Posts Tagged ‘obama’

IMPACT – START – NUCLEAR WAR / SPILLOVER

START PAVES THE WAY TO REDUCTIONS WORLDWIDE AND PREVENT NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE

HUFFINGTON POST 4-27-2010

NEW START AND THE OBAMA NUCLEAR AGENDA, GARD

New START is also being criticized for not going much further in reducing not only deployed strategic warheads but also the number of warheads each side holds in reserve. Yet the treaty must be evaluated in the context of President Obama’s full nuclear agenda as outlined in his April 5, 2009 speech in Prague. Russia and the United States, between them, hold about 95% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Restoration of a stable and predictable U.S.-Russian nuclear relationship and further movement away from their dangerous cold war nuclear postures are important to obtain the cooperation of other states in the comprehensive nuclear agenda. Also, the President views New START as an interim step towards seeking to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles of the other nuclear states, such as China, France, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

It is widely recognized that the worldwide nuclear non-proliferation arrangements embodied in a 1970’s treaty signed by most of the nations is eroding. Strong measures must be taken to prevent an increase in the number of states with nuclear arsenals, with the attendant increased dangers of their use and to decrease the likelihood of terrorists obtaining a nuclear bomb. The Administration’s nuclear policy study, released on April 6th, elevates the prevention of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism to the top priority on the U.S. policy agenda. The new policy is another important step in reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy by limiting the circumstances in which nuclear weapons would be employed.

At President Obama’s invitation more than forty heads of state or their representatives gathered in Washington, DC, on April 12th and 13th, with the goal of setting guidelines to prevent terrorists from stealing or buying the materials to make nuclear bombs. The summit focused on securing all worldwide fissile materials, useful in fashioning nuclear bombs, within four years.

New START is just that: a start. Despite the end of the U.S.-Soviet competition, the remaining 23,000 nuclear bombs across the globe present a clear and present danger to U.S. security. The President’s program to focus the world’s attention on this problem and to take serious steps to ameliorate this threat is critical to preventing nuclear catastrophes.

IMPACT – START – IRAN

START WILL BOOST US-RUSSIAN COOPERATION ON IRAN

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE 4-9-2010

US SIGNALS NUCLEAR ARMS TREATY WITH RUSSIA, BAKER

Mr. Obama hopes to use the trust built during

the treaty negotiations to leverage more cooperation from Moscow on other issues, most notably pressuring Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Speaking after signing the treaty with Mr. Medvedev, Mr. Obama said the United States and Russia were ”part of a coalition of nations insisting that the Islamic Republic of Iran face consequences, because they have continually failed to meet their obligations” under international rules governing the use of nuclear materials.

”Those nations that refuse to meet their obligations will be isolated and denied the opportunity that comes with international integration,” he said. Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, but the United States and its Western allies suspect that Tehran wants to build a nuclear weapon.

OBAMA WILLING TO COMPROMISE WITH GOP PRIORITIES ON ENERGY LEGISLATION

ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY NEWS 2-9-2010

OBAMA SAYS HE’LL MEET REPUBLICANS ‘HALFWAY’ ON ENERGY, SAMUELSOHN

Darren Samuelsohn, E&E senior reporter

President Obama said today that he is willing to tack toward the center on climate and energy legislation following closed-door bipartisan talks with Capitol Hill leaders on how to move the administration’s domestic agenda during this election year.

“Bipartisanship can’t be that I agree to all the things that [Republicans] believe in or want, and they agree to none of the things I believe in or want and that’s the price of bipartisan,” Obama told reporters after a meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate. “But that’s sometimes the way it gets presented.”

During the meeting, Obama said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “said something very nice … on how he supports our goals on nuclear energy, and clean coal technology and more drilling to increase oil production.”

“Well, of course he likes that,” Obama added. “That’s part of the Republican agenda for energy, which I accept. And I’m willing to move off some of the preferences of my party in order to meet them halfway. But there’s got to be some give from their side, as well. That’s true on health care. That’s true on energy, that’s true on financial reform, that’s what I’m hoping gets accomplished.”

