Tag Archives: 2011

Obama approval lowest ever, Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll, August 23, 2011

Obama approval lowest ever, Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll, August 23, 2011

From Rasmussen  August 23, 2011.
“The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 19% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -26 (see trends).  

This is the lowest Approval Index rating yet measured for President Obama. The previous low was -24 reached yesterday and also in September 2010. Additionally, the level of Strong Approval matches the lowest yet recorded. By way of comparison, President Bush had ratings near the end of his second term in the minus 30s.

As tension continues in Libya, just 12% think the United States should get more involved in Syria.

Only 20% think government anti-poverty programs reduce poverty.  Seventy-one percent (71%) believe too many people get welfare who should not be getting it.  Only 18% believe the opposite is true. Fifty-nine percent (59%) think immigrants who follow the law and enter the United States legally should have to wait three years or more before collecting welfare benefits

Republicans continue to lead Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot.  Today, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Rasmussen Reports will update our weekly look at how President Obama matches up with a Generic Republican.  The president leads Sarah Palin by 17 points and later today new numbers will be released on a match-up between the president and Ron Paul. Additional match-up information will be released tomorrow.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) at least somewhat disapprove. The president wins approval from 78% of Democrats and 44% of those not affiliated with either major party. Ninety-one percent (91%) of Republicans disapprove.”

Read more:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Daniel Frawley sentencing scheduled for August 24, 2011, Judge Ronald A. Guzman, Frawley deposition links Rezko Obama money

Daniel Frawley sentencing scheduled for August 24, 2011, Judge Ronald A. Guzman, Frawley deposition links Rezko Obama money

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

“Why did Mutual Bank fire whistleblower Kenneth J Connor after he challenged the appraisal on the land purchased by Rita Rezko, just prior to the land sale to Obama?”…Citizen Wells

“Why do 3 supporters own Obama’s home?”…World Net Daily

Daily Calendar   

Wednesday, August 24, 2011  (As of 08/17/11 at 07:47:49 AM 

Honorable Ronald A. Guzman                  Courtroom 1219 (RAG)

1:11-cr-00056   USA v. Frawley                         10:30   Sentencing     

From Citizen Wells August 3, 2011.

“Has Daniel Frawley been talking to the Feds? Apparently Frawley will be sentenced on August 24, 2011. This comes after his sentencing hearing was suddenly delayed recently. A Chicago SunTimes article dated July 11, 2011 indicated that Frawley has been cooperating with the Feds.

“UPDATE: After this story was published Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman canceled Daniel T. Frawley’s sentencing hearing, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. Court records did not indicate why Guzman did this. Frawley’s sentencing had not been re-scheduled.
Daniel T. Frawley once teamed with Tony Rezko — the political fixer who’s now in jail — in what turned out to be a doomed effort to open a training school for Iraqi security forces in western Illinois. Now, Frawley faces a federal prison stretch of his own.

On Tuesday, the 60-year-old onetime Chicago cop is set to appear before a federal judge for sentencing after pleading guilty in February in a $4.4 million bank fraud.

The scheme appears to have no connection to Rezko, the Wilmette businessman who was once a prolific campaign fund-raiser for politicians including the current president, Barack Obama, and the recently convicted former governor, Rod Blagojevich.

Still, federal prosecutors are seeking a reduced sentence for Frawley — of a year and a half in prison, rather than the 35 years he could face — apparently because Frawley has been secretly cooperating since at least 2006 in their investigation of Rezko, who was found guilty in June 2008 of having used his clout with the Blagojevich administration to enrich himself and his business associates.

Details about Frawley’s cooperation with the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI and the Illinois attorney general’s office can be gleaned from a 65-page court deposition he gave seven months ago in a legal-malpractice lawsuit that he filed against his former longtime lawyer, George Weaver. In the lawsuit, Frawley accuses Weaver of having overbilled him and telling him to “withhold certain information from the government” when he was cooperating with authorities.

That sworn statement, given Dec. 1, 2010, is posted at suntimes.com/news/watchdogs. In it, Frawley talks about three meetings he’s had with law enforcement authorities since 2006. The deposition outlines how he secretly recorded Rezko, and it raises a new and unsubstantiated question about Rezko’s once-close relationship with Obama — an issue that dogged the then-U.S. senator during his presidential campaign four years ago.”

