Good news (or what passes for it these days)
Senate committee wrecks Bush's air pollution plans
(From the New York Times)
Efforts to pass a bill to control power-plant emissions crumbled in the Senate on Wednesday amid charges of partisan intransigence. The day's developments sidelined - and possibly doomed - action this year on the legislative centerpiece of President Bush's environmental policy.
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As a result of a 9-to-9 vote by the Environment and Public Works Committee, the bill, which deals with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, will not advance to the full Senate. Committee leaders have been trying for more than a month to break the deadlock on the measure, known as the Clear Skies Act of 2005, which generally reflected a split along party lines.
US Comptroller says Social Security NOT in crisis
(from Seattle Post - Intelligencer)
The comptroller general of the United States told Congress yesterday that Social Security faces no "immediate crisis" and warned that President Bush's proposal for individual retirement accounts could "exacerbate" the system's future financial problems.
David Walker, who heads the non-partisan Government Accountability Office of Congress, spoke at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing that exposed sharp differences between Democrats and Republicans over how to overhaul Social Security before millions of retiring baby boomers strain the system's financial health.
Senate axes more than a fourth of Bush's tax cuts
(from New York Times)
President Bush's plan to extend his tax cuts over the next five years ran into resistance in the Senate on Wednesday as Republican leaders offered a budget for 2006 that would undo more than a fourth of the cuts that Mr. Bush has requested.
Uneasy about the potential impact on the ballooning federal deficit, the Senate Republicans called for $70.2 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, as opposed to the estimated $100 billion the White House is seeking. It does not specify which cuts will be extended or which taxes might be restored, but Senator Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said his intent was to extend reductions on capital gains and dividend taxes, which are set to expire in 2008.
(From the New York Times)
Efforts to pass a bill to control power-plant emissions crumbled in the Senate on Wednesday amid charges of partisan intransigence. The day's developments sidelined - and possibly doomed - action this year on the legislative centerpiece of President Bush's environmental policy.
Advertisement
As a result of a 9-to-9 vote by the Environment and Public Works Committee, the bill, which deals with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, will not advance to the full Senate. Committee leaders have been trying for more than a month to break the deadlock on the measure, known as the Clear Skies Act of 2005, which generally reflected a split along party lines.
US Comptroller says Social Security NOT in crisis
(from Seattle Post - Intelligencer)
The comptroller general of the United States told Congress yesterday that Social Security faces no "immediate crisis" and warned that President Bush's proposal for individual retirement accounts could "exacerbate" the system's future financial problems.
David Walker, who heads the non-partisan Government Accountability Office of Congress, spoke at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing that exposed sharp differences between Democrats and Republicans over how to overhaul Social Security before millions of retiring baby boomers strain the system's financial health.
Senate axes more than a fourth of Bush's tax cuts
(from New York Times)
President Bush's plan to extend his tax cuts over the next five years ran into resistance in the Senate on Wednesday as Republican leaders offered a budget for 2006 that would undo more than a fourth of the cuts that Mr. Bush has requested.
Uneasy about the potential impact on the ballooning federal deficit, the Senate Republicans called for $70.2 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, as opposed to the estimated $100 billion the White House is seeking. It does not specify which cuts will be extended or which taxes might be restored, but Senator Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said his intent was to extend reductions on capital gains and dividend taxes, which are set to expire in 2008.
posted by Matthew at 10:41 AM
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