with your staff and mentioned in our meeting on Thursday.

Last fall, when I was being considered for this position, the Presidential Transition Team's vetters reviewed my records. During the course of those reviews, the vetting team flagged charitable contributions they felt were deducted in error. When my accountant realized I would need to file amended returns, he suggested addressing another matter I had raised with him earlier in the year: whether the use of a car service offered to me by a close friend might be a tax issue.

In December, my accountant advised me that it should be reported as imputed income in the amended returns. At about the same time, the friend's company, a consulting client, informed my accountant of a clerical error it had made on the Form 1099 it provided to me and reported to the IRS for 2007. In an effort to ensure full compliance and the most complete disclosure possible of my personal finances, we remedied these issues by filing amended tax returns with full payments, including interest.

We provided all this information to the Committee in addition to the completed Committee questionnaire and my responses to your staff's questions. I disclosed this information to the Committee voluntarily, and paid the taxes and any interest owed promptly.

My mistakes were unintentional. I am available to answer any further questions you might have and look forward to coming before the Committee in the very near future to discuss the critical health and human services issues facing our country. Should I be approved by your Committee and confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to working in partnership with you both to pass meaningful legislation that will help Americans get the health reform they need and deserve and to ensure that all HHS programs and activities reflect a commitment to responding to the needs of our citizens in a manner that is compassionate, cost-effective, and transparent.

Scamman To Replace Gregg?

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has emerged as the leading candidate to be nominated for Secretary of Commerce, but the panic level among Republicans (59 - 1 = dGov + 1 = 60) is lower than it was on Friday.  Chatter among New Hampshire Republicans suggests that Gov. John Lynch (D) is considering appointing Doug Scamman, the former GOP Speaker of the House, well respected by both sides, semi-retired, pushing 70, as a caretaker.  Another possible replacement: J. Bonnie Newman,a former chief of staff to Gregg and Reagan administration official.