From Volume 37, Issue 22 of EIR Online, Published June 4, 2010

United States News Digest

Senate Goes on Vacation, Leaving Unemployed, Seniors without Support

May 29 (EIRNS)—The U.S. Senate left Washington for a ten-day vacation yesterday without taking any action to extend Federal unemployment benefits, even though the average duration of unemployment is now 33 weeks. The official estimates are that 340,000 will lose benefits during the first week of June, and the National Employment Law Project forecasts a total of 1.2 million if the Senate fails to act through the month of June. For most of the one-third of the unemployed who receive them, these benefits are all that protects them from homelessness and the complete destruction of their families.

It is appropriate to remember on Memorial Day that a large portion of these unemployed are veterans. This is the second time this year that the "let-them-eat-cake" U.S. Senate has done this. Their excuse? With the (fake) economic recovery underway, there's no reason to extend unemployment benefits longer than 99 weeks.

Similarly, the House and the Senate failed to extend the Federal COBRA subsidies which allow some unemployed to keep their health insurance.

And again, the House and the Senate also failed, for the third time, to prevent an "automatic" 21% cut in payments to physicians who care for senior citizens under the Medicare program. The Obama Administration has told the doctors it will hold invoices for 14 days, as it did the last time, so that they will not get the 21% cut if Congress acts by June 14. But even if it does act, many more physicians will refuse to take new Medicare patients, and some even to treat their established Medicare patients.

The American people have by now gone far beyond blaming the detested Nancy Pelosi and the hated Harry Reid and their cohorts. They blame the British traitor at the top—Barack Obama. And they are well on their way to getting rid of him at last.

Republicans Call for FBI Investigation of Sestak Bribe

May 28 (EIRNS)—After White House Counsel Robert Bauer released a statement claiming that former President Bill Clinton, at the behest of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, had had discussions with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), exploring whether he would accept an uncompensated advisory board position in exchange for dropping out of the race against Sen. Arlen Specter, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), and Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller urging the FBI to immediately initiate an investigation into allegations that White House officials bribed Sestak with promises of a senior Administration position in exchange for his withdrawal from the Pennsylvania Senate primary.

In a joint statement, the Republicans pointed out that, "Not surprisingly, the White House's own report clears White House officials of wrongdoing. Assurances by the Obama White House that no laws were broken are like the Nixon White House promising it did nothing illegal in connection with Watergate. Clearly, an independent investigation is necessary to determine once and for all what really happened.

"Because of the alleged involvement of high-ranking Administration officials, any investigation into criminal activity by the White House should be spearheaded by the FBI. Admissions that the White House intentionally sought to manipulate the outcome of a Democratic Senate primary strike at the heart of our democracy. Only a full criminal investigation can restore integrity to our election process."

Judiciary Committee Republicans requested that the FBI respond no later than June 11.

The White House attempt to divert attention away from Emanuel, by inserting former President Bill Clinton into the picture, was characterized by Lyndon LaRouche today as a nasty attempt to get at Hillary Clinton. Other sources have said that Emanuel is running a White House "Plumbers Unit," à la Richard Nixon, and that a serious probe into what really happened in the Sestak case could blow things sky-high.

It should be noted that the brief discussion between Clinton and Sestak took place in the Spring of 2009, and that the real question, that the White House is desperately trying to dodge, is: What happened in the intervening year?

National Candidates' 'Movement' Fights for Glass-Steagall

May 25 (EIRNS)—While the LaRouche movement Congressional candidates—Kesha Rogers of Texas, Rachel Brown of Massachusetts, and Summer Shields of California—are taking the lead in mobilizing the U.S. population to adopt LaRouche's recovery plan, starting with Glass-Steagall, there is a visible candidates' movement coming into being around the demand for a return to FDR's Glass-Steagall approach to constitutional banking.

As of this writing, EIR has identified seven candidates actively campaigning for Glass-Steagall in their Congressional or local elections, and the number can be expected to expand rapidly. One additional candidate, Muhammad Ali Hasan, a Republican from Colorado, who insisted on Glass-Steagall being restored, was defeated in his party's convention this last weekend.

The other candidates actively campaigning for Glass-Steagall are:

* Thomas L. Fiegen, a candidate in the Iowa Democratic party primary for the U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley. In a release issued May 17, Fiegen endorsed the McCain-Cantwell amendment, and said that, "If Senator Grassley fails to support the Glass-Steagall amendment, that action by itself will signal to Iowans that he is on the side of unbridled green by Wall Street firms instead of the financial safety and security of working Iowans."

* Art Dunn, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Congress in California's 17th C.D., is mobilizing his district behind the Glass-Steagall legislation.

* Tyler Gernant, one of four Democrats challenging Montana Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R), is campaigning for the restoration of the Glass-Steagall.

* Nancy Price, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District of Nevada, has declared her intention to put Glass-Steagall in place "so that we can trust the banks again."

* Danny Tarkanian, a candidate in the Republican party primary to choose a candidate against Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, has called for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act "to separate commercial and investment banks."

* Denny Heck, a candidate in the Democratic party primary to pick a candidate for retiring Washington state Rep. Brian Baird, has put out a letter giving full support to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and her fight against derivatives and for Glass-Steagall.

* Ryan Maher, a South Dakota state senator running for re-election this year, has endorsed the LPAC call for reinstituting Glass-Steagall and shutting down derivatives, as part of his platform.

Obama Proposes 'Unnecessary Spending Act; LaRouche: We Need 'Unnecessary President Act'!

May 25 (EIRNS)—This week, President Obama spoke out against "unnecessary" government spending, and is sending to Congress a bill through which he intends to exert yes-or-no power over whether any Congressionally passed spending authorization will be carried through or not. In effect, it is Obama's attempted imperial revival of the "line-item [budget] veto," which was declared unconstitutional in 1998 by the Supreme Court.

The title of the newly proposed Presidential authority to make such cuts is, the "Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010."

Lyndon LaRouche pointed out today, that "It's time for an 'Unnecessary President Act'"! We've had necessary Presidents, such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. But Obama is unnecessary. It's urgent that he should go.

Obama's "Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010" would have three features: First, it would require that a package of proposed recisions be submitted within 45 days after the final passage of an appropriations bill. Second, Congress would not be permitted to amend the package of cuts. Third, the House and Senate would face time limits for debate, which would guarantee the President's cuts getting an up or down vote quickly.

But Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), for one, has already denounced the Obama power-play, as verging on the unconstitutional.

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