“More compelling passages from the Daniel Frawley deposition were presented at Citizen Wells on July 15, 2011.

“Attorneys Franklin & Schutte represent Frawley, plaintiff.

Attorney Konicek represents George Weaver, defendant.

Frawley: “George told me that he had a meeting at his office on LaSalle Street with Dan Mahru, with some people from First Bank–I didn’t know how many at the time–and himself. And George instructed me not to attend.”

Konicek: “So who said it to you, and where was it said to you?”

Frawley: “Dan Mahru told me that First Bank was agreeable to a settlement.”

Konicek: “In March 13, 2006, you had a conversation with Mr. Weaver where you say he instructed me not to cooperate.”

Frawley: “Yes, I had a conversation with Mr. Weaver where he instructed me not to cooperate.”
Frawley: “I was on the phone, making a phone call to Tony Rezko. I had a luncheon engagement with him.”

“George was outside of the room where I was making the telephone call, and the purpose of the call was for me to keep my luncheon engagement with Tony Rezko and to go over and to record Tony Rezko.”

“George saw and heard me on the phone, came running in and went like this [demonstrating]: Cut it,”

Franklin: “For the record, the deponent is crossing his hands across his throat.”

Konicek: “And Tony Rezko was where when you were speaking to him?”

Frawley: “He was on the other end of the phone. I don’t recall where he was.”
Konicek: “I’m assuming the information is about the payments made by Rezko to Obama, so we know we’re talking about the right conversation, right?”

Konicek: “Am I correct it was about Obama being paid by Rezko?”

Frawley: “I’m not answering that question, based upon my attorney’s instructions.”

Konicek: “But on March 13, 2006, you’ve already indentified for me being at 219 South Dearborn. You’re talking to Tony rezko on the phone, and Mr. Weaver makes this gesture to you, right?”

Frawley: “Mr. Weaver made the gesture and told me to get off the phone, to end the phone call.”
Konicek: “Okay. And then where were you instructed not to cooperate?”

Frawley: “In the same building, at 219 South Dearborn….in a different room.”
Konicek: “Did you bring to Mr. Weaver in Hinsdale a statement showing payment to Tony Rezko in the amount of $ 1.5 million?”
Konicek: “Are you going to answer?”

Frawley: “No.”

Konicek: “Are you asserting your Fifth Amendment privilege?”

Frawley: “Yes.””

Read more:

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/daniel-frawley-sentencing-august-24-2011-frawley-talking-for-lighter-sentence-daniel-frawley-throwing-rezko-and-obama-under-bus/

Tony Rezko sentencing remains October 21, 2011, Rezko not called at Blagojevich trial, William Cellini trial?

Tony Rezko sentencing remains October 21, 2011, Rezko not called at Blagojevich trial, William Cellini trial?

“Why was Obama in constant contact with Tony Rezko in 2004 when Rezko was conspiring with William Cellini to use TRS, Teacher Retirement Fund, assets for political gain and personal enrichment?”…Citizen Wells

“Illinois is Six Degrees of Bill Cellini.”…John Kass, Chicago Tribune

From the Chicago Tribune August 16, 2011.

 “Convicted influence peddler Rezko still on for sentencing just weeks after ex-Gov. Blagojevich”

“A convicted influence peddler remains on track to be sentenced weeks after his one-time benefactor, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Prosecutors said at a status hearing Tuesday that they want to stick with an Oct. 21 sentencing date for Tony Rezko.

The government has portrayed Rezko as the ultimate insider who pulled strings in Blagojevich’s administration.

A jury convicted Rezko in 2008 of squeezing kickbacks from businessmen eager to land state contracts.

The 56-year-old appeared at Tuesday’s hearing in jail clothes and chains binding his ankles. He smiled weakly and waived at relatives on courtroom benches.”

Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-il–blagojevichtrial-rezko,0,1617012.story

Why does the Chicago Tribune not mention the William Cellini trial scheduled for October 3, 2011?

