20070320 News Clips

News Clips

March 20^th, 2007 H/t: GOPCharlie

GOP pledges to block tax rise

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070319-103739-8073r.htm

Senate Republicans say they will attempt to block tax increases during budget debates tomorrow, as tension increases over Maryland's fiscal future.

"We're planning on something to attempt to give people a choice and obviate any necessity for tax increases," said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, Frederick Republican.

Democrats, who control the House, Senate and governor's office, agreed that some form of tax increase is needed to close a $1.5 billion budget gap in 2009.

Deficit debate on hold

Sales tax protest previews future budget battles

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/03_19-32/GOV

The budget passed the House of Delegates last week, but some lawmakers are worried about the financial battles - and sweeping tax increases - that could still lie ahead.

"It's not just storm clouds," said Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "It's like seeing a tsunami wave coming."

The revised version of Gov. Martin O'Malley's $30 billion operating budget passed Friday by a vote of 134-5. The House Appropriations Committee made cuts of more than $192 million in the budget, which will go into effect in July.

Senate panel approves state smoking ban

Committee gives OK to bill on a 6-5 vote; measure is expected to pass full Senate

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.smoking20mar20001517,0,6036288.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

A state Senate panel approved yesterday a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, a vote that marks the first time such a measure has won approval from a General Assembly committee.

The Senate panel also decided to exempt tobacco shops and fraternal organizations, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. Sen. George C. Edwards, a Garrett County Republican, described people gathering after military funerals at the local American Legion where they might share a meal and drinks and perhaps a cigarette or cigar.

"These people put their life on the line for this country," Edwards said, saying it would be wrong to ban smoking in the clubs.

Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, said enforcing a ban on smoking in those kinds of clubs amounted to telling smokers to stay home from events. "And we already have a problem with isolation in rural parts of the state," he said. "This is the only game in town for them."

While they pushed for the club exemption, neither Pipkin nor Edwards voted for the final bill.

Smoking ban gets panel nod

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=161280&format=html

A panel of Maryland senators voted Monday to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, a vote seen as a critical first step for passage of a statewide smoking ban this year.

The 6-5 vote by the Senate Finance Committee means the full Senate will vote in coming days on whether to approve the ban, long advocated by health activists but opposed by some restaurant owners. A House committee is considering a similar smoking ban, with a vote expected in that committee by midweek.

Editorial: Shine a light on government spending

http://www.examiner.com/a-628428~Editorial__Shine_a_light_on_government_spending.html

If members of Congress can agree transparency is the best policy for government, so can Maryland legislators.

Thats why its encouraging news that Del. Warren Miller, a Republican from Howard County, introduced House Bill 1252. The Maryland Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2007, if passed, would require the state to build a searchable Web site of government contracts and spending above $25,000. Think of it as a public service Google.

Panel votes down bill on coastal-area insurance

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.coastal20mar20,0,1256999.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

A Maryland Senate committee voted down a bill yesterday that would have required Allstate Corp. and other insurers to write homeowner policies in coastal areas that some companies have deemed too risky.

Several legislators expressed dismay after Allstate announced last year that it would stop writing new homeowner policies in all or part of 11 counties, noting warnings by scientists that a warmer Atlantic Ocean will lead to more intense hurricanes hitting the Northeast.

Finally, Md. shuts prison

O'Malley, new facility enable state to close Victorian-era building

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.jessup20mar20,0,6272259.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

One visit to the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup in February and new Corrections Secretary Gary D. Maynard knew it shouldn't remain a maximum-security prison. But when a correctional officer was stabbed on March 2, Maynard concluded that the facility built in 1878 needed to be shut down immediately - and Gov. Martin O'Malley quickly agreed.

State prison officials have been complaining about the poor conditions, unsafe design and deteriorating structure of the House of Correction for at least 50 years. But through it all, the Maryland prison, which opened a half-century before Alcatraz, stayed open.

