Kerry and Baucus both say that increasing jobs should be part of the solution

[karynnj]

Nice quotes here - a surprise as it is written by Ryan Grim!

Democrats on the Super Congress will insist that the body's mandate be expanded to include job creation measures, setting up the first major ideological battle a day before the panel is set to meet for the first time.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said on Wednesday that Democrats on the panel are in agreement that the national debt can't be decreased without growing the economy. "It's part of the recovery. Growth will raise revenue," Baucus said after a lunch meeting with Democrats. He declined to specify the size of a stimulus package he'd want included. "It's gotta be one that makes sense," he said, distancing himself, apparently, from the camp that advocates a senseless plan.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the author of a bill to create an infrastructure bank that would spur construction lending, also said that the panel should focus on job growth. "I don't think you can reduce the deficit of the country in the scope that we need to without growth," he said. "We have to have that discussion."

<snip>
The Democratic insistence on a focus on jobs puts the party's panel members in step with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which previously called for the committee to prioritize job creation as a way to pay down the debt. As more people find work, more workers are paying income taxes and fewer are collecting unemployment benefits or disability.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/07/super-congress-super-committee-members_n_952606.html

(I posted this on GDP - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x766027 )

[Inuca]

1. Very good

And I am glad that, so far at least (kinf of early, I know :-)), Baucus proves himself to be the reliable party man I assumed he will be, and contrary to the "sellout" cries among the permanently outraged.

[karynnj]

2. Hersarling opened the meeting

September 13 th will be the first hearing and all the members will make statements. Murray and Hersarling will alternate chairing the hearings. The only witness at the first hearing will be CBO person Doug Elmendorf and the topic is the history and drivers of this problem.

Hersaling opening statement - He says that cutting the debt itself will help the economy. He also speaks of the children and the loss of freedom and our standard of living. He quotes Obama that Medicare and SS are the main drivers and are unsustainable. "progrowth" tax reform. Must be about saving the safety net programs (!) Task not easy.

Says that there will be some chance for the public to be heard, but he also said that some meetings will be closed.

[karynnj]

3. Murray speaking now

Says people she speaks to are concerned that the government is broken. Says that though they all got into politics for different reasons, but no one got in to engage in the petty bickering. Murray said that there is a deep ans serious problem with short and long term debt, but working together, we can solve this. Says that we owe it to the families to put their needs first and to put the country on a solid basis.

She says that committee members have not drawn lines in the sand. Says they have real differences. Says they need to produce something that none of them would have written on their own but which they can be proud of.

Says that today they will speak of the rules that she and Hershaling came up with.

[Luftmensch067]

4. Thanks for the liveblogging!!!

Will just post the link I posted on another thread here so that all the info is in one place. This hearing is available online here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/energyandcommerce2123 and also live on CSPAN 3.

[karynnj]

5. Portman (R,OH) now

Speaks of too much debt does not create jobs, but uncertainty. (Gee didn't he work for Bush when the 2 tax cuts were enacted)

He says that the goal only reduces the INCREASE in the debt for the next 10 years by 12%. (Wonder what he had as assumptions to create that forecast.) Claims that revenue is at an all time high. (Obviously in absolute numbers - they are at a several decade low)

Becarra (D House member from CA)
Says failure is not an option. Says that everyone needs to listen and not favor powerful interests. Says that they need to tackle the biggest deficit - THE JOBS DEFICIT.

Need to shine a light on loopholes. Says best way to reduce deficit is to get people back to work. Must have balance - must reduce deficit. "American solution"

Camp(R House member from MI)
Too much debt inhibiting growth. About 14 million people out of work with a debt that by the end of the year will exceed GDP. Says both parties to blame and solutions not enacted. (Disturbance - not clear what they are shouting)

[Luftmensch067]

6. Do you think they're shouting something about jobs? n/t

[karynnj]

7. "Jobs Now" I couldn't hear it well before

[karynnj]

8. Baucus ( D, MT) Now

Spoke of climbing a mountain, when he got the call from Reid to go on the committee. But, the main thing he heard from everyone was "Max it is good to have you on the committee, but it will be a hard job and they are sorry for him." Says that they should try to aim high to get their house in order.

