Seperating Fact from BS

So who really is telling the truth in politics? A special Web site from the St. Petersburg Times helps seperate fact from fiction:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

Obama decries earmarks, signs bill with 9,000 of them

By Steven Thomma and David Lightman

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ As a candidate, Barack Obama once said that a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Wednesday he proved it, though not in the way he had in mind.

He criticized pork barrel spending in the form of "earmarks," urging changes in the way that Congress adopts the spending proposals. Then he signed a spending bill that contains nearly 9,000 of them, some that members of his own staff shoved in last year when they were still members of Congress.

"Let there be no doubt, this piece of legislation must mark an end to the old way of doing business, and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability," Obama said.

He said, however, that it was crucial for him to sign the $410 billion bill as soon as it arrived at the White House from Congress because it's needed to finance much of the government for the rest of this fiscal year. It was largely written last year but was held back while Republican George W. Bush was president because he opposed it.

"I am signing an imperfect ... bill," Obama said, "because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government, and we have a lot more work to do. We can't have Congress bogged down at this critical juncture in our economic recovery."

Obama proposed changing the way special projects are financed, including competitive bidding for spending that goes to for-profit businesses. Aides also said the White House Office of Management and Budget would review the spending bill for examples of wasteful spending. The president then could send those back to Congress as proposed cuts, called rescissions, for an up-or-down vote.

Although Obama insisted that the recently enacted $787 billion plan to stimulate the economy be free of any earmarks _ spending on special projects usually in senators' home states or representatives' districts _ he made no such demand of this spending bill.

"The president could have done better. He couldn't have eliminated the earmarks in this bill, but he could have at least cut them back significantly," said Steve Ellis, the vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group. "We appreciate how he kept them out of the stimulus, but we think he's only batting .500."

"The American people know actions speak louder than words," said Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, his party's leader in the House of Representatives. "The president's new promises on earmark reform would carry greater weight if they had been accompanied by a veto keeping his earlier promises on earmark reform."

The bill contains 8,816 earmarks worth $7.6 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Notable among them are $155.9 million worth of projects that six members of the Obama administration who were members of Congress last year, when the bill was originally written, inserted into the bill.

Top among them was Vice President Joe Biden. As a senator from Delaware, Biden added 56 earmarks that cost a total of $52.1 million, including $13.7 million for the Intracoastal Waterway from the Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay and $190,000 to help build a children's museum in Wilmington.

Others:

_White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who as a House member from Illinois added 16 earmarks worth about $8.3 million, including money for a Chicago planetarium and suburban children's museum.

_Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, formerly a Democratic senator from Colorado, $44.6 million.

_Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, formerly a Republican congressman from Illinois, $26.5 million.

_Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, formerly a Democratic House member from California, $15.5 million.

_Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, formerly a Democratic senator from New York, $6.7 million.

The White House has pledged to send legislation to Congress seeking the rescission of all earmarks sponsored by current members of the Obama administration.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Geographically, Alaska topped the list, with 100 earmarks valued at $143 million, or $209.71 per capita. Next was North Dakota, with $110 million or $172 per capita.

The data show that it pays to be a top Appropriations Committee official. Hawaii, the home state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, came in third, at $165 million, or $128.12 per capita. Fourth was Mississippi, represented by top Republican Appropriations member Thad Cochran, with $324 million in earmarks, or $110.59 per capita.

Last on the list: Arizona, the home state of Sen. John McCain, with $54 million, or $8.41 per capita. McCain railed against the practice throughout the weeklong Senate debate, just as he did in last year's presidential campaign, but his effort to effectively erase earmarks from the bill failed by a big margin Monday night.


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© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): OBAMA

Obama picks ex-NYC health commissioner to head FDA

By Noam N. Levey

Tribune Washington Bureau

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama has decided to tap former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to head the Food and Drug Administration, turning to a former Clinton administration official to help right the beleaguered regulatory agency, a source briefed on the choice said Wednesday.

Hamburg, 53, a physician who has worked extensively on bio-terrorism issues, is now a senior scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based foundation focused on threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Though less experienced as a regulator, Hamburg has extensive government experience. She served as health commissioner in New York for six years in the 1990s before becoming assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the Clinton administration's Department of Health and Human Services.

Another leader in public health, Baltimore health commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, 39, is widely expected to be named Hamburg's deputy.