National News

The Wall Street Journal Says Senate Democrats' Proposed Budget Could "Slap The Economy In 2011 With The Largest Tax Increase In U.S. History." "Mr. Conrad, the Senate Budget Chairman, pulled off the neat magic trick of claiming his budget includes 'no tax increase,' even as it anticipates repeal of the Bush tax cuts after 2010. ... Mr. Conrad has no intention of extending the B ush tax cuts, which he voted against and whose repeal would slap the economy in 2011 with the largest tax increase in U.S. history. ... So Mr. Conrad says his budget revenue estimates 'assume that Congress will take steps to counter the effects of the expiration of tax cuts in 2010 in a manner that does not add to the nation's debt burden.' How so? Well, 'this additional revenue can be achieved without raising taxes by closing the tax gap, shutting down illegal tax shelters, addressing tax havens, and simplifying the tax code,' he avers. ... But if this magical $345 billion a year (as of 2001) were easily found, don't you think the army of IRS auditors and tax collectors would have found it by now?" (Editorial, "Conrad's Tax," The Wall Street Journal, 3/20/07)

House Republicans Regaining Their Footing

http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002473295.html

After reeling from a Democratic knock-out punch in November, House Republicans seem to be regrouping, achieving some wins they believe will force the majority to negotiate with them.

Ultimately, they have an eye toward such victories enabling them to win back the House in 2008.

Having surprised even themselves with the unity they displayed against a resolution denouncing the troop surge in Iraq (H Con Res 63), invigorated Republicans say theyll stay nearly in lock step this week against supplemental spending legislation for the war that includes a timetable for withdrawal, among other conditions.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., has met twice with Boehner to try to find a way to garner some GOP support for the supplemental, although no agreement was reached.

Global warming panel makeup questioned

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/NEWS01/703200302/1002

House Republican Leader John Boehner would have appointed Rep. Wayne Gilchrest to the bipartisan Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming -- but only if the Maryland Republican would say humans are not causing climate change, Gilchrest said.

"I said, 'John, I can't do that,' " Gilchrest, R-1st-Md., said in an interview. "He said, 'Come on. Do me a favor. I want to help you here.' "

Gilchrest didn't make the committee. Neither did other Republican moderates or science-minded members, whose guidance centrist GOP members usually seek on the issue. Republican moderates, called the Tuesday Group, invited Boehner to this week's meeting to push for different representation.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a research scientist from Maryland, and Michigan's Rep. Vern Ehlers, the first research physicist to serve in Congress, also made cases for a seat, but weren't appointed, he said.

Patience for Iraq war waning, say leaders

http://www.examiner.com/a-628513~Patience_for_Iraq_war_waning__say_leaders.html

Four years into the Iraq war, all sides in the bitter debate agree that President Bushs troop surge plan represents the final drop of American patience for the war. If Iraqis fail to control the violence, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, The American taxpayer has a reasonable expectation that we will bring our people home.

BRAC move seen at risk

Walter Reed controversy might threaten shift of jobs to Bethesda site

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.brac20mar20,0,7545749.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Plans to expand the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda - part of a military realignment plan expected to bring thousands of jobs to Maryland - might be in jeopardy as a result of the controversy over medical care at the Walter Reed Army hospital, according to members of the state's congressional delegation.

The House of Representatives is expected to consider a measure this week that would keep Walter Reed Army Medical Center open. If approved, it could delay or cancel plans to move Walter Reed's existing operations, and nearly 1,900 workers, from the District of Columbia to Maryland.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Montgomery County Democrat whose district includes Bethesda, said he had not determined the best course of action regarding the move.

"I think this requires an overall assessment of what is best for our wounded soldiers at Walter Reed and an assessment of what makes sense in the future," Van Hollen said.

"Obviously, the BRAC commission believed that it was in the interests of the military health care system to consolidate their operations at Bethesda. But there may be a short-term desire to delay the move, given the fact that you have lots of wounded soldiers there now," he said.

