February 12, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi discussed an Islamic State AUMF, a Department of Homeland Security funding bill and Voting Rights Act legislation at her weekly news conference on Feb. 12....
By: Roll Call
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February 12, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference - Video
Democrat Ted Strickland says his run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Rob Portman will focus on expanding job and educational opportunities that he believes have been denied to average people by GOP policies in Washington and Ohio.
Strickland's formal announcement Wednesday led to escalating attacks on his record as Ohio's governor and at a liberal Washington think tank. His entry adds a formidable statewide name to what is expected to be one of the most watched and expensive of next year's Senate races.
The 73-year-old Strickland said his campaign will focus on going back to basics, such as creating living-wage jobs, investing in job-creating local infrastructure projects and making college accessible and affordable.
"The average family in Ohio understands that Washington and Wall Street are really doing very well while they are just struggling to keep their noses above water," he said in an Associated Press interview. "I want to go to the Senate and be a strong, outspoken, aggressive advocate for working people. I don't see Sen. Portman doing that. In fact, I think he's been rather passive."
Portman fired back that voting for Strickland in 2016 would represent a step backward for the state, which had heavy job losses during Strickland's time as governor, which ended with his defeat to Republican John Kasich in 2010.
"The coming months will give Ohioans an opportunity to contrast my vision for a better future for Ohio workers with his past tenure as governor when hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared from our state," Portman said in a statement. "I'll continue fighting every day to expand opportunities for all Ohioans, working with both parties to reduce barriers to job growth and to create better paying jobs."
Portman, 59, was elected to Congress seven times and is a former White House budget chief and U.S. trade representative. He won the 2010 election with 57 percent of the vote and, as of December, reported $5.8 million on hand. He's already lined up endorsements from some 250 Republicans across the state, including Kasich and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.
Some conservatives want to see Portman draw a primary opponent after he announced in 2013 that he now supports same-sex marriage.
Portman's campaign on Wednesday launched a website called "Retread Ted," which focuses on the negative economic news from Strickland's governorship. The Ohio Republican Party was also prepared for the announcement, activating a site called "Ted Failed Ohio."
Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister who spent a decade in Congress, defended his record as governor. He said the Ohio job losses came amid a deep recession that rocked not only Ohio but also the entire country, and the state's economy was in an upturn when he left office.
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Ohio's Strickland to Focus US Senate Bid on Opportunity
A Team Thanet approach for Manston Airport was recommended by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Gilbert as he visited Broadstairs yesterday.
Speaking at The Pavilion, the MP for St Austell and Newquay called for a cross-party partnership on the issue and to never give up.
Russ Timpson (left) and Stephen Gilbert MP (right) at The Pavilion in Broadstairs.
Mr Gilbert said that a small regional airport had been created in Newquay because local authorities and MPs had pulled together and convinced the government of its importance.
He said: The airport at Newquay could have gone wrong a dozen times, so based on our experiences in Cornwall, my advice to you would be to never give up.
The MP claimed it had benefited the local economy to the tune of 30m and is now bidding to become the UKs first port for commercial trips into space.
Thanet South Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) Russ Timpson said he believed there are great aviation opportunities at Manston.
He pointed out that the airport could have a prosperous future with aircraft recycling and an aviation services apprenticeship scheme, as well as freight and passenger traffic.
There were also speeches from Thanet North Liberal Democrat PPC George Cunningham and Sue Girdler of TG Aviation, a company based at Manston until forced to re-locate to Lydd following the airports closure.
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Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Gilbert calls for cross-party partnership to never give up on Manston Airport.
TheNew York Timesrecently reported Republican governors across the country were "bucking the party line" on taxes, citing eight GOP executives proposing tax hikes.Bloombergalso noted the trend of Republican governors and "much-regretted" tax increases earlier this week. However, theWall Street Journaljust heralded "The Tax-Cutting Boon Sweeping the States." So is 2015 the year of reluctant GOP tax hikes or triumphant GOP tax cuts?
The answer depends on the tax. Given budget demands, Republican governors are open to new tax revenueas long as it is never, ever from individual income taxes.
Let's start with the budget challenges. States are generally expected to balance their books, so revenue-losing tax changes must be paired with spending cuts. That's not an easy trade even in the most politically conservative states. Furthermore, as my colleagueNorton Francis reported last week, states are projecting revenue growth significantly below long-term averages, suggesting many governors will struggle simply to meet current needs. No governor wants his or her state to becomethe next Kansas.
So the GOP tax hike talk is real, to an extent. Republican governors in Georgia, South Carolina, and South Dakota proposedand severalothers have discussedsome form ofgas taxincrease this year. RepublicanGov. Rick Snyderis pressing Michigan voters to approve a May ballot initiative that (among other changes) increases gas and sales taxes. GOP governors in Kansas, Nevada, and Ohio want cigarette tax increases. NevadaGov. Brian Sandovalproposed a big business tax hike to pay for his education plan. AlabamaGov. Robert Bentleysays his state desperately needs new tax revenue to fill a budget gapalthough, he won't say what taxes he would raise.
But don't let all this GOP talk of tax increases confuse you. Republican governors are still determined to slash, if not eliminate,state income taxes. The only significant tax change actually signed into law this yearnot counting Michigan's ballot-dependent packagewas Arkansas's income tax cut championed by RepublicanGov. Asa Hutchinson. MississippiGov. Phil Bryantis also considering a considerable income tax cut.
And many GOP governors have proposed tax hikes only to offset income tax cuts:
Other Republican governors are searching for answers to budget problems, but income tax increases are off the table:
Some GOP governors may sign tax increases this year. And spending needs and balanced-budget requirements will rein in the most ambitious tax plansevery year there are far more proposals than actual tax changes. But the overarching state tax story of 2015 for Republican governors is nothing new: avoiding income tax increases at all costs.
The postGOP Governors Flirt with Tax Hikes but Still Wedded to Income Tax Cutsappeared first onTaxVox.
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Why Republican governors are flirting with tax hikes
Yet the top Republican leaders in Congress -- House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- haven't talked to each other for two weeks.
That revelation on Wednesday marks the clearest sign yet that Congress will likely let the agency run out of money at the end of the day on Friday.
Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans for the first time in nearly a decade, a fact that the new GOP majority hoped would unify their party.
But instead of working together to clear one of the first major legislative hurdles of the new Congress, McConnell and Boehner have left communications to their staffs, Republican sources tell CNN, and are effectively pointing at each other to come up with an end game.
"I'm waiting for the Senate to act. The House has done its job to fund DHS and to stop the president's overreach on immigration and we are waiting for the Senate to do their jobs," Boehner told reporters Wednesday after meeting with House Republicans, adding until the Senate acts "we are in a wait and see mode."
McConnell's announcement Tuesday that he would do what Democrats have urged and bring up legislation without any provisions to block the President's executive actions on immigration made House Republicans seethe. And now Boehner is left facing yet another pivotal moment that could put his speakership on the line.
If Boehner allows a vote on a clean bill he would inflame those on the right in his party, as well as outside conservative groups who have zeroed in on this bill as the place to wage the fight on immigration. If he fails to approve funding for the agency he will be blamed for another government shutdown.
What happens if DHS shuts down?
For now House GOP members are pleased Boehner is trying to pressure on the Senate. But many conservatives are outwardly hostile toward McConnell, who they believe is undermining the party's pledge to oppose the president for going around Congress.
"The voters believed that in November Harry Reid was going to be dethroned and that the Senate was going to be controlled by Republicans. I'm sad that hasn't happened," Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon said, referring to the top Democrats in the Senate.
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McConnell-Boehner silence sign of DHS impasse