Says they have to be fair, balanced - must include revenues - must take advantage of work previously done. Says that efforts must create more jobs - which creates more revenue making the job easier. Must work together.

Toomey(R, PA)
Says that they have an opportunity to get the country on a fiscally sound path. Says that just getting the amount of cuts is not enough - must address entitlements - get them on a viable path. Maximize growth. $3 trillion comes from a 1% increase in growth. His prescription is lower taxes in a simpler code and cutting spending. Wipe out special interest loopholes.

[karynnj]

9. Clyburn (D House SC) now

Spoke of them NOT being the apostles. Says that getting a solution is the best way to get the respect back for the Congress. Spoke of the number of people unemployed. Says that any soltion must be fair and it is wrong to put all the burden on the elderly, poor and the middle class. Spoke of the increasing concentration of wealth at the top - squeezing the MC and sending more people into poverty.

Upton (R House MI)
Spent last month meeting with constituents. Says that his state produced many great inventions, but is now in trouble and regulatory and debt problems created uncertainty that causes loss of jobs. (Where is the thank you for bailing out two major employees???)

Recovery is getting slower - means that the debt will be higher than CBO predicted. Must cut spending. Goal is to seek common ground - identify places where money is spent unwisely and are we supporting job group.

[karynnj]

11. Kerry

Says the ONLY way to meet the goal is to expand the economy and make it work again. Need to listen to the American people. Need to fix both jobs and budget. Need to examine our consciences. Says that current path is unsustainable, but says our values are to take care of the sick and the less fortunate and to give kids opportunity. Need to find not just common ground, but higher ground. Says it is "our turn" and that they will find a bipartisan solution and he wants to get to work.

Kyl

Says that he is struck by commonality of what was said (he then summarizes the Republican talking points) He then said that he wants to issue a warning to any who think this will be easy (WHO THINKS that??) Says that time is less than most think because of need to have CBO score it - says may be needed by end of October.

[karynnj]

12. Van Hollen (D House MD)

Says the main driver of low jobs is low consumer demand. Speaks of the bipartisan committees that all were for growing the economy, and eliminating loopholes and raising revenue - points out that both reduce the debt. Says neither side should think that the next election would realign things so one party or the other can get everything they want.

Now they are bringing up the rules - which they dispensed with reading. They are a compromise between Senate and House rules. Murray asked that "meeting" have the meaning of hearings and other formal meeting, not every conversation.

Van Hollen asked of the hearings - wants input from the previous task forces. Murray - still working on it - 7 day notice before hearing required. They passed rules on voice vote and adjourned.

[Mass]

14. Unfortunately, the first sentence will not be repeated by the media.

I read the Hill comment and it seems Kerry wants a grand bargain from it. He is certainly going to get a lot of pushback from what was printed.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/180293-supercommittee-differs-on-ambition

Democratic Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.) and John Kerry (Mass.) both made a point of saying the supercommittee should go much further than its mandate.

Baucus argued that a grand bargain could reduce business uncertainty and help the economy — an argument that has also been made by some Republicans.

“Business is looking at us, consumers are looking at us,” said Baucus, who added that such a deal must include increased revenues, a problem for Republicans who oppose any tax hikes.

“The critical words are ‘at least 1.5 trillion,’” said Kerry, who called on the panel to build on the work of past deficit commissions, including one formed by President Obama, as well as the bipartisan Senate Gang of Six.

Now, I hope he said he lot more than that, because I would be wary of building above the Gang of Six.

AP report

http://www.katu.com/news/business/129462138.html

Another supercommittee member, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., asked whether he wanted the panel to tackle job creation, said he "may lay out that thought" at Thursday's meeting.

