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House Passes Bill Targeting Health, Welfare Programs

On Capitol Hill, Republicans scored a major victory Wednesday with the slim

passage of a budget bill that slashes billions of dollars from health,

education, and welfare programs. The bill will impose fees and scale back

benefits for millions of low-income Medicaid recipients. A recent Congressional

study predicted the bill would deny medical services and drugs to millions of

low-income Americans unable to afford the new premiums. The vote passed by a

margin of 216 to 214. Thirteen Republicans joined all House Democrats in

opposition. The Senate has already approved the bill, with Vice President Dick

Cheney casting the decisive vote, in December.

GOP Tax Cuts Outsize Budget Bill’s Spending Cuts

Republicans hailed the bill for cutting nearly $40 billion dollars from the

federal deficit. But the Washington Post notes its impact “is likely to be

negligible, slicing less than one-half of 1 percent from the estimated $14.3

trillion in federal spending over the next five years. " The Los Angeles Times

observes that the spending cuts are more than offset by the $56-billion dollar

tax cut passed by the House last year. The Senate is currently debating that

measure. Taken together, the two bills would result in adding $16 billion

dollars to the federal deficit.

 

House Grants Patriot Act Temporary Extension

Meanwhile, the House approved a measure Wednesday to extend the USA Patriot Act

until early March. The vote marked the second time in just over a month Congress

has granted the Act a temporary reprieve. A long-term extension has been held up

over bi-partisan concerns the legislation lacks adequate safeguards for civil

liberties.

 

White House Rebuffs Requests for Spy Program Legal Views

In other news, the White House is refusing to comply with a Senate Judiciary

Committee request it hand over its own legal opinions on President Bush’s

domestic spying program. According to the New York Times, Justice Department

officials said the opinions were irrelevant because the administration has

already publicly laid out its legal defense for the program. But Democratic

Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who serves on the Judiciary Committee,

said: " Without the Justice Department memos and without more witnesses, it's

hard to se how anything other than a rehashing of the administration line is

going to happen. I am worried that these hearings could end up telling us very

little when the American people are thirsty to find out what happened here. " The

committee is set to hold its first public hearing on the program Monday.

 

AT & T Sued Over Alleged Involvement In Government Spying

Meanwhile, a civil liberties group is suing telecom giant AT & T over its alleged

role in assisting the National Security Agency spy on the phone calls and

messages of US citizens without court warrants. The suit, filed by the

Electronic Frontier Foundation – EFF -- in U.S. District Court Tuesday, claims

AT & T provided the NSA with extensive access to its networks and databases. EFF

attorney Kevin Bankston said: “Our main goal is to stop this invasion of

privacy, prevent it from occurring again and make sure AT & T and all the other

carriers understand there are going to be legal and economic consequences when

they fail to follow the law.â€

 

Bush Administration Says Mideast Oil Pledge “Purely an Exampleâ€

Just one day after President Bush drew headlines for pledging to reduce the

country’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil by 75 percent by the year 2025, two

top administration officials said Bush’s promise was not meant literally. In a

conference call with reporters, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told reporters

the President was giving “purely an example†when he spoke about making

dependency on Middle Eastern oil “a thing of the past. " Bodman, speaking

alongside Presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, said President Bush really meant

that alternative energy could take the place of the amount oil the US is

expected to import from the Middle East in 2025. An administration official told

Knight Ridder the President used the words “the Middle East†only so he

could illustrate the issue in way that " every American sitting out there

listening to the speech understands. "

 

Royal Duth Shell Posts Record Profit

In other news, the oil conglomerate Royal Dutch Shell has announced annual

profits of over $22 billion – the most ever for a company listed in the

Britain. The announcement comes just days after rival oil giant ExxonMobil

reported a record-breaking $36 billion profit - a sum larger than the economies

of 125 countries.

 

Report: US Far Behind In Reconstructing Iraq Health Clinics

In Iraq, USA Today is reporting the US has failed to open any health clinics in

the country -- despite initially promising to open 180 clinics by last December.

Iraq’s deputy health minister said the US has completed construction on only

four clinics.

 

GAO Faults DHS Secretary Chertoff Over Katrina Response

Back in the United States, a non-partisan Congressional investigative body has

singled out Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff for the

government’s bungled response to Hurricane Katrina. In a preliminary report,

the Government Accountability Office said: " We continue to believe that a single

individual… [should] lead and coordinate the overall federal response in the

event of a major catastrophe.†The report went on to say, " Neither the DHS

Secretary, nor any of his designees ... filled this leadership role during

Hurricane Katrina. "

 

West Virginia Governor Calls For Mining Halt After 2 More Deaths

In West Virginia, Governor Joe Manchin has called for a state-wide moratorium on

all coal mining after two miners died Wednesday in separate incidents. The

moratorium will be in effect until inspectors complete thorough safety checks at

the mines. Gov. Manchin said: " We're going to check for unsafe conditions, and

we're going to correct any unsafe conditions before we mine another lump of

coal.†Wednesday’s deaths brought to 16 the number of mining-related

fatalities in West Virginia already this year.

 

Officer Videotaped Shooting Unarmed Iraq War Veteran

In Los Angeles, the FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into a police

officer caught on videotape shooting an unarmed veteran of the Iraq war. The

incident occurred Sunday night. Elio Carrion, an Air Force police officer, was

riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle that failed to pull over on police

orders. The vehicle then crashed outside of a nearby home. On the videotape,

Carrion is seen following an officer’s demand to get up off the ground -- but

is then shot three times. He is reportedly in the hospital in good condition.

The police officer has been put on a temporary leave of absence.

 

Capitol Police Apologize, Drop Charges Over Sheehan Arrest

One day after Cindy Sheehan was arrested for wearing an anti-war T-shirt to

President Bush’s State of The Union address, Capitol police have dropped her

charges and apologized. Sheehan, whose son Casey died in combat in Iraq in April

2004, was removed from the House gallery Tuesday night after unveiling a T-shirt

that read: " 2,245 dead and how many more?†– a reference to the number of US

service members killed in Iraq. In a statement, Capitol Police Chief Terrance

Gainer said Sheehan should not have been arrested. President Bush began his

speech shortly after she was removed.

 

World Can’t Wait Protesters Arrested in North Carolina

And in Greensboro, North Carolina, seven protesters are facing charges after

being arrested Tuesday night during a State of the Union protest. The protesters

reportedly got into an altercation with an undercover police officer who was

photographing protesters. The Greensboro demonstration was one of 68 protests

held around the country Tuesday night calling on Bush to step down. The main

group behind the protests – World Can’t Wait – is also organizing a

protest on Saturday in Washington.