William Cellini was mentioned numerous times during the Tony Rezko trial in early 2008. Cellini was indicted in October 2008.

Press release

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1030_01.pdf

Indictment

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1030_01a.pdf

 
Cellini 101

Pitchfork Rally, Georgia State Capitol, August 15, 2011, Presidential eligibility bill, Carl Swensson of Rise Up for America

Pitchfork Rally, Georgia State Capitol, August 15, 2011, Presidential eligibility bill, Carl Swensson of Rise Up for America

From the Birther Report August 9, 2011.

“Georgia’s ‘Pitchfork Rally’ – Kick-off Event to Pass the “Presidential Eligibility Assurance Act” – Posted by helen @ T-Room.us

Fourteen states, with Republican’s leading the charge, introduced legislation between 2010 and 2011 that went to the heart of voters growing realization that an ineligible candidate and his Party apparatus hoodwinked Secretary’s of State Board of Elections by placing said ineligible candidate on their state ballots who the majority of voters then elected to the most powerful position in the world, the United States Presidency. These 14 states include: Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (Sept 2011), Tennessee and Texas.

Obviously, as demonstrated by the actions of these Republican state legislators and one Democratic Governor, they share in the over 50 + 1 of voters growing concerns about their state’s utter lack of control over who gains access to their respective state ballots, and by extension their voters and electoral college members, concerning the Presidential/Vice Presidential elections.

Up until the 2008 general election, the “vetting” process – a process that should be rigorous and thorough designed to insure that national Party nominee’s for President/Vice President meet the three very simple qualifications detailed in Article II of the US Constitution, age, residency and natural born citizenship – had traditionally been left to the respective national Party’s.

However, following nearly four years of purposeful and deliberate obfuscation by Barack Hussein Obama, II., and et al., to simply confirm, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he indeed meets one of only three of these basic requirements, Natural Born Citizenship, to which the United States Supreme Court gave definition to in 1875 in the precedent setting Minor v Happersett ruling, AND which Mr. Obama himself told everyone through his own 2008 campaign website Fight the Smears, which remains “live” to this day, that he “was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961, a native citizen of the United States of America“. No where in Article II does it state “native born”. But these political charlatans believed themselves to be smarter than we the people and thought we were apparently to stupid to know the difference between a “native born” and “natural born” citizen. Well, the joke is on them. We do know and obviously state representatives know too. And no moronic form letter from congressional peeps stating otherwise is going to change the facts as the people know them.

Therefore, to halt further erosion of the United States Constitution by the very people we the people elect to uphold it and who swear an oath to do so must now intervene at the state level to pass a “Presidential Eligibility Assurance Act” thereby empowering the Secretary’s of State Boards of Elections to do the rigorous and thorough “vetting” of Presidential/Vice Presidential Party nominee’s in order to gain access to state voters and electoral college members.

Yes, this is an uphill climb. Of the 14 states that introduced “Presidential Eligibility” legislation, only two made it out of the chambers and onto the Governor’s desk for signature – Arizona’s HB2544 and New Hampshire HB1245.”

Read more:

http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2011/08/georgias-pitchfork-rally-kick-off-event.html

Obama lies about taxes, Truth about taxes from John Hammer of the Rhinoceros Times, August 11, 2011, Federal dollars buy frills

Obama lies about taxes, Truth about taxes from John Hammer of the Rhinoceros Times, August 11, 2011, Federal dollars buy frills

“…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.”…Margaret Thatcher

I have been a fan of John Hammer of the Rhinoceros Times for years. So was my late father. I met with John several weeks ago and had a great discussion. I half jokingly stated that we may be the only 2 reporting entities in the area providing real news. John Hammer provides his article, “Under The Hammer” in print as well as the internet every Thursday. Sadly, in the home state of Edward R. Murrow, you will be hard pressed to find the truth in print elsewhere.

From John Hammer August 11, 2011.

“Obama continues to say that the wealthy have “to pay their fair share” of taxes. What Obama doesn’t say is what that fair share is. Right now the top 50 percent of wage earners pay 97 percent of the taxes. The top 5 percent pay about 57 percent of the taxes and the top 1 percent pay 37 percent of the taxes.