A pediatrician by training, Sharfstein led the Obama transition team's assessment of the FDA. He also has worked as an aide to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who is a leading critic of the pharmaceutical industry.

The president will be looking to Hamburg and Sharfstein _ whose choices were first reported by the Wall Street Journal _ to strengthen the FDA's regulatory oversight after controversies involving its drug and device approvals and its response to outbreaks of food-borne illness.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

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Just two months ago, inspectors from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said the agency was fast-tracking approvals of medical devices without sufficient review.

And agency scientists recently called on the new administration to remove senior medical device regulators, whom they accused of corrupting the FDA's review process.

"Current senior FDA employees are too close with the industries they regulate," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a frequent critic who chairs the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "The new FDA commissioner must recognize that the FDA works for the American people, not drug companies and food producers." Other critics complain the agency has been too slow to approve generic drugs that could help reduce health care costs.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, have been agitating to transfer the FDA's responsibility for regulating food to a new agency, a drive that has gained momentum with each new food scandal.

The FDA is still wrestling with last year's deadly salmonella outbreak involving peanut plants. More than 600 people were sickened in the months-long outbreak, and at least nine deaths were attributed to salmonella.

FDA leaders have taken some steps to respond to the criticism, including increasing their focus on overseas inspections. But much of the reform effort has been on hold as the Obama administration worked to fill the agency's top posts at the agency, a process delayed by setbacks in selecting a new secretary of Health and Human Services.

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The FDA has not had a commissioner since December, when Bush appointee Andrew von Eschenbach resigned.

As health commissioner in New York, Hamburg was widely praised for a major initiative to control the spread of tuberculosis, reducing the city's infant mortality rates and boosting child immunizations. She sits on the board of medical supply distributor Henry Schein Inc., but would have to surrender the position if confirmed by the Senate.

Hamburg would have a great deal of work to do at the FDA, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a leading champion of stronger federal regulation of food.

"After years of failing to perform its responsibilities adequately and allowing industry influence to permeate its culture, reforming the FDA will represent an enormous undertaking," DeLauro said. "The next commissioner faces a significant and long-term challenge in changing the culture at the agency and ensuring that the FDA once again emphasizes independent science."

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© 2009, Tribune Co.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama makes case for taking time to get economy out of deep hole

By Kevin Diaz

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ President Obama, in his 51st day on the job, acknowledged that he has yet to reassure a nervous public about his game plan for stabilizing the financial system that has pulled the rug out from under the economy."We can always do a better job," he said Wednesday during a roundtable discussion with 15 regional newspapers, including the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

"I recognize the degree of concern that people have. We've been in office all of seven weeks so far. This is a crisis that was eight years in the making, maybe longer, in certain aspects. The buck stops with me and we're responsible, but it's going to take some time."

The meeting was Obama's second with regional reporters who cover Washington, part of an aggressive media strategy that has seen the new president reach out to bloggers and columnists across the political spectrum.

"This is my monthly occasion to break out of the Washington bubble," Obama said in the West Wing's Roosevelt Room. "I enjoy the keen insights of people outside of Washington."

The president walked into the room with a casual "Hey, how you guys doing?" He spent the next hour holding forth on topics ranging from Mexican border violence to 57 extra police officers in Minneapolis, citing the latter as evidence of the benefits of his recently passed $787 billion economic stimulus package.

"Obviously, our overarching focus right now is the economy," Obama said. "I'm very mindful of the hardships that are taking place all throughout the country."

Speaking slowly and deliberately, like the college professor he was, Obama made clear that his administration is in its infancy and that he still has the public on his side.

"The truth of the matter is the American people I think understand that it's going to take some time," he said. "If you look at the public polling, they recognize that it's going to take a while to dig ourselves out of the hole."

Obama noted that it's been only two weeks since he laid out his plans in a joint session of Congress. "The reviews were pretty good," he said.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

He noted that one aspect of the stimulus package _ extra money to preserve police officer jobs _ was highlighted by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a co-chairman of Obama's presidential campaign in Minnesota. "People are getting the message that slowly, surely, we are making progress on these fronts," Obama said.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

As for the unanimous opposition to his stimulus plan from House Republicans, including the three from Minnesota, Obama said "Saying 'no' is easy. ... I'm not impressed by just being able to say no."

For early signs of hope, Obama pointed to his new housing plan to provide relief to homeowners facing foreclosure. "You're already starting to see an uptick in refinancings that are providing families with relief," he said. "And in certain pockets of the country, you're starting to see housing prices stabilize after a long drop."

