Great Lakes Politics

The U.S. Department of Commerce released its 2006 annual trade deficit figures today revealing another record-breaking year of $764 billion in losses for American workers.  Democratic Congressional leaders reacted by urging President George W. Bush (R) to chart a new direction in U.S. trade policy that addresses the explosive U.S. trade deficit and promotes broad-based equitable growth for all Americans.

The 2006 trade deficit represents a 6.5% increase over the 2005 record. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin (D-12, Roseville) joined key House Ways and Means Members in sending a letter to the President.  This letter called for the Bush Administration to be much more assertive when it comes to enforcing trade agreements around the world and, in particular, more agressive in dealing with violations of those agreements by America's trading partners.

The full-text of this letter is available on Mr. Levin's web site.  There is no early indications as to how Mr. Bush will respond to either this letter or the nation's growing trade deficit.  However, given the Bush Administration's track record, I expect this news to be met with an almost deafening silence.

Posted by fnemecek at 10:33 PM | Permalink

U.S. Representative John C. Conyers, Jr. (D-14, Detroit) gave a speech at the Univeristy of Detroit-Mercy's Law School recently.  When an audience member showed up with a sign that simply read "Impeachment", Mr. Conyers admonished the student to give the impeachment issue a rest.

I can't help but think that this is interesting.

The man who single-handed campaign for the impeachment of President George W. Bush (R) is now back-peddling from the very idea and doing so on the eve of assuming the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee, the committee that would normally be responsible for any impeachment hearings.  Some commentators have said that this change in thinking is because is wants to focus on issues that have a greater chance of getting passed since an impeachment would require a 2/3 vote in both Chambers of Congress.

Personally, I don't believe this rationale for a minute.  Mr. Conyers has long gone after issues that had even less of a chance at passing than the impeachment of Mr. Bush.

I think this has a lot more to do with a recent agreement that he reached with the House Ethic Committee, whereby they agreed to drop an official investigation into his use of congressional staff members for personal errands as well as paying them a congressional salary while they were performing political duties.  The Ethics Committee agreed to drop the investigation, only requiring Mr. Conyers to more closely monitor his staff.  Right after that, Mr. Conyers indicates that he no longer has an interest in impeaching Mr. Bush.

A coincidence?

I seriously doubt it. 

Posted by fnemecek at 12:55 PM | Permalink

U.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D-1, Menominee) announced this morning that northern Michigan would receive two important federal grants.  The first one was an award of $322,600 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to first responder organizations and fire departments in northern Michigan.  The second grant a $493,000 grant from the Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program.

Under the first grant, the Oscoda Area First Responders (Oscoda County) received a grant of $12,241.  The organization plans to put the funding towards a $7,125 outlay for Emergency Medical Service Equipment, and a $5,760 investment is being made for personal protective equipment.  

Bootjack Fire and Rescue in Lake Linden (Houghton County) will also received $56,916.  This grant will help cover a $27,497 cost for general equipment and a $5,760 investment for personal protective equipment.

The Tri-Town Fire Department in Mio (Oscoda County) received $237,500, which will be put towards acquisition of a new vehicle.

Finally, the Germfask Volunteer Fire Department (Schoolcraft County) received $16,003, which it will use for equipment purchases.

Under the second grant, twenty five counties in northern Michigan will be awarded $493,000 by the EFS Program. In each funded county, a local board advertises the availability of the funds, establishes local priorities, selects local non-profit and government agencies to receive supplemental funding, and monitors program compliance.
 
The following northern Michigan counties will receive funds under the most recent allocation: Alcona; Alger; Alpena; Antrim; Arenac; Baraga; Bay; Charlevoix; Cheboygan; Chippewa; Crawford; Delta; Emmet; Gladwin; Gogebic; Houghton; Iosco; Iron; Mackinac; Menominee; Montmorency; Oscoda; Otsego; Presque Isle and Schoolcraft.
 
Additional counties in his district may be selected at a later date by the EFS State Set-Aside Committee.  The EFS National Board, chaired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and composed of representatives from American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; United Jewish Communities; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.; The Salvation Army; and United Way of America, provide supplemental funding to shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks
 
The EFS Program has been in existence since 1983 and was authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987.  The EFS Program has distributed more than $2.952 billion to communities nationwide, and has accounted for millions of additional meals and nights of shelter to the hungry and homeless most in need across the nation.  The EFSP is a Federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The program supplements and expands ongoing efforts to provide shelter, food and supportive services.

Posted by fnemecek at 12:53 PM | Permalink

My counterpart at the Bull Moose argued in a post this morning that Congressman John Murtha (D, PA) would be a terrible candidate for the position of House Majority Leader and that Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) made a dramatic error in supporting him was a huge error.  His view was based on Mr. Murtha's opposition to changes in lobbying and campaign finance laws; a view that was also expressed by the editorial page of the Washington Post.

Let's simply be clear about one thing: when Ms. Pelosi made her first move into the leadership of the Democratic Party, the man who was guiding her campaign was none other than Mr. Murtha.  Anyone who is suprised by her support of him now is, in my opinion, simply naive.

Let's also remember that Mr. Murtha who first started to question President George W. Bush's prosecution of the War in Iraq; something that he did when every other Democrat in Washington was huddled in a small circle, trying to figure out which way the winds were going to blow next.  This is important because it was opposition to the War in Iraq that, in large part, moved the Democrats into power.