Obama did not go into specifics on where he would be willing to budge when it comes to the energy and global warming debate. Last week in New Hampshire, he acknowledged pressure from some moderate Democrats to slice the cap-and-trade provisions out of an energy bill even as he insisted that a price on greenhouse gas emissions was necessary to spur technological developments.

IL – DADT – POLITICAL CAPITAL

OBAMA’S PERSONAL INTERVENTION WILL BE KEY TO DADT

DEFENSE AND AEROSPACE BUSINESS 2-10-2010

EXPERTS SAY PRESIDENT OBAMA’S REMARKS ON GAY BAN, PALM CENTER

Experts said tonight that President Obama’s endorsement of congressional repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” during his State of the Union address falls short of the challenges ahead for repeal in 2010. “Including repeal in the State of the Union Address makes clear that the President considers this issue important,” said Christopher Neff, Deputy Executive Director of the Palm Center and previously the first federal lobbyist for “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal. “Yet the path to repeal will require both a command decision by the President and a clear timeline which follows. Leadership from the Pentagon will likely be mixed during upcoming hearings, and votes will be close in the House and Senate. It’s the President who is the game-changer on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in 2010.”

U – BIPARTISANSHIP

OBAMA DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER TO ADVANCE A WIDE VARIETY OF AGENDA ITEMS

RIGHT VISION NEWS 2-12-2010

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND OBAMA PROMISE TO WORK TOGETHER, INDIA

Washington, Feb. 12 — Following a rare bipartisan meeting, US President Barack Obama and the Congressional leaders have pledged to work together on a range of issues including jobs, health care, trade and energy.According to our correspondent, despite that the federal government was closed because of snow blizzard over the weekend, and city officials were still digging out snow from road, top Congressional leaders from both Democratic and Republican party drove down to the White House for a two-hour meeting with Obama.“We all understand that there are legitimate and genuine differences between the parties,” Obama told White House Correspondents in a surprise appearance at their press room.”But despite the political posturing that often paralyses this town, there are many issues upon which we can and should agree,” he said.Terming it a productive meeting, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, said: “Senate Democrats remain hopeful that our Republican colleagues will work with us this week to take swift action and pass legislation to help businesses thrive and create jobs.”Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said: “We had a good meeting with the President and what I’d like to emphasise is there are some areas of potential agreement.”Referring to the State of the Union address of Obama in which he supported nuclear power, offshore drilling, clean coal technology and trade agreements, presumably with Colombia, Panama and Korea, the ones that have been languishing now for a year and a half or so, McConnell said these are the areas where there could be pretty broad bipartisan support to go forward in a collaborative basis.”Obviously, there will be areas of disagreement, but emphasising the things that we might be able to work on together, I would mention those four areas, all of which, I think, would be job generators: nuclear power, offshore drilling, clean coal technology, and pass those languishing trade agreements which we know create jobs here in the United States,” he said.”We are interested in a bipartisan conversation with regard to health care, but a bipartisan conversation ought to be that, bipartisan from the beginning.

We’ve been asking to be involved in these health care conversations going back to a letter that we sent to the president last May and we got no response to it,” McConnell said.Reid told reporters that he planned to introduce job-creation legislation later Tuesday, which he had hoped to unveil last week but was delayed by the snowfall that paralysed much of Washington, and is now threatening to keep the Senate in session through the weekend to debate the measure.”I don’t know of any sticking points at this stage,” he said, adding: “I think we are in pretty good shape.”

OBAMA’S NEW NASA FUNDING IS VITAL TO GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP

BUSINESS WIRE 2-3-2010

ORGITAL SCIENCES CORPORATION STATEMENT ON NASA’S NEW DIRECTION, DULLES

Under a new five-year program for the 2011-2015 period, NASA intends to stimulate the development of advanced technologies and new business models, building the foundation for 21st Century solar system exploration, Earth climate monitoring and environmental protection, and next-generation aerospace workforce inspiration and education. By working in innovative new partnerships with U.S. industry and academic institutions, NASA will maintain America’s leadership in space while also contributing substantially to our country’s economic well-being.