It looks like the wealthy are paying their fair share, but it would be informative for Obama to tell the American people just what he thought a fair share for the wealthy was. Should the upper 50 percent of wage earners pay 99 percent of the taxes? Should the top 1 percent pay 75 percent?

Maybe the problem is not that the rich aren’t paying enough but that the federal government is giving away too much to whom it defines as poor. There is now a federal program to provide cell phones to poor people and they get 250 minutes of free time a month. How can a cell phone be a necessity? I lived most of my life without a cell phone and thought I was doing pretty well.

The average family defined by the federal government as living in poverty lives in an air-conditioned residence with two color televisions, cable or satellite service, a DVD and a VCR player and a PlayStation or an Xbox. Along with the refrigerator, oven and stove they have a microwave and a coffee maker in the kitchen. They also have a washer and dryer, ceiling fans and a cordless phone.

So people living in poverty live better than the Muse and I because we only have one television and don’t have cable or satellite, and we don’t have a game box. We didn’t have a microwave until a friend who was horrified that we lived in the dark ages gave us her old one. It is used mainly for heating milk, although I understand it has other purposes.

The average family living in poverty in the US isn’t struggling to buy food or pay medical bills but does struggle to pay the cable or satellite television bill and for air-conditioning in the summer.

These are people who qualify for government assistance because they, according to the federal definition, live in poverty.

The federal government can define poverty any way it wants. It would appear that the definition of poverty has gotten so high that people who don’t need help but are willing to accept help are getting a lot of federal dollars.

Why on earth should the federal government be helping families pay their cable bill or make the payments on their second television?

Obama is right, all Americans need to pay their fair share, but the problem is not at the top or at the bottom. Everyone should be able to agree that people who really need assistance should have it available. It appears that a large part of the problem may be that poverty has suffered from the equivalent of grade inflation. People who don’t need help are getting lots of it.”

Read more:

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-08-10-209180.112113-Under-the-Hammer.html

Tony Rezko status hearing, August 11, 2011, Judge Amy J. St. Eve, US District Court

Tony Rezko status hearing, August 11, 2011, Judge Amy J. St. Eve, US District Court

Tony Rezko, convicted of corruption in June of 2008, has a status hearing with  Judge Amy J. St. Eve in US District Court on August 11, 2011.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Honorable Amy J. St. Eve                    Courtroom 1241 (ASE)         

1:05-cr-00691   USA v. Rezko                           09:00   Status Hearing             

http://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/home/DailyCal/1.htm#St.Eve

Daniel Frawley sentencing August 24, 2011, Frawley talking for lighter sentence?, Daniel Frawley throwing Rezko and Obama under bus?

Daniel Frawley sentencing August 24, 2011, Frawley talking for lighter sentence?, Daniel Frawley throwing Rezko and Obama under bus?

“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

Has Daniel Frawley been talking to the Feds? Apparently Frawley will be sentenced on August 24, 2011. This comes after his sentencing hearing was suddenly delayed recently. A Chicago SunTimes article dated July 11, 2011 indicated that Frawley has been cooperating with the Feds.

“UPDATE: After this story was published Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman canceled Daniel T. Frawley’s sentencing hearing, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. Court records did not indicate why Guzman did this. Frawley’s sentencing had not been re-scheduled.
Daniel T. Frawley once teamed with Tony Rezko — the political fixer who’s now in jail — in what turned out to be a doomed effort to open a training school for Iraqi security forces in western Illinois. Now, Frawley faces a federal prison stretch of his own.

On Tuesday, the 60-year-old onetime Chicago cop is set to appear before a federal judge for sentencing after pleading guilty in February in a $4.4 million bank fraud.

The scheme appears to have no connection to Rezko, the Wilmette businessman who was once a prolific campaign fund-raiser for politicians including the current president, Barack Obama, and the recently convicted former governor, Rod Blagojevich.

Still, federal prosecutors are seeking a reduced sentence for Frawley — of a year and a half in prison, rather than the 35 years he could face — apparently because Frawley has been secretly cooperating since at least 2006 in their investigation of Rezko, who was found guilty in June 2008 of having used his clout with the Blagojevich administration to enrich himself and his business associates.