Congressman Steny Hoyer (D, MD) will, in all probabilty prevail against Mr. Murtha for the position of Majority Leader.  There is simply no cause for anyone to be alarmed about who Ms. Pelosi supports in that race.

Posted by fnemecek at 05:04 PM | Permalink

U.S. Representative Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced yesterday afternoon that the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded $176,620 to the Saginaw Fire Department.  The Office for Domestic Preparedness of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration, awarded these funds to the Saginaw Fire Department under the Fiscal Year 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety.

“We must continue to provide more funding to ensure the safety and preparedness of those brave men and women who continually risk their lives to protect our lives,” explained Congressman Kildee.  “These funds will enable our local fire department to pursue new training and wellness programs and to provide them with access to new equipment.”

Saginaw Fire Department was selected to receive a federal grant in order to help fund training activities and purchase new protective firefighter equipment.  The competitive grant was awarded to them after they submitted a well-written and persuasive grant application that underwent a national peer review process by 300 fire service leaders who evaluated and scored each application.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is designed as an opportunity for the U.S. Congress to work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enhance basic fire service delivery across the country.   Fire Departments nationwide will receive $485 million to support fire protection, EMS delivery, and vehicle purchase and prevention programs in 2006.  FEMA typically receives over 20,000 applications a year from fire departments across the country for access to funds provided by this program.

Posted by fnemecek at 02:58 PM | Permalink

U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-2, Holland), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Arizona) issued a statement late last week in which they criticized Democrats for continuing to be upset about the Foley child sex scandal.  They, like many conservative pundits, invoked a comparison between the Foley incident and a scandal involving former Congressmen Gerry Studds in 1983.

Quite frankly, I feel that Congressman Hoekstra has lost his mind on this one.

Yes, Mark Foley is gone from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Yes, he will likely face criminal prosecution for his actions with a teenage boy.

However, neither of these things are what have most Americans in an uproar.  Democrats, and everyone else for that matter, have faith in the criminal justice system and are confident that Foley will meet an adequate punishment.

The problem lies with the fact that the Speaker of the House, Congressman Dennis Hastert of Ohio was informed of Foley’s conduct more than three years ago.  Rather than report it to law enforcement authorities or insist that Foley resign from office, he covered the whole affair up.

Just like Watergate, the real scandal isn’t that someone in public office did something wrong.  The scandal lies in the cover-up.

Speaker Hastert knew about Mark Foley’s conduct.  He was told about by Republican Members of Congress and he did nothing about it.  If Hastert had acted when he was originally briefed, this matter would have been old news by now.

But he didn’t act.

He covered it up.

As a result, this will continue to be an issue for as long as Dennis Hastert occupies the Speaker’s chair.

Posted by fnemecek at 12:09 PM | Permalink

The National Federation of Independent Business named U.S. Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-2, Holland) a Guardian of Small Business for his outstanding voting record on behalf of America’s small business owners in the 109th Congress.

NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer praised Hoekstra for "standing up for small business,” citing Hoekstra’s 100 percent NFIB voting record. In presenting the group’s coveted “Guardian of Small Business” award, Stottlemyer said, “Small business owners pay close attention to how their lawmakers vote on the issues affecting their businesses and employees and stand by those who stand for them.”

The NFIB tallied 14 key small business votes in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 1st and 2nd sessions of the 190th Congress. Issues included tax relief, affordable health care, liability reform and regulatory reform. In particular the NFIB considered Hoekstra’s Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act, which would enable small businesses to compete for government contracts that are currently reserved for federal inmates.

In all, NFIB will present Guardian awards to 54 senators and 242 representatives who voted favorably on key small-business issues at least 70% of the time during the 109th Congress.

Posted by fnemecek at 04:21 PM | Permalink

Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-2, Holland) announced this afternoon that a Muskegon agency has been awarded $108,158 from the U.S. Department of Defense that will enable it to continue assisting local businesses, large and small, in procuring contracts with the federal and state governments.

Muskegon Area First’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), which also receives funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other local funding partners, will provide a 50% match with the Department of Defense PTAC Agreement for a total amount of $216,315.

Muskegon Area First PTAC Director Pam Vanderlaan-Poort said that the agency helped local businesses procure nearly $80 million in government contracts in 2005. Contracts have included such items as food, aircraft components and cleaning supplies and contract awards have ranged in value from $1,000 to $1.5 million.

Posted by fnemecek at 03:04 PM | Permalink

The House Cafeteria will once again serve french fries on its menu as well as french toast for breakfast, according to a recent article in the Washington Post.  The architect behind this bold strategy is none other than Michigan's own Vernon J. Ehlers (R-3, Grand Rapids).

Most commentators argue that the change was because of the declining public support for President George W. Bush's desire to keep U.S. forces in Iraq throughout the foreseeable future.  Quite frankly, though, I'm fairly confident that Ehlers knew the whole thing was nonsense from day one and, now that he is chairing the House Administration Committee, he's finally in a position to do something about it.

Posted by fnemecek at 05:49 PM | Permalink

Congressman Sandy Levin : Press Release : New National Report Confirms Problems Remain With Rx Drug Program

Posted by fnemecek at 03:41 PM | Permalink