OBAMA PUSHING DADT – PRESIDENT IS KEY TO PASSAGE

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE BUSINESS 2-10-2010

EXPERTS PREVIEW OBAMA’S OPTIONS ON DON’T ASK DON’T TELL, THE PALM CENTER

The Palm Center today shared its analysis of President Obama’s likely options as he is expected to address the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law and policy during Wednesday night’s State of the Union Address. The analysis appears below.

“President Obama has the opportunity to announce the end of one of the most notorious policies of federal discrimination left standing in the United States,” said Christopher Neff, Deputy Executive Director of the Palm Center. “This is a defining moment.” Neff noted that last week, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Skelton (D-MO) expressed his support for retaining “don’t ask, don’t tell,” while this week Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) reiterated his long-time support for repealing the policy. “The President is not just the tie-breaker here,” said Neff. “He’s the Commander-in-Chief, and he gives the orders as head of the armed forces. The question now is how strong a position the President will take.”

In recent months, “don’t ask, don’t tell” has been identified as one of the main “enthusiasm gap” issues for Democrats and one of the signature campaign promises yet to be addressed by the President. Reports indicate that President Obama may announce support from military leaders for repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in his Wednesday night speech. If true, the White House must decide how exactly to deploy that support to navigate the challenging waters of changing the law in a tough political climate.

“Presidents are tasked with important choices and this is one of those choices,” said Nathaniel Frank, Senior Research Fellow at the Palm Center. “The military community and gay community will be watching to see how the President keeps his promises or keep us waiting.” Frank, a historian who has closely studied the history of this controversial issue, said that delays and inaction by both political and military leaders have caused more problems than resolutions in the past. “The key here is acting decisively, just as in war itself,” he said. “This is essential both politically and operationally, because the last thing that’s needed is a protracted replay of the 1993 culture wars.”

Neff noted that the upcoming annual budget hearings in early February will be the next test for the President’s position. These budget hearings will bring the service chiefs from all the departments before the House and Senate committees ahead of any formal “don’t ask, don’t tell” hearings and could serve as a platform for the delay strategy offered by opponents of repeal.

Part of Obama’s new budget includes billions more for educational programs, and a change in emphasis from testing to focus on career preparation. While No Child Left Behind has often been a political football, here’s hoping that this funding change will sail smoothly through:

President Barack Obama is seeking a major overhaul of the U.S. education system, with a shift from an emphasis on testing to an emphasis on career preparation — a plan that he is backing up with billions in budget incentives.

The administration has already pumped $100 billion into education and is now moving to rewrite legislation that has governed the nation’s schools for nearly a decade.

Obama’s proposed $3.8 trillion budget includes $49.7 billion for education, and much of the 7.5 percent increase is focused on programs under No Child Left Behind, which could come up for reauthorization this year.

U – CLIMATE CHANGE – WILL PASS

CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION WILL PASS – OBAMA PUSHING AND WILLING TO ABANDONE CAP AND TRADE TO GAIN VOTES

THE AUSTRALIAN 2-5-2010

OBAMAS ETS DEFLATING, NORINGTON

US President Barack Obama is under intense pressure from leading members of his Democratic Party to scale back climate change legislation as their support for his proposed cap-and-trade scheme for carbon emissions ebbs away.

Mr Obama indicated yesterday he may be willing to accept a compromise in which a cap-and-trade scheme similar to one proposed by the Rudd government was isolated from an all-encompassing climate change bill.

The revised approach could give parts of the President’s legislative plan related to clean energy jobs a better chance of

congress approval. Mr Obama said yesterday he remained firmly behind legislation to combat climate change.

But he told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire: “We may be able to separate these things out — and it’s possible that that’s where the Senate ends up.”

By separating a mooted emissions trading scheme from other parts of legislation, the President could be in a better position to win support for renewable energy proposals that he has linked to creating thousands of “green” jobs.

His willingness to break up climate change legislation reflects the difficulty he faces in winning support for a cap-and-trade scheme that would put a price on carbon emissions.