Details about Frawley’s cooperation with the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI and the Illinois attorney general’s office can be gleaned from a 65-page court deposition he gave seven months ago in a legal-malpractice lawsuit that he filed against his former longtime lawyer, George Weaver. In the lawsuit, Frawley accuses Weaver of having overbilled him and telling him to “withhold certain information from the government” when he was cooperating with authorities.

That sworn statement, given Dec. 1, 2010, is posted at suntimes.com/news/watchdogs. In it, Frawley talks about three meetings he’s had with law enforcement authorities since 2006. The deposition outlines how he secretly recorded Rezko, and it raises a new and unsubstantiated question about Rezko’s once-close relationship with Obama — an issue that dogged the then-U.S. senator during his presidential campaign four years ago.

Frawley says in the deposition that on March 13, 2006, he was in the Dirksen Federal Building at 219 S. Dearborn, making a phone call to Rezko’s cell phone and secretly recording him when attorney Weaver walked in and interrupted him.

Also in the room at the time, according to Frawley, were: Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern; James “Sam” Dorger Jr., of the Illinois attorney general’s office’s public-integrity unit; an “FBI agent whose name I do not recall”; and Thomas Durkin, a criminal attorney also representing Frawley.

“I was on the phone, making a phone call to Tony Rezko,” Frawley says, according to the transcript. “I had a luncheon engagement with him. George was outside of the room where I was making the telephone call, and the purpose of the call was for me to keep my luncheon engagement with Tony Rezko and to go over and to record Tony Rezko.

“George saw and heard me on the phone, came running in and went like this [demonstrating]: Cut it,” drawing his hand across his throat.

Later in the deposition, Weaver’s lawyer, Daniel F. Konicek, asks Frawley about what specific information Weaver is supposed to have told Frawley to withhold from federal authorities.

“I’m assuming the information is about the payments made by Rezko to Obama, so we know we’re talking about the right conversation, right?” Konicek asks Frawley.

Frawley doesn’t answer. So Konicek presses him: “Am I correct it was about Obama being paid by Rezko?”

Frawley replies: “I’m not answering that question, based upon my attorney’s instructions.”

Nobody directly involved with the deposition — including Frawley and his lawyers, Weaver and his lawyers, and the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office — would comment.”

Read more:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/6394342-452/ex-rezko-partner-being-sentenced-tuesday.html

More compelling passages from the Daniel Frawley deposition were presented at Citizen Wells on July 15, 2011.

“Attorneys Franklin & Schutte represent Frawley, plaintiff.

Attorney Konicek represents George Weaver, defendant.

Frawley: “George told me that he had a meeting at his office on LaSalle Street with Dan Mahru, with some people from First Bank–I didn’t know how many at the time–and himself. And George instructed me not to attend.”

Konicek: “So who said it to you, and where was it said to you?”

Frawley: “Dan Mahru told me that First Bank was agreeable to a settlement.”

Konicek: “In March 13, 2006, you had a conversation with Mr. Weaver where you say he instructed me not to cooperate.”

Frawley: “Yes, I had a conversation with Mr. Weaver where he instructed me not to cooperate.”
Frawley: “I was on the phone, making a phone call to Tony Rezko. I had a luncheon engagement with him.”

“George was outside of the room where I was making the telephone call, and the purpose of the call was for me to keep my luncheon engagement with Tony Rezko and to go over and to record Tony Rezko.”

“George saw and heard me on the phone, came running in and went like this [demonstrating]: Cut it,”

Franklin: “For the record, the deponent is crossing his hands across his throat.”

Konicek: “And Tony Rezko was where when you were speaking to him?”

Frawley: “He was on the other end of the phone. I don’t recall where he was.”
Konicek: “I’m assuming the information is about the payments made by Rezko to Obama, so we know we’re talking about the right conversation, right?”

Konicek: “Am I correct it was about Obama being paid by Rezko?”

Frawley: “I’m not answering that question, based upon my attorney’s instructions.”

Konicek: “But on March 13, 2006, you’ve already indentified for me being at 219 South Dearborn. You’re talking to Tony rezko on the phone, and Mr. Weaver makes this gesture to you, right?”

