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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (678321)	4/5/2005 5:48:23 PM
From: tonto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Robert Byrd would scoff at your statement. Democrats don't spend anything.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (678321)	4/5/2005 6:37:54 PM
From: DizzyG	Respond to of 769670

Rep. Charlie Melancon is Porker of the Month (Washington, D.C.) Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named freshman Louisiana Rep. Charles “Charlie” Melancon (D-La.) Porker of the Month for March for fighting the President’s proposed budget cuts, opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and bringing home the bacon for his district. Rep. Melancon belittled the President’s attempts at deficit reduction, calling $15 billion in farm subsidies a “miniscule” part of the federal budget. President Bush’s fiscal 2006 budget includes 154 program cuts or terminations, saving more than $20 billion. The plan would cut farm payments by 5 percent and reduce the maximum farm payment to individual farmers from $360,000 to $250,000. It would also close loopholes that allow an individual to create virtually an unlimited number of entities in order to maximize taxpayer subsidies, sometimes “earning” farmers more than $1 million in subsidies. Such abuse is evident in the Government Accountability Office’s estimate that 60 percent of all sugar program benefits go to the wealthiest 1 percent of sugar farmers. Rep. Melancon has, not surprisingly, become a mouthpiece for the sugar lobby. The son of a sugar farmer, former vice chairman of the Sugar Association, and leader of the American Sugar Cane League for 12 years, the freshman congressman now sits on the House Agriculture Committee. He has been outspoken on proposed changes in government support for agriculture; but “protecting” sugar from the free market is certainly his most ardent cause. Big Sugar’s strategy has always been to use government to restrict competition and to protect the industry from the marketplace. Import quotas force U.S. consumers to pay two to three times the world price for sugar and sugar products, costing about $2 billion annually. In one recent year, taxpayers also had to pay almost $500 million for the government to purchase surplus sugar. The sugar lobby is now using the advantage of its taxpayer subsidies to sue the maker of Splenda, the most successful sugar substitute, claiming that company is engaged in false advertising. Rep. Melancon has also condemned the President’s cost-saving reforms in foreign aid. Current law requires the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase food from U.S. farmers even if overseas suppliers are cheaper and more expedient. President Bush wants to change this policy, prompting Rep. Melancon to ask, “What happens when those countries start holding you hostage and start running up prices?” The answer would be to buy from somebody else. But to Melancon, who condemns market forces domestically and internationally, using the price system to get taxpayers a deal is apparently an alien concept. Again loyal to the sugar lobby, Melancon chose his opposition to CAFTA as the topic of his first appearance on the House floor. CAFTA would promote trade liberalization between the United States and five Central American countries. Melancon condemns the treaty because it would lift some restrictions on sugar imports and force domestic producers to compete on an open market. Finally, Rep. Melancon took credit for $30 million in projects included in the $284 billion highway authorization act, saying it “shows what you can do when you’re focused,” and that failing to add the projects could “slow our nation’s economy for weeks.” For resisting much-needed reforms in flawed and abused farm subsidy policies, for shielding the sugar lobby from the free market and costing taxpayers and consumers billions, and for kicking off a career in Congress with a vocal policy of high spending and special interest protectionism, CAGW names Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon its Porker of the Month for March, 2005. Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Oh my... it looks like your statement lacks substance, Kenneth: Democrats don't spend anything. They have no power to spend. BTW, there are many more examples Kenneth. Would you like to read them? Here is the link... cagw.org Just more disingenuous posting from you. Diz-

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (678321)	4/5/2005 8:15:37 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 769670

Pelosi helped donor to PAC / Stephen Dinan House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped secure $3 million last year for a nonprofit transportation-research organization whose president gave money to her political action committee as the group was paying for a European trip for one of her policy advis (Nation/Politics)

