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Jeffersons Ghost

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Fri Jan-19-07 12:42 AM
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Energy, ethics and lobby bills advance

By JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
Jan. 18, 2007, 8:49PM

WASHINGTON — The House wrapped up the Democrats' "100 Hours" legislative sprint Thursday with time to spare, voting to recoup billions of dollars in lost royalties from oil and gas companies and roll back industry tax breaks.

The energy bill capped a two-week drumbeat of votes on legislation that, while popular with voters last fall, awaits a sketchy fate in the Senate.

The House bill, approved 264-123, sets a conservation fee on oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico, attempts to recoup royalties lost because of a government error in drilling leases in the late 1990s, and rolls back several oil industry tax breaks.

Democrats accomplished their early legislative goals in 87 hours, adopting new ethics rules and passing bills raising the minimum wage, expanding taxpayer financed research into embryonic stem cells, forcing more homeland security measures, directing the federal government to negotiate for cheaper Medicare prescription drugs and lowering interest rates on subsidized student loans.

Democrats pushed the legislation through swiftly, denying Republicans any opportunity to amend bills, and established themselves as the vanguard for the Democratic agenda. But internal friction within both parties, the potential for partisan gridlock in the Senate and confrontation with the White House over the war in Iraq signal less, not more, legislative production in the weeks ahead. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4481734.html

Also, small businesses got a nice tax break, while oil monopolies got to start paying their fair share again. Caps are now in place that restrict obscene bonuses to top board members of gigantic corporations.

Now, please review this personal commentary:

Absolutely no one does more at DU toward bringing our troops home than me. Still, I deserve no praise, no reward and no quarter from critics. My humble contributions to the anti-war effort are nothing compared to the prices our brothers and sisters pay in the hellish fiasco of Iraq that profits only a few evil men. Some days our anti-war efforts seem futile. Other days, it feels like all those petitions do nothing and are not even worth signing. Indeed, reading and writing about the horrors in Iraq becomes so tiring that it is difficult to even read another request for our support. Do you feel our troops are tiring, with many on their fourth tour of duty? Do you think they ever feel their efforts are meaningless? While it may not seem manly, my eyes water when I think of sacrifices our troops make every day in Iraq but these tears are merely trickle in an ocean that America cries for her dead tonight.

Perhaps endless anti-war OPs harden some hearts. Perhaps endless killing and dying in Iraq hardens others. Perhaps nothing we did to gain slim majorities in the House and Senate matter. Still, I had tears in my eyes, after reading the acceptance speech of House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi; tears of hope.

"Our pride and our prayers are united behind our men and women in uniform... In this Congress we must work together to build a future worthy of their sacrifice...

Hope -- That is what America is about... By electing me speaker you have brought us closer to the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and America's hope... It's an historic moment for the Congress... for the women of America. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years. Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights... Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and our granddaughters today we have broken the marble ceiling... now the sky is the limit...

The election of 2006 was a call to change, not merely to change the control of Congress but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in the war in Iraq. The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end. It is the responsibility of the president to articulate a new plan for Iraq that makes it clear to the Iraqis that they must defend their own streets and their own security, a plan that promotes stability in the region and a plan that allows us to responsibly redeploy our troops...

The American people also spoke clearly for a new direction here at home. They desire a new vision, a new America built on the values that have made our country great. Our founders envisioned a new America driven by optimism, opportunity and strength... They envisioned America as a just and good place, as a fair and efficient society, and as a source of opportunity for all.

Now it is our responsibility to carry forth that vision of a new America into the 21st century.

A new America that seizes the future and forges 21st-century solutions through discovery, creativity and innovation, sustaining our economic leadership and ensuring our national security.

A new America with a vibrant and strengthened middle class for whom college is affordable, health care is accessible and retirement reliable... that declares our energy independence, promotes domestic sources of renewable energy and combats climate change... that is strong, secure and a respected leader among the community of nations...

After years of historic deficits this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: Pay as you go; no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt. In order to achieve our new America for the 21st century we must return this House to the American people. So our first order of business is passing the toughest congressional ethics reform in history.

This new Congress doesn't have two years or 200 days. Let us join together in the first 100 hours to make this Congress the most honest and open Congress in history.

One hundred hours.

This openness requires respect for every voice in the Congress. As Thomas Jefferson said, every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.

My colleagues elected me to be speaker of the House, the entire House. Respectful of division of our founders, the expectations of our people and the great challenges that we face, we have an obligation to reach beyond partisanship to work for all America.

Let us stand together to move our country forward, seeking common ground for the common good.

We have made history. Now, let us make progress for the American people.

May God bless our work, and may God bless America."

Who thought our House of Representatives could end the Iraq War in 100 hours? Admittedly, I seriously doubted that Ms. Pelosi would achieve ANYTHING in 100 hundred hours. I do know this: even when funding for the Iraq fiasco was limitless, our troops rode down IED infested Iraq streets in fiberglass Humvees. If congress cuts funding who will suffer, Halliburton or our troops?

Thanks to some profiteering fools, the Mid-East will be in flames until each of us hears that final bell toll. Tonight, all I hear is an opening bell ringing in Washington DC; a bell of freedom, prosperity and peace. Rome did not fall in a day and this corporate empire built on greed and fear will not fall in 100 hours. Please give the lady time to work her magic for peace. Please continue to fight the good fight that got us this far. Please continue to sign petitions and kick OPs that send a message of peace. Please keep the faith.

Energy, ethics and lobby bills advance

DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE

WHO'S MUMMY?

Where are all the good women now?

Bring Our Troops Home Act

fully fund the Veterans Administration's medical system.

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Sign Up to Join CODEPINK IN DC Jan 26-30

Sign Up to Join CODEPINK IN DC Jan 26-30