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Washington Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, charged Thursday that House Republicans have been engaged in counterproductive behavior specifically, in effectively threatening not to fix a projected shortfall in the portion of the Social Security system that pays disability claims.

Representative Van Hollen, a key Democratic voice on economic policy, was referring to a nearly party-line vote last week on House rules. The GOP majority adopted a procedural rule to bar legislators from using Social Security retirement funds to support the disability program unless the move is accompanied by measures that stabilize the overall Social Security system. The Disability Insurance Trust Fund is projected to be unable to pay full benefits at some point in 2016.

Van Hollens comments are part of his week-long push to carve out a Democratic economic platform thats more appealing to voters than the one rolled out for the 2014 midterms. Earlier this week, he unveiled a plan to cut taxes for the middle class and encourage wage growth. The cost would be offset with tax revenue from high-income individuals and the financial sector.

The tax code right now is stacked in favor of those who make money from money and against those who make money from hard work, Van Hollen said Thursday at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters.

There should be a debate on how to deal with Social Securitys financial issues, the Maryland Democrat said. I think it is counterproductive to launch that debate by effectively threatening to not address the disability funds outlook, he argued.

Congress has on 12 previous occasions redirected payroll tax funds to prop up the disability fund, so I dont think anybody should be threatening insolvency in the near term in the disability fund when there is a clear path that the Congress has taken in order to deal with it, Van Hollen said.

Not surprisingly, the new chairman of the House Budget Committee, Tom Price (R) of Georgia, disagrees with Van Hollen about the nature of the GOP approach. In an interview with The Hill, Representative Price said, The fact of the matter is the Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund is going broke, going broke next year.... The recipients of disability insurance through the Social Security fund dont have any friends on the other side of the aisle that are interested in fixing the program.

The GOP favors an approach in which issues with the entire Social Security system would be addressed.

When asked Thursday about prospects for bipartisan agreement on budget issues, Van Hollen said a modest area of agreement might be finding a way to deal with automatic spending cuts mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act.

I agree that the defense cap is too tight, but I also think that the cap on things like our investment in education and scientific research is too tight, he said.

The rest is here:
Social Security disability funds running low: What's Democrats' solution?

By David Hawkings Posted at 5 a.m. on Jan. 15

The debut of Pocan Magic Mondays. (Screenshot)

We got magic to do, just for you, we got foibles and fables to portray as we go along our way.

Lyrics from the opening song of the musical Pippin are as good a place as any to begin the story of a backbench junior Democrat with one of the more novel approaches to making his mark in the House.

In a political pond with 435 ambitious fish, every one of them is looking for some way to stand apart. The long-timers have the best chances of becoming legislative playmakers or fundraising powerhouses, while the freshmen can bank some on their inherent novelty. Its the members with tenure in the middle, and especially from the minority party, who have the biggest challenge getting noticed.

Consider the Democrats just starting their sophomore terms. Hawaiis Tulsi Gabbard has the whole Hindu-veteran-who-surfs thing going for her. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is a new mother and a severely wounded war hero. Californias Raul Ruiz keeps putting his emergency room training to work helping distressed airline passengers. John Delaney of Marylands $100 million investment banking fortune makes him third richest in Congress. Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts gets ample attention by virtue of his storied name alone. Texan Joaquin Castro has an identical twin who is Housing secretary. After them, the remaining 30 have more or less faded into the middle distance in the collective portrait of Congress.

This is where Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan and his penchant for prestidigitationcome in.

During 14 years as a state legislator in Wisconsin, he gained a reputation as one of the most influential Democrats in the Assembly, a committed yet companionable liberal who had a knack for getting along and forging compromise with Republicans. But in his first term in Washington, Pocans fruitless pursuit of progressive policies in a deeply conservative House resulted in a relatively miniscule footprint despite ending up with a pair of good committee assignments, Budget and Education and the Workforce.

(The closest he came to a national spotlight was a cringe-inducing appearance in June 2013 on The Colbert Reports Better Know a District segment, where host Stephen Colbert spent eight minutes trying to derive ironic or juvenile humor from Pocans standing as the first married gay man ever sent to Congress.)

Turns out, all the while the congressman had a few tricks up his sleeve quite literally for making a different name for himself. This month, now that hes safely ensconced (he took 68 percent last fall) in one of the countrys most liberal districts, centered on the leftist state capital of Madison, Pocan decided to try to make a splash with a talent hes been cultivating since he was a kid.

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Democrat Has Trick Up His Sleeve to Battle Irrelevance

By Emily Cahn Posted at 11:26 a.m. on Jan. 15

Democrats partially blame Braley for the loss. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 2:28 p.m. |Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon announced her candidacy for Iowas 1st District on Thursday, she announced Thursday,marking the first Democrat in a race that will top the partys target list in 2016.

Northeast Iowans deserve a representative in Congress with a track record of solving problems and getting results for families and small businesses across our community. Thats why Im excited to announce my candidacy, Vernon said in a release.

In November, Republican Rep. Rod Blum won an open-seat race in a district previously held by a Democrat. The freshman beginsthe 2016 cycle as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans.

The 1st District, located in the northeast quadrant of the state, voted for President Barack Obama by a 14-point margin in 2012. Democrats chalk up Blums victory to then-Rep. Bruce Braleys poor performance as a Senate candidate, as well as to their own nominee, state Rep. Pat Murphy.

Democrats say Murphy assumed his seat would be safe after the primary and didnt put in the groundwork to court voters.

Vernon is one of four Democrats Murphy defeated to win the Democratic nomination in 2014. She came in second, behind Murphy.

Vernon went on to become the lieutenant governor nominee on the Democratic ticket, which lost by a wide margin to Gov. Terry E. Branstad.

Democrats said a number of other Democrats will take a look at the seat, including other candidates who lost the nomination to Murphy last June. They include state Rep.Anesa Kajtazovic and former state Sen. Swati Dandekar.

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First Democrat Jumps Into Targeted Iowa Race

January 8, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi discussed the economy, the national gas tax and the terrorist attack in Paris at her weekly news conference on Jan. 8. Website: http://www.rollcall.com Follow...

By: Roll Call

Link:
January 8, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference - Video

Colorado Democrat praises ballpoint pens as means of defense against, say, Jared Lee Loughner Beck 2

By: Glenn Beck-erwoods

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Colorado Democrat praises ballpoint pens as means of defense against, say, Jared Lee Loughner Beck 2 - Video