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (678321)	4/5/2005 8:16:56 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Pelosi helped donor to PAC By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES From the Nation/Politics section Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped secure $3 million last year for a nonprofit transportation-research organization whose president gave money to her political action committee as the group was paying for a European trip for one of her policy advisers. Transportation adviser Lara Levison's nine-day, $4,475 trip to Spain and Germany last April to learn about hydrogen-fuel cells for buses was primarily paid for by WestStart-CALSTART. But just days before the trip, WestStart-CALSTART announced that Mrs. Pelosi had helped the nonprofit group secure $1 million from the Federal Transit Administration for a bus rapid-transit program. A month after the Levison trip, the group sent out a press release thanking her for a $2 million grant for a fuel-cell program. According to campaign records, WestStart-CALSTART Chief Executive Officer John R. Boesel also gave $1,000 to one of Mrs. Pelosi's political action committees in 2003 and $1,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Both Mr. Boesel and Mrs. Pelosi's spokeswoman, Jennifer Crider, said there is no link between the staffer's trip and the grants. "This trip was completely within the House rules. The two projects were long-standing projects we've worked on," Ms. Crider said. Both she and Mr. Boesel said Republican staffers also were on the European trip. Mr. Boesel said Mrs. Pelosi has supported his projects for more than a decade, adding that the programs have drawn support from both parties and that his political donations have gone to both parties. But the trip is raising questions from some Republicans, who say the California Democrat and some ethics-watchdog groups are being hypocritical when they criticize House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on ethics charges. ADVERTISEMENT Financial Tools now available on the Insider - Setup your personal portfolio "Given the actions of the minority leader vis-a-vis the majority leader and other Republicans, I'm having a little trouble finding where the outrage is coming from these groups that continue to pound on Republican members," a senior Republican lawmaker said on the condition of anonymity. The lawmaker said nothing distinguished Mrs. Pelosi's actions from those of Mr. DeLay and other Republicans that she has criticized. He also said the questions about Mrs. Pelosi rise to the point of an ethics complaint. "I think the minority leader ought to be subject to the same type of scrutiny as other members," he said. Campaign-watchdog groups said it doesn't appear that Mrs. Pelosi or her staff member broke any rules, but said the timing looks bad. "Anytime a member of their staff gets trips to Europe, it raises questions," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "Add to it the idea that the organization is thanking Pelosi, it just adds to it." Ken Boehm, chairman of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, which has challenged Mrs. Pelosi's campaign fundraising in the past, said the trip looks shady. "I think it looks like she's doing legislative favors for donors, because she is," he said. Mr. Boehm said Mrs. Pelosi's actions are starting to look like a pattern. He has questioned Mrs. Pelosi's earmark in early 2003 of $1 million to a University of San Francisco research center named after Leo T. McCarthy, who has been treasurer of her political action committees. The questions about Mrs. Pelosi come as Republicans have vowed to fight back against what they think is a coordinated attack by her and allied groups on Mr. DeLay. The Texan was admonished three times by the House ethics committee last year, and news reports have raised more questions this year, including about a 2001 trip paid for by a registered foreign agent. Mrs. Pelosi later had a staff member take a trip paid for by the same group. In this newest charge, Ms. Levison's trip, from April 11 to 19, 2004, took her from Washington to Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, then to Heidelberg and Stuttgart in Germany. Total transportation was $2,200, lodging cost $1,400 and meals cost $875, according to the disclosure form, which erroneously lists Mrs. Pelosi as making the trip. Ms. Levison paid for two weekend days of the trip herself -- a fact that Ms. Crider said shows the rest of the trip was for legitimate business purposes. "It's within the House rules that if you do anything that's not trip-related, that is personal, you pay for it. And we fully complied. It's actually counter to the argument that she was there for fun," Ms. Crider said. She also chided Republicans for not making their charges against Mrs. Pelosi publicly. "Republicans threaten and threaten and threaten, but aren't willing to use their name to stand up and make the case," she said. add article to your NewsClips insider.washingtontimes.com