[karynnj]

15. That is incredibly poor reporting

It was the very first thing said and said in short, strong and unambiguous sentences. I hope that Kerry's office will put his excellent statement on his site on you tube.

The comment about reviewing the work already done is as standard a first step as anything in starting any project. There may be ideas that were already researched - which can either be rejected because of the research or considered further.

This is a case of the Hill taking the parts they want ignoring much of what Kerry and Baucus said. I did not get all either said - I'm not good at typing, but you can see both led with JOBS - as did a couple other Democrats.

Here is a link to video at Cspan - Kerry is about 43 minutes in. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/JointSel

[Luftmensch067]

16. I second Karynnj

And I, too, hope the statement as spoken will be made available in writing and video. It was strong, direct and unambiguous, in my opinion. Sheesh, sometimes it feels like the Hill is a tabloid!

[karynnj]

17. The Hill always seems to lean right

Prosense posted the text from his web site - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x766716

[Inuca]

18. In view of what Obama said

last night, "at least 1.5T" may also refer to including the ~.5T that would cover the new proposals. I think it's a safe bet to assume that Kerry had a pretty good idea of what was going to be announced a few hours after he spoke.

[karynnj]

19. Excellent point -

It also is likely not a coincidence that - jobs deficit - was a phrase used by Kerry and the other Democrats. It is likely all of them knew and agreed with that inclusion.

[Luftmensch067]

10. JK just spoke

He seems to me to be channeling the voices of both history and the future. I'm so glad he's there.

[karynnj]

13. Here is the LA Times view of the hearing

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-super-committee-20110908,0,6253677.story

(Comment - You can really see that the LA Times is owned by the company that owns the Chicago Tribune. This paper used to lean left - now it is leaning pretty heavily to the right. Like me, they identify Portman with Bush's budgets - but they think it means he is an expert! )

[ObamaKerryDem]

20. I was there! :)

Hey everyone,

I attended the hearing yesterday. It was more or less a last minute decision (as I didn't find out I'd be coming in later that day until the day before-my internship hours are more or less flexible at this point at least). The Rayburn House building where the hearing took place is literally a block and a half from our offices, so I thought, why not? :)

Just getting into the hearing was quite an experience in and of itself! There was actually a line (not completely surprising I suppose given the very high profile nature of this Committee-though yesterday was more or less organizational in nature, aside of course from the very important opening statements), one that strecthed all the way down the hallway! So I was not completely sure until lierally minutes before it began whether or not I'd even get in. Glad I got there about an hour early!

When I got there, waiting first in line was the male counterpart of Code Pink, who not so politely informed me that "yes, this is the line, but you have to get to the back of it!" I get that they wanted to be front in center--as always--but still! They were going to get in anyway, no matter what..why the attitude? Unless they thought I was press (I had my ID "necklace" on for my internship as I was going in to work right after the hearing). But still--rude, IMO!

That was a precursor of sorts to what was to come towards the middle of the hearing. When the hearing commenced, the members of Code Pink (and everyone there) were informed that they had to put down their signs, per House rules. it seems at some point as the proceedings got under way, they slipped outside and a full protest formed, which, as those of you who have already watched or heard about the hearing know, was loud enough to temporary interrupt the entire thing. The look on JK's face (one that appeared, to me at least, to be one of mixed surprise and amusement :)) as priceless! hehe :) It was also interesting how the clamor just happened to interrupt Republican Rep. Camp's statement, to the point where he conceeded to just issuing a print version of it onto his House website, rather than repeating it. But while I of course fully agree in regards to the need for "jobs now" and backlash to the GOP agenda, I'm not sure if the Code Pink approach is the way to go, but perhaps that's just my sour grapes from being snapped at (more or less) by one of its members beforehand, coupled with the fact that I heard one of them make not so nice jabs at JK before th hearing started (jibes about his 'yacht' and 'huge pension'..Freeper sounding much? HATE when fellow Progressives talk like them! *sigh*) Nevertheless, it was a moment!

All the Democrats on the panel gave great openings--most notably IMO Clyburn, Murray, Van Hollen) but the highlight for me of course was JK. :) Most of you have already seen his remarks I'm sure, but they were terrific--insightful, pragmatic, consistent, and on point, yet keeping true to our values as a party and the ones we need to reach for, as a nation. I especially appreciated the nod he gave to "the demands of history, the demands of the moment" and "bring the sick, the disabled, and the elderly" out of the shadows and adddressing education and the need not to "eat our seedcorn" (this, as I'm sure most of you have noticed, has been a theme of sorts for JK lately--he's referenced this line in all his recent MA townhalls. The girl next to me--a journalism student no less, from George Washington--smiled when he said it, so it must be getting through on some level! :)). But my favorite was his line of "not downsizing the American Dream". Perfect, with all the talk of cuts, cuts, cuts the Republicans have been doing. It was also great how he referred to the "mission", the "charge" this panel is faced with. It is clear that JK (though it should be no surprise!) appreciates the magnitude of this moment. I am both thrilled and relieved that he was chosen and look forward to seeing what he does with this. I just hope it will be appreciated!

Here are some pictures I took, courtesy of "my trusty Blackberry". :) I apologize in advance for the not-so-stellar quality of them-the lighting in the chamber was far better suited for C-Span!:










Note JK's expression in last pic-taken during protest! lol


Also as an aside, check out the awesome photo in the hallway of the office I'm working out of! ;):

[ObamaKerryDem]

21. Ugh, not sure why the photos are posting so small! Here is the link to..

..my Twitpic, for better size and quality:

http://twitpic.com/photos/latte_lib_86

I think it's the computer I am on.

[Luftmensch067]

26. What a wonderful report!

And I love your photos! Especially the one with the GLASSES. It's so amazing that you were there! And that you are in DC at this moment in history. As well as being an unparalleled opportunity for you, I'm selfishly glad that someone with your talent and dedication is going to be there, working on our side! Please keep us posted on your adventures!

[ObamaKerryDem]

27. Thank you!

Though in retrospect, in full writer mode, I've caught a TON of typos in my report, now when it's too late to edit it on here! *sigh* Oh well. :)

I am *hopefully* planning on attending the Super Cmte. meeting tomorrow (isn't it? Will check..) as well and as many as my schedule will allow while I am here! I am planning on starting a blog to document the whole DC experience--will share it on here as soon as it's set! :) I've also been tweeting up a storm about it and as part of the OFA component of my internship, I have created another Twitter account for it:

http://twitter.com/#!/Tara_OFA_DC

Everyone here who is on Twitter, feel free to follow! :) It will mainly be OFA/Obama 2012 related things on that one (though I am of course 'following' JK on there too;)), though I am tweeting about my experience all around on my more personal Twitter account: http://twitter.com/#!/latte_lib_86


*end shameless self promo here..ha! :p*

Will report back about tomorrow's experience on here, if all goes well! *crosses fingers*

[karynnj]

22. Great description!

Thank you for your observations - so detailed, they are almost - though not quite - like being there! Good luck on your internship.

[MBS]

23. fabulous account!

I felt like I was there! Yes, and I totally agree about "progressives" parroting RW talking points. Infuriating.

[ObamaKerryDem]

24. Thanks, karrynj and MBS! :)

I'm so glad I got to go and got in! Lol Also glad Code Pink had to sit down before the meeting started or t they'd have blocked my view as they were directly in front of my row!

I'm hoping to attend the next or a future hearing, as many as my schedule allows! Will definitely report in when/if I do! :)

Ohh and lest I forget-JK whipped out THE glasses as he prepped for his remarks! ;):


http://twitpic.com/6ijplo

:)

[wisteria]

25. Wonderful! n/t