Frawley: “Mr. Weaver made the gesture and told me to get off the phone, to end the phone call.”
Konicek: “Okay. And then where were you instructed not to cooperate?”

Frawley: “In the same building, at 219 South Dearborn….in a different room.”
Konicek: “Did you bring to Mr. Weaver in Hinsdale a statement showing payment to Tony Rezko in the amount of $ 1.5 million?”
Konicek: “Are you going to answer?”

Frawley: “No.”

Konicek: “Are you asserting your Fifth Amendment privilege?”

Frawley: “Yes.””

Read more:

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/obama-corruption-buddies-ghosts-of-christmas-past-rezko-levine-blagojevich-frawley-mahru-cellini/

 

Thanks to commenter Bessie.

Debt ceiling compromise, Congress votes today, August 1, 2011, Debt raised $2.1 trillion, Government spending cut $2.4 trillion

Debt ceiling compromise, Congress votes today, August 1, 2011, Debt raised $2.1 trillion, Government spending cut $2.4 trillion

From Bloomberg August 1, 2011.

“Congressional leaders, leaving no extra time before a default threatened for tomorrow, are racing to push through a compromise sealed with President Barack Obama last night to raise the U.S. debt limit by at least $2.1 trillion and slash government spending by $2.4 trillion or more.

The House plans votes today and the Senate may follow suit to consider the agreement reached during a weekend of negotiations that capped a months-long struggle between Obama and Republicans over raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

Both parties were working to sell the deal to their rank and file — meeting resistance from social liberals who fault it for failing to increase taxes and from fiscal conservatives who say it’s insufficient to rein in the debt.

“The leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default,” Obama said in an appearance in the White House briefing room last night as congressional aides were drafting the legislative language. “This compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit-reduction we need. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default.”

Stocks may rally after the deal, as futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September gained 1.1 percent to 1302.10 as of 11:01 a.m. in Frankfurt. Treasuries retreated after soaring July 29 in the wake of weaker-than-forecast U.S. economic growth figures. Ten-year notes yielded 2.85 percent, still less than their average 3.06 percent in the past year.”

“Two Installments

Lawmakers who were to vote within hours on the measure were just learning its details. It would raise the debt ceiling in two installments, sufficient to serve the nation’s needs into 2013. The framework, as detailed by officials in both parties, would cut $917 billion in spending over a decade, raise the debt limit initially by $900 billion and assign a special congressional committee to find another $1.5 trillion in deficit savings by late November, to be enacted by Christmas.

If Congress met that deadline and deficit target, or voted to send a balanced-budget constitutional amendment to the states, Obama would receive another $1.5 trillion borrowing boost.

In the case of Congress failing to take either step, or not producing debt savings of at least $1.2 trillion, the plan allows the president to obtain a $1.2 trillion debt-ceiling extension. Still, that would trigger automatic spending cuts across the government — including in defense and Medicare — to take effect starting in 2013. The Medicare cuts would only affect provider reimbursements, not benefits.”

“Concessions Made

In the final stage of negotiations, both sides made concessions. Republicans dropped their insistence on withholding some of the borrowing authority until future spending cuts had been made and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution had been passed by both chambers of Congress. Those terms were included in a bill the House passed narrowly and along party lines July 29, only to see the measure defeated in the Senate less than 24 hours later.

The White House agreed to forgo an automatic tax increase, a sticking point for Republicans, as one of the consequences to kick in if no debt-reduction law was enacted by Christmas.

Even so, Obama has an opportunity to increase revenue in the future if he opts to allow the tax cuts enacted under George W. Bush to expire as scheduled in 2013. Even if Obama lost his re-election campaign next year, he could veto legislation to extend those cuts before leaving office — producing an estimated $3.5 trillion.

White House officials said the enforcement mechanisms will help them press Obama’s agenda as further deficit reductions are made, including additional tax revenue.”

Read more:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/obama-debt-cap-deal-with-congress-leaders-avoids-default-vote-due-today.html

Debt ceiling negotiations, July 31, 2011, 2:45 PM, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Avoid default

Debt ceiling negotiations update, July 31, 2011, 2:45 PM, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Avoid default

From the Wall Street Journal July 31, 2011.

“With the risk of a government default less than three days away, congressional leaders on Sunday said they were getting closer to a deal that raises the government’s borrowing limit, resolving the federal debt crisis.

“I can pretty confidently say this debt-ceiling increase will avoid default,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said on CNN.

Live Blog: The Debt Battle
The White House and congressional leaders are scrambling to agree on a deal before Aug. 2 to raise the U.S. federal borrowing limit. Follow developments in Washington and reaction globally here.
.Sen. Charles Schumer, a top Democrat from New York, also speaking on CNN, said there was no “final agreement” but that default was “far less of a possibility now than it was even a day ago.” He added, “If there’s a word right here that would sum up the mood, it’s ‘relief.’ ”

Sens. McConnell and Schumer spoke before the Senate voted not to consider a debt plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit by $2.2 trillion. The vote was 50-49, with 60 votes need to advance the bill.

But by the time of the vote, the result was anti-climactic; the real action is unfolding far from the Senate floor, as leaders of both parties try to hammer out the final details of a deal by day’s end to raise the debt ceiling from the current $14.29 trillion. That would be accompanied by deficit cuts of about $3 trillion.

Washington leaders face a Tuesday deadline by which the nation’s $14.29 trillion borrowing limit needs to be increased so the government can meet its financial obligations.

The framework emerging over the weekend likely would allow an immediate increase to the debt ceiling, lasting through the end of 2011, accompanied by government spending reductions of roughly $1 trillion over 10 years.

To get through 2012, Congress would form a special committee made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans to negotiate up to $2 trillion in additional cuts as part of a package containing a further debt-ceiling increase.

A House Republican leadership aide cautioned that a deal wasn’t yet in hand. “Discussions are moving in the right direction, but serious issues remain. And no agreement will be final until members have a chance to weigh in,” the aide said

The targets for savings appeared to remain subject to negotiation. Earlier proposals by legislative leaders were aiming for a total of between $2 trillion and $3 trillion total in savings over the next decade. Mr. McConnell on Sunday said he sees a $3 trillion deal.

The two-stage deal would include a deficit-cutting mechanism that would kick in should the special committee fail to act. Several people familiar with the talks said a key element could be a new process for sequestering—or holding back—federal spending if lawmakers can’t agree on further deficit reduction.”

Read more:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903520204576480123949521268.html

Senator Reid debt ceiling vote, Cspan live coverage, July 30, 2011

Senator Reid debt ceiling vote, Cspan live coverage, July 30, 2011

***  UPDATE  ***

House rejects Reid Bill. Democrats joined Republicans to vote it down.

The vote on the Senate version of a debt ceiling bill is about to occur. Watch this live on Cspan.

http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN/

From the Chicago Tribune July 30, 2011.

“Tense mood as lawmakers struggle for debt deal”

“A bitter mood prevailed on Capitol Hill as lawmakers struggled on Saturday to find a compromise measure to lift the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit three days before a deadline to avert a ruinous default.

A day after the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill to cut the deficit and raise the cap on government borrowing, the debt saga shifted to the Democratic-led Senate.

Democrats there pushed ahead with their own plan and sought to attract bipartisan support by adding some elements of a plan offered by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

But 43 Senate Republicans signed a letter rejecting the plan, a sign the measure does not have the support it needs to advance in Congress.

“What will they vote for? Do they have any ideas? Let me know,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor.

Back-channel talks held the best hope for a compromise. Unless Congress raises the debt ceiling, the government would be barred from further borrowing after Tuesday, according to the Treasury, and could quickly run out of money to pay all its bills.

The world has watched with growing alarm as political gridlock in Washington has brought the world’s largest economy close to an unprecedented default, threatening to plunge financial markets and economies around the globe into turmoil.

McConnell called on Reid to move up a vote that had been set for 1 a.m. EDT on Sunday so the two sides could begin talks with the White House.

“We can’t do it by ourselves, it has to have the only person in America who can sign something into law,” McConnell said.”

Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-debttre7646s6-20110705,0,7498607.story