In the week since Obama’s State of the Union, he has begun to work with congressional allies and opponents to lay the groundwork for his ambitious agenda, including:

• Climate Change
• Budget
• START
• DADT

and much more!

Get Your File Now!

Obama’s new budget announced today does increase overall NASA funding and even extends the life of the International Space Station. However, the President took an unprecedented gamble by looking to end funding for the space organization’s manned moon-flight mission.

But the plan ends the Constellation program “which was planning to use an approach similar to the Apollo program to return astronauts back to the Moon 50 years after that program’s triumphs.”

The budget notes that an independent panel found the moon program was years behind schedule.

Is this good or bad for NASA tradeoff scenarios? You can be sure, we will cut some updates for this weekend…

Obama pulls no punches

1NC – IMMIGRATION REFORM

OBAMA PUSHING IMMIGRATION REFORM IN THE STATE OF THE UNION – WILL BE A TOUGH POLITICAL TASK BUT BOTH PARTIES WILL COME TOGETHER TO PASS – KEY TO ECONOMY

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS 1-28-2010

PRESIDENT PITCHES IMMIGRATION REFORM, MARTIN

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama urged lawmakers in his State of the Union speech Wednesday to drop partisan divisions and pass immigration reform legislation.

“We should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system,” Obama said, “to secure our borders, enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”

The president supports earned legal status for the estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, a contentious issue that has blocked reform legislation in the past.

Republicans oppose citizenship measures as an amnesty for lawbreakers who entered the country illegally. It remains the most politically divisive issue of immigration reform efforts.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was ready to work on a bipartisan bill to fix the broken immigration system, but said the president must be an active leader to move any legislation forward this year.

“The president cannot be a bystander and expect immigration reform to just happen,” Cornyn said.

Immigration reform this year faces election-year hurdles that include an electorate angry about the economic recession. Obama’s nod to reform in his speech was noted by Democrats.

“I am going to give the president a lot of credit for broaching the subject in this particular environment of ‘Just Say No to Everything,’ ” said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio.

But Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, said the electoral victories chalked by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, both Republicans, came on campaign platforms opposing earned legalization for undocumented immigrants.

“The message from voters is twofold: listen to us, and we oppose amnesty,” Smith said.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said politics shouldn’t “stall our progress in our efforts to achieve immigration reform,” adding, “I have faith in the president to see his promise through.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business groups want immigration reform and guest worker programs to provide labor for industries as diverse as hospitality and high-technology.

Religious and immigrant rights groups have pushed for reform to unite families and provide a more humane approach to immigration.

A 2007 bipartisan bill failed in the Senate. A new effort has begun in the House, but not yet in the Senate.

Obama last year appointed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to lead a bipartisan task force to work through the more volatile issues on immigration reform. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama believes Congress can build a coalition, come to consensus and pass a bill.

U – HEALTH CARE – COMPREHENSIVE / RECONCILIATION

DEMOCRATS AND OBAMA PUSHING COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE REFORM – WILL USE RECONCILIATION TO GET THE VOTES
LA TIMES 1-28-2010

PELOSI SUGGESTS MANEUVER TO PASS HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL, LEVEY

But a growing number of overhaul supporters — including doctors, consumer groups and labor unions — have stepped up calls for Democrats to push forward with a more ambitious plan. So too has President Obama.

On Wednesday, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a conservative Democrat who has opposed reconciliation in the past, indicated that he would not necessarily oppose that strategy with healthcare.

“If I support a bill, then I will vote for it regardless of whether it takes 50 votes to pass or 60 votes to pass,” Nelson said on a call with reporters from his home state.

On the other end of the Democratic spectrum, Rep. Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma, Calif., a leading member of the House Progressive Caucus, said she would consider backing the Senate healthcare bill and a reconciliation package.

“It is something that has been done many times over. Why should we be bullied out of doing something that could improve healthcare?” she said.

Republicans used the reconciliation process to pass former President George W. Bush’s tax cut packages in 2001 and 2003.