The president acknowledged, however, that there's "significant uncertainty" in the markets about the banking sector, which has been decimated by bad loans and mortgages. "That's obviously a particular concern to Wall Street," he said.

One problem is that the administration is still in the process of "stress-testing" or evaluating the financial strength of banks. "What we don't want to do is to prejudge those tests, or make a lot of statements that cause a lot of nervousness around banks that are already having difficulties," Obama said. "On that particular issue we've got to explain to people _ and as I said, we can always do better _ why it is so important to get lending going again, to get credit flowing to businesses and consumers.

"I'll be making statements about this tomorrow and the next day and in my radio addresses next week. And the main message I'm going to be delivering is that it's going to take some time to get out of this deep hole we're in. But we're going to get out."

By the time Obama took his last question, his water glass was still more than half full.

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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama: No U.S. troops to Mexico border

By Todd J. Gillman

The Dallas Morning News

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama is keeping close watch on the violence from Mexico's drug war, but he said Wednesday so far it hasn't spilled into this country enough to justify sending troops to the border.

"We've got a very big border with Mexico," he said. "I'm not interested in militarizing the border."

Last month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited El Paso, Texas _ whose neighbor, Ciudad Juarez, has taken the brunt of drug violence that has claimed more than 7,000 lives in Mexico in 14 months _ and called on Washington to send a thousand troops or border agents.

"We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense," Obama told The Dallas Morning News in an hour-long talk with 14 regional newspapers. "I don't have a particular tipping point in mind."

Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared a war on drug cartels nearly two years ago, setting off waves of violence as rival gangs fight for turf and resist the government crackdown. Obama emphasized he will continue working closely with Mexico and said within "a few months" he will offer a comprehensive policy to curtail U.S. demand for drugs and curb the southbound flow of cash and guns that give the cartels "extraordinary power."

"It's really a two-way situation," he said, promising a combination of border security, law enforcement, prevention and treatment.

"We're fighting with one hand tied behind our back because our effort to lower demand is grossly underfunded," Obama said. "The average person who's seeking serious substance abuse treatment in a big city like Dallas or Chicago typically has a three-, four- or six-month waiting list to get enrolled."

Obama has said little until now about the horrific violence in Mexico, which has included beheadings, assassinations of top anti-drug officials and police, running gun battles in border cities and the resignations of law enforcement officials who flee into the U.S. for safety.

Obama lauded Calderon for "taking some extraordinary risks under extraordinary pressure to deal with the drug cartels."

In 2007, then-President George W. Bush hammered out a deal with Calderon, called the Merida Initiative, to provide equipment and training to help Mexico take on the traffickers and weed out corruption.

Obama noted recent high-level contacts between U.S. and Mexican officials as a sign of the ongoing partnership.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Last Friday, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with counterparts in Mexico and offered more intelligence and surveillance, as well as training based on lessons learned against insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder have already met with top Mexican officials, too.

On Wednesday, Obama named a national drug czar, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. Bush had given the post Cabinet rank. Obama removed that designation but said that's not a reflection on how seriously he takes the effort to curtail drug use.

"We do have to treat this as a public health problem, and we do have to have significant law enforcement,' he said. "If we can reduce demand, obviously that allows us to focus more effectively where interdiction is needed."

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

As a candidate, Obama called the "war on drugs ... an utter failure." He also said he was open to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.

Asked Wednesday if he believes this country is still engaged in a war on drugs, he avoided the phrase but promised not to weaken drug laws and to pursue border security and law enforcement while putting fresh emphasis on prevention and treatment.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

President George W. Bush's drug czar, John Walters, agreed on the need for a multifaceted approach.

"It's not an endless battle, and it's not a war like the Vietnam War," said Walters in a separate interview. "The issue of the 'war' has become a kind of metaphor for using inappropriate means, or focusing on force, or focusing on the supply side rather than the demand side. We have learned that we need balance."

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Obama also offered assurance Americans won't be put at risk when he closes the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfers some detainees to U.S. facilities. Texas Republicans in Congress are among those who have denounced his plan, insisting he send terror suspects elsewhere.

"We already have experience with terrorists who are in federal prisons," Obama said. "And there's been no indication that the safety or security of prison guards or of surrounding communities have been compromised."