President Bush Says Premature Withdrawal From Iraq Would Have "Devastating" Consequences For U.S. Security. "'It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home,' Bush said in an address from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. 'That that may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe that the consequences for American security interests would be devastating.' Bush said his new strategy, which sent more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to secure Baghdad, is still in its early stages and 'success will take months, not days or weeks.' 'Those on the ground are seeing some hopeful signs,' Bush said. 'Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult, but it can be won,' Bush said. 'It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through.'" ("Bush Urges Patience In Iraq War," USA Today, 3/20/07)

White House Denounces Democrats' War Spending Bill For "Excessive And Extraneous Non-Emergency Spending." "House Democratic leaders are offering billions in federal funds for lawmakers' pet projects large and small to secure enough votes this week to pass an Iraq funding bill that would end the war next year. ... But in a formal veto statement last night, the White House denounced what it called 'excessive and extraneous non-emergency spending.' With unusually caustic and combative language, the statement dismissed provisions of the bill as 'unconscionable,' an d said it 'would place freedom and democracy in Iraq at grave risk' and 'embolden our enemies.' ... The bill contains billions for agriculture and drought relief, children's health care and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery." (Jonathan Weisman, "War Bill Includes Tempting Projects," The Washington Post, 3/20/07)

National Security Council Iraq Director Brett McGurk Discusses The New Strategy In Iraq. MCGURK: "We're focused on the new strategy that's in place. And remember, it's very early. The Iraqi people are starting to see some changes, but we're still at the input stage. The President heard from the Prime Minister today in a joint video teleconference about the inputs and the Iraqis stepping up to the plate. We're starting to see security gains in Baghdad. These are all very early indicators, they're not trends yet. But murders and executions are down by about 50 percent. We're getting more tips from Iraqis than we ever have had before. February set an al l-time high. That's a sign of growing confidence among the Iraqi people. This is going to take time. This is entirely new strategy, fundamentally different than what we were doing a year ago. And patience is the word of the day." (CNN International, 3/19/07)

Retired U.S. Army Officer Gordon Cucullu Says "We Need To Give [Gen. Petraeus] The Time And Space Needed To Win This War." "'Sure we see improvements - major improvements,' [Gen. Petraeus] said in our interview, 'but we still have a long way to go.' What tactics are working? 'We got down at the people level and are staying,' he said flatly. 'Once the people know we are going to be around, then all kinds of things start to happen.' Where once tactical units were 'scraping' for intelligence information, they now have 'information overload,' the general said. And the t ribal leaders in Sunni al Anbar Province, the general reports, 'have had enough.' Not only are the al Qaeda fighters causing civil disruption by fomenting sectarian violence and killing civilians, but on a more prosaic but practical side, al Qaeda is bad for business. As Petraeus cautiously concluded, 'We'll be able to evaluate the situation for sure by late summer.' That's his job. Our job? We need to give him the time and space needed to win this war." (Gordon Cucullu, Op-Ed, "The Iraq Surge: Why It's Working," New York Post, 3/20/07)

Al Qaeda Operative In U.S. Custody Admits Planning The 2000 Attack On The USS Cole. "A top operative of Al Qaeda has acknowledged his role in the bombings of two American embassies in Africa in 1998 and in the attack on the destroyer Cole off Yemen in 2000, according to a hearing transcript released yesterday by the Pentagon. The operative, Walid bin Attash, who is also known as Khallad, made his statement, according to the transcript, to a combatant status review tribunal on March 12 at the United States naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.... 'I participated in the buying or purchasing of the explosives. I put together the plan for the operation a year and a half prior to the operation. Buying the boat and recruiting the members that did the operation.' He added that he had been with Osama bin Laden in Kandahar, Afghanistan, at the time of the attack on the Cole." (Adam Liptak, "Qaeda Operative Confesses Role In Cole Bombing," The New York Times, 3/20/07)