On food safety, Obama said he has ordered the Agriculture Department and the Health and Human Services Department to work more closely and develop better procedures, after a salmonella outbreak traced to peanut processors in Texas and Georgia. The nation needs "better warning signals" from food producers and an ability to track contamination more quickly, he said.

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© 2009, The Dallas Morning News.

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama says NASA's next leader must end agency's 'drift'

By Mark K. Matthews

The Orlando Sentinel

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama said Wednesday that NASA is an agency afflicted by "a sense of drift" and that it needs "a new mission that is appropriate for the 21at century."

Obama said the first priority of a new agency administrator _ whom he promised to appoint "soon" _ would be "to think through what NASA's core mission is and what the next great adventures and discoveries are under the NASA banner."

Until that happens, he said during a session with reporters from the Orlando Sentinel and other regional newspapers, the White House would delay any major policy decisions about the agency.

That would likely ensure the retirement of the space shuttle in 2010 _ as Obama called for in the budget proposal he gave Congress last month _ and pave the way for massive job losses at Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding Space Coast in Florida.

Obama took only one question about NASA. He said nothing about whether he wants to continue the Bush administration's Constellation program, intended to send astronauts to the moon by 2020. The program's Ares I rocket is behind schedule and over budget, leading to speculation that it will miss its targeted 2015 launch date and further reduce the skilled work force at KSC.

He was also silent about the fate of the $100 billion international space station. Once the shuttle is retired, NASA will depend on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for access to the station.

Obama made clear that the agency, which has been without an administrator since his Jan. 20 inauguration, could not continue on its current course.

"Shaping a mission for NASA that is appropriate for the 21st century is going to be one of the biggest tasks of my new NASA director," he said. "What I don't want NASA to do is just limp along. And I don't think that's good for the economy in the region, either."

Several names have been floated as possible replacements for former agency chief Michael Griffin. Congressional and space-industry sources said the current front-runner appears to be Steve Isakowitz, a former NASA official now with the Department of Energy who is said to have the strong support of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.

Other candidates include former NASA astronaut Charles Bolden, a favorite of Florida's Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, and two retired Air Force generals, Lester L. Lyles and J. Scott Gration.

Since taking office, Obama has said little about NASA. The only clues to his policy aims were included in his proposed 2010 budget, which called for the shuttle's retirement next year but added one additional launch if it can be done "safely and affordably."

But with eight missions needed after Discovery to finish construction of the space station, it could be difficult to cram another launch into the schedule before the 2010 deadline. The bonus mission Obama touted would ferry a physics experiment to the space station.

The end of the shuttle era is expected to devastate Kennedy Space Center and the Space Coast. KSC's main function is to launch shuttles and other NASA rockets. With nothing to fly, there would be little work.

NASA estimates that at least 3,500 KSC jobs would be lost, while shuttle contractors put the estimate at 10,000. With each NASA job credited with creating 2.8 others in the community, an additional 9,870 to 28,200 jobs would be at risk.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

During his hourlong press briefing, Obama touched on several other topics:

_High-speed rail: He said he wishes he could have shoehorned more than $8 billion in his economic-stimulus package for high-speed rail. Florida officials are interested in a high-speed-rail project that would connect Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

One advocate, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, said he couldn't be "more enthusiastic" about Obama's support. "I have to be careful how much I praise him," Mica joked. "It's one of the most exciting things I have ever been involved in."

_Voting Rights Act: The president voiced his continued support for Department of Justice reviews of states, primarily Southern, that wish to implement changes that could affect minorities' voting rights. "That's not such a huge hurdle to jump through," he said. Several Florida counties are affected by the law.

_Mexican drug violence: Obama said he has not yet decided whether to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to combat growing drug-related violence. "We are going to examine whether, and if, National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense . . .," he said. But he noted: "We have a very big border with Mexico, so I'm not interested in militarizing the border."

___ WHO'S IN MIX?

President Obama says a new NASA chief will be named "soon." Top candidates:

_Steve Isakowitz: Insiders say ex-NASA official is in lead.

_Charles Bolden: Ex-astronaut has Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's support.

_Lester L. Lyles, J. Scott Gration: Retired Air Force generals.

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© 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama Tracker

With Obama now more than half way through his 100 day 'honeymoon,' his recent activity was the talk last night on SmithtownRadio.com Live with Amanda Boitano, Dean Laurence, Megan Russ, Trevor Higgins and James Brierton.

As promised, here is the NPR widget tracking his first 100 days: