U.S. Rep. Barney Frank Threatens Bank Officials: "We Will Force You To Stop Foreclosures!"...More Loan Mods Needed

Huffington Post, MSNBC----



WASHINGTON — A senior House Democrat threatened banks Wednesday that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them.

In a sternly worded statement, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D) said Congress will revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges write down a person's monthly mortgage payment if the number of loan modifications remain low.

Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, also said his committee won't consider legislation to help banks lend unless there is a "Significant Increase" in Mortgage Modifications.

Frank's statement was aimed at adding momentum to a deal struck Tuesday between U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and more than two dozen mortgage companies. The two sides agreed to set the goal of adjusting 500,000 loans by Nov. 1.

But it was far from clear whether that would happen.

Loan Servicers say they are still trying to play catch up to a deluge of customer requests by hiring and training thousands of new employees. Banks also are trying to sort through which customers face a legitimate financial hardship.

Also, many loans have been bundled and sold to investors as securities, complicating efforts to modify the terms.

Congress tried earlier this spring to pass legislation that would give people a chance to keep their homes by filing for bankruptcy. But while President Barack Obama said he supported the measure, he did little to see it through and it was defeated amid an aggressive lobbying effort by banks.

The measure failed in the Senate by a 45-51 vote, falling 15 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome procedural hurdles.

"People in the servicing industry and in the broader financial industry must understand that if this last effort to produce significant modifications fails, the argument for reviving the bankruptcy option will be extremely strong, and I think there is a substantial chance that the outcome will be different," Frank said.


Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, Making Home Affordable.gov

America Awaits Lessons Learned From Race Relations "Beer Summit" With Pres. Obama

MSNBC, Washington Post----


(The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson joins Countdown guest host Dr. Howard Dean to discuss the race debate and expectations of what will come from Thursday’s “Beer Summit” at the White House.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

WASHINGTON - Just as Congress nears a deal on health care legislation, President Barack Obama will have to set aside his top legislative priority to revisit the racially charged issue that stole the spotlight from his health care push last week — the arrest of his Harvard professor friend.

Obama will meet with Cambridge, Massachusetts, police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at the White House on Thursday, each one chugging his favorite beer, in a public attempt to move past the emotional event.

Obama convened the "beer summit" after calling both men last week in an attempt to defuse the political fallout from his comment at a news conference that police had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates at his home after responding to a call from a passer-by about a possible break-in.


He invited both men over for beer, to be served at a picnic table near his Oval Office if thunderstorms forecast for Thursday hold off.

Gates, who is black, was taken into custody by Crowley, who is white, after Crowley accused him of disorderly conduct for protesting the policeman's actions. The charges were later dropped.

The comments by Obama, the nation's first black president, inflamed matters further, and the subsequent outcry and constant commentary reached such a pitch that he was forced to acknowledge that he could have been more diplomatic with his words.

"Over the last two days as we've discussed this issue, I don't know if you've noticed, but nobody has been paying much attention to health care," Obama lamented to reporters last Friday.

Crowley is looking forward to the meeting, according to a spokeswoman for Cambridge and Massachusetts police unions that support him. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Crowley is bringing family members with him.

"He's aware it's a big opportunity to meet the president, but my friend Jim is a charming guy and I won't be surprised if the president and Professor Gates find him to be as pleasant as he is," added Andy Meyer, one of Crowley's softball teammates.

There was no immediate comment Thursday from Gates.

But the nation did get hear for the first time from Lucia Whalen, the passer-by who placed the phone call to police dispatchers to report a possible break-in at Gates' home. In a trembling voice, Whalen said she was pained to be wrongly labeled a racist based on words she never said. Police said the caller had reported a possible break-in by two black men.

Tapes of the call released this week revealed that Whalen did not mention the race of the suspects. Only when pressed by a dispatcher did she say that one of the two men she saw at Gates' door might have been Hispanic.

Her attorney, Wendy Murphy, said the three men overreacted, while Whalen was the only one who remained cool.

"The three highly trained guys who reacted badly are getting together for a beer," Murphy said. "The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge. I don't know — maybe it's a guy thing. She doesn't like beer anyway."

It will be Bud Light for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley and Red Stripe for Gates, the White House says.



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Sources: MSNBC, Politics, Washington Post, Google Maps

Congress & Obama Admin. Fighting Hard To Regulate Corrupt Student Loan Industry...No More Sallie Mae

Huffington Post, UPI, MSNBC---


When Sallie Mae, the nation's largest provider of student loans, saw the possibility of its own extinction in a plan advanced by the Obama administration, it did what just about any big corporation would do: It hired the best lobbyists money can buy.

That was standard procedure for Sallie Mae, which for two decades has almost single-handedly stymied attempts to reduce or eliminate federal subsidies to the multi-billion-dollar private student loan industry.

This time, however, Sallie Mae has elected not to fight to preserve the current system. Rather, it is trying to leverage its lobbying muscle and years of showering money on lawmakers to push an alternative plan that would position itself not only as a survivor, but a clear winner - with an even larger share of the market.

Even so, despite ramping up its spending on lobbying -- nearly $2 million in the first half of the year according to disclosure reports released this month -- Sallie Mae faces an uphill struggle in Congress. Legislation that would radically reshape the financial aid landscape along the lines proposed by President Obama cleared a key House panel last week. Credit rater Standard & Poor's immediately warned investors that it might downgrade the company's debt to junk level because "we believe the likelihood has increased" that within a year Sallie Mae will no longer be able to originate loans.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, said at a committee meeting that the bill would stop "wasteful taxpayer subsidies that are keeping a broken system afloat."

The plan would end lending by private firms by giving the Department of Education a monopoly over federally backed student loans. That could save the government $87 billion in subsidies over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office - money that would be redirected to Pell Grants for low-income students. Sallie Mae and other lenders would be confined largely to servicing loans held by the government and collecting on defaulted loans.

Presently there are two types of government-backed loans: At schools that have signed up for direct federal lending, students can borrow directly from the government. Or they can borrow from a lender such as Sallie Mae as part of the Federal Family Education Loan Program. Either way, the taxpayers take on the risk that a borrower might default.

Sallie Mae surprised the rest of the industry earlier this year when it announced it supported Obama's plan - but with certain caveats. The company argues that if lenders are still allowed to originate and service the loans that the government holds, they could produce similar savings that could also go toward Pell Grants. Under its proposal, companies that don't already service loans wouldn't be able to participate in the new system and thus could be pushed out of the business, leaving Sallie Mae with a bigger share.

Based in Reston, Va., Sallie Mae, formally known as SML Corp., was created four decades ago as a government-sponsored enterprise. It went private in the late 1990s. As the number of college students and tuition costs skyrocketed, so did Sallie Mae's profits - at least until the credit crisis hit. Last year, chief executive Albert Lord earned $4.6 million in cash and stock and Jack Remondi, its vice chairman and chief financial officer, more than $13.2 million in cash and stock, including the use of a company airplane.

Sallie Mae derives about a third of its earnings from federally backed loans, and the rest comes from private loans and other lines of business. Its financial future looks weaker not only because of the political threat but because of growing delinquencies in its non-subsidized student loans. The company reported a loss of $122 million for the most recent quarter, compared with a profit of $265 million a year earlier.

Calling on the Lobbyists:

Most Republicans support a continuing role for private student lenders. Thus the battle over Sallie Mae's future is taking place among Democrats, which is why the company turned largely to that side of K Street.

"The banks and lenders who have reaped a windfall from these subsidies have mobilized an army of lobbyists," Obama said in a weekly radio address earlier this year. "I know they're gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: So am I."

Sallie Mae's key hire was Jamie Gorelick, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, who signed on in February to lobby White House and Education Department officials on student-loan issues. Gorelick is a partner in the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, which billed Sallie Mae $270,000 for its work in the first half of 2009.

Gorelick said in an interview that while she was initially hesitant to work for Sallie Mae because it had fought the Clinton administration's efforts to boost direct lending by the government, she decided to do so because Sallie Mae's plan, like Obama's, provides funding for Pell Grants. She argues that Sallie Mae's proposal is better than Obama's because "many schools need the help that [private] lenders provide in managing the flow of information, processing and reconciling changes, and educating students about their choices and how to manage debt."

In March, less than a month after hiring Gorelick, Sallie Mae retained the Podesta Group, founded by Tony Podesta, a legendary Democratic fundraiser whose brother headed the Obama transition team.

In addition to Podesta himself, the firm, which was paid $110,000 for its work in the first half of the year, assigned at least four of its lobbyists to push Sallie Mae's case on Capitol Hill: Paul Brathwaite, the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and a former Clinton Labor Department official; Israel "Izzy" Klein, a former aide to Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Rep. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats; Lauren Maddox, a former assistant secretary for communications and outreach at the Education Department in the Bush administration; and Donni Turner, a former aide to Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Rep. David Scott of Georgia, and former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, all of them Democrats.

Sallie Mae also has tapped several other Washington lobbying firms for help, including Clark & Weinstock, Global USA, ML Strategies, and Von Scoyoc Associates, which together were paid $302,500 in the first half of 2009.

Clark & Weinstock detailed more than a third of its lobbyists to the Sallie Mae account, including Vin Weber, the firm's managing partner, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota, and a half-dozen veteran Capitol Hill staffers: James Dyer, a former staff director of the House Committee on Appropriations; Niles Godes, who most recently was chief of staff to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.); Ed Kutler, a former senior adviser to the Speaker of the House; Peg McGlinch, who most recently was chief of staff to Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.); Jonathan Schwantes, a former general counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee; Deirdre Stach, a former legislative director to Rep. Robert Walker (R-Pa.); and Sandra Stuart, a former chief of staff to Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.).

Sallie Mae also has a sizable in-house lobbying staff, including six individuals who are registered on Capitol Hill. They include Carmen Guzman Lowrey, a former legislative assistant to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Brent Hartzell, a former chief of staff to the Education Department's chief financial officer.

Many of Sallie Mae's rivals in the private loan business, including Citigroup's Student Loan Corp., based in Stamford, Ct., and ,Nelnet, based in Lincoln, Neb., felt blindsided by the company's survival strategy and have been lobbying on their own to preserve much of the current system. All three companies are members of a trade association, America's Student Loan Providers, that represents originators, guarantors (including dozens of state agencies with that role), and servicers of federally guaranteed student loans.

Nelnet spent $300,000 on lobbying in the first half of this year, according to its disclosure reports. One of the company's registered lobbyists is Amy Tejral, a former legislative director for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who is one of the most vocal opponents of the administration's proposal.

Nelson's state is home to Nelnet, which employees about 1,000 people. The lender was the third largest contributor to Nelson's campaign committee in the 2008 election cycle, with its PAC and employees donating $49,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Spreading Campaign Cash:

Sallie Mae also has forged close ties to lawmakers in both parties by using its political action committee to shower them with campaign contributions -- more than $2.5 million in the past decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, Sallie Mae has wooed key Democrats. In the 2008 election cycle, Sallie Mae's PAC gave $10,000 to the Blue Dog PAC, and an additional $145,500 to the individual campaign committees of Blue Dogs and Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services, according to a Huffington Fund review of campaign finance data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), chair of a House Financial Services subcommittee, is one of Sallie Mae's most loyal friends. Sallie Mae is one of the largest employers in Kanjorski's district, and it was the second largest contributor in 2008 to Kanjorski's campaign committee and leadership PAC. The company and its executives donated $26,150.

Kanjorski has boasted of how he has used his leverage on the committee to keep Sallie Mae happy. "I got Sallie Mae here and I kept Sallie Mae here because of my activities with them at a federal level," he once told the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, "making sure that we have a very favorable climate for them to remain."

An internal strategy document obtained by Miller, the House education chairman, and published by Higher Ed Watch, a blog of the New America Foundation, shows that top executives of Sallie Mae saw "Democratic control of Congress" as the No. 1 challenge facing the company. They then laid out, as their top "high-level political strategy," a plan to channel PAC contributions to fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats and Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee. The objective, as Sallie Mae's strategy document put it, was simple: "grow pro-FFELP [Federal Family Education Loan Program] coalition within the Democratic Party."

Miller soon announced that he was siding with Obama's plan and on July 21 his committee approved legislation along those lines by a vote of 30 to 17.

Sallie's Lifeline:

But even if Sallie Mae's lobbyists fall short and the company's alternative fades, it isn't likely to face massive layoffs or cutbacks. Instead, Sallie Mae has a pretty good backup plan in place -thanks, ironically, to the government-run Direct Lending Program that it has fought for so long.

When the credit crisis disrupted the availability of education loans last summer, Congress authorized the government to buy tens of billions of dollars in existing loans to keep the money flowing to students. Then, just last month, the Education Department picked Sallie Mae to be one of four companies that will, under a renewable five-year contract, service those loans in exchange for fees.

Tucked in the Education Department's press release about the deal was this highly important sentence: "The selected contractors will also service loans originated by and sold to the Department in the future."

Sallie Mae already services more than 35 percent of all student loans. A new huge stream of servicing business under its contract with the Education Department could offset losses under the Obama plan.

"We're very confident that even in a servicing mode, that we have the earnings power to generate a substantially higher stock price," Lord told Wall Street analysts this spring.



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Sources: Huffington Post, Whitehouse.gov, US News & World Report, MSNBC, Current.com, Google Maps

U.S. Economy Beginning To Stabilize...Showing Some Signs Of Progress

MSNBC, NY Post, Reuters----


WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy is finally showing signs of stabilizing in some regions of the country — especially in parts of the Northeast and Midwest — bolstering hopes of a broader-based recovery this year.

A Federal Reserve snapshot of economic conditions issued Wednesday found that most of the Fed's 12 regions indicated either that the recession was easing or that economic activity had "begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level."

The economy remains fragile. But the fact that some Fed regions reported signs of activity beginning to level out raises hope that the recession, which started in December 2007, is drawing to a close.

Four Fed regions — New York, Cleveland, Kansas City and San Francisco — pointed to "signs of stabilization," the survey said. Two regions — Chicago and St. Louis — reported that the pace of economic declined appeared to be "moderating."

Five other regions — Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta and Dallas — described activity as "slow," "subdued" or "weak." Only one region — Minneapolis — indicated that its downward slide in economic activity had worsened.

Combined, the assessments of businesses on the front lines of the economy appeared to be brighter than those they provided for the previous Fed report in mid-June.

The observations in the Fed survey are consistent with an assessment made just last week by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: that the economy should start growing in the second half of this year, ending the longest recession since World War II.

Many analysts predict the recession eased considerably in the April-to-June quarter. They're forecasting that the economy shrank at only a pace of 1.5 percent in the second quarter.

That would mark a big improvement from the annualized 5.5 percent drop in the first three months of this year. The government will release the second-quarter results on Friday. Many economists also believe that the U.S. could start growing as soon as the current quarter.

The survey's findings will figure into discussions when Bernanke and his colleagues meet next on Aug. 11-12. The Fed is expected to keep a key bank lending rate at a record low near zero to help nurture a recovery. Economists say the Fed is likely to hold rates at such record low levels through the rest of this year.

Separately Wednesday, the government said orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods plunged in June by the largest amount in five months, reflecting the troubles in the auto industry and a steep drop in demand for commercial jets.

Overall, orders fell 2.5 percent, much larger than the 0.6 percent decline economists had expected. Orders for commercial aircraft, dampened by the global recession, plunged 38.5 percent.

In the Fed report, manufacturing activity showed "some improvement" in the Richmond, Chicago and Kansas City regions. The regions of St. Louis and Dallas said the rate of decline in factory activity is moderating. The Philadelphia and Minneapolis regions saw manufacturing activity drop, while the rest of the regions described activity at "low levels."

In the factory sector, reports overall suggested that activity "remained subdued" but "slightly more positive" than in the previous survey.

Meanwhile, auto sales were mixed across the country, while travel and tourism was down in a majority of the regions.

Most regions reported "sluggish" retail activity, with shoppers continuing to be price-conscious.

But the Fed regions of Boston, Kansas City and San Francisco reported either "modest sales increases or less negative sales results," the Fed said. The Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, New York and Dallas regions reported "flat or mixed sales." The remaining Fed regions described them as "soft."

Residential real estate remained "soft" in most Fed regions, though "many noted some signs of improvement." By contrast, commercial real-estate activity weakened further.

Meanwhile, "competitive pressures" were restraining companies' ability to jack up prices. And the weak job market meant companies were more interested in cutting wages than in boosting them. Those observations are consistent with the Fed's prediction that inflation will stay low this year.


Sources: MSNBC, NY Post, Huffington Post

NC House Rep. Nick Mackey Failed To File Taxes For 3 Years....More NC Dems Corruption

Charlotte Observer----


The N.C. State Bar has accused NC State Rep. Nick Mackey (D) of “Criminal Acts” for failing to file State and Federal income tax returns.

The charges are part of a wide-ranging complaint that could lead to the Democrat's suspension or even disbarment.

The 7-page complaint, filed Tuesday, claims Mackey:

-- Failed to pay taxes from 2003-2006.

-- Failed to let law examiners know about earlier unpaid taxes when he filed to take the state bar exam in 2002.

-- Did not tell examiners that, as a Charlotte police officer, he had been investigated for “fabrication” of hourly duty reports.

-- Violated professional conduct rules in a case involving a client who had hired him to help with an adoption.

Mackey has 20 days to file an answer to the complaint, which could end up before the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission.

Said Mackey: “I'm not going to comment on it since it's pending.”



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Sources: Charlotte Observer, WSOC-TV, Google Maps

Blue Dogs Finally Agree With Other Congressional Members On Weaker Version Of HC Reform...What About Public Option?

MSNBC, Huffington Post, Politico---


Conservative Blue Dog Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are celebrating their success in delaying a full floor vote on health care legislation past the August recess and in slightly weakening two key provisions during their negotiations with committee Chairman Henry Waxman.

"We have successfully pushed a floor vote to September," Mike Ross (D-Ark.) told reporters Wednesday afternoon. "The American people want us to slow down, and that's what we're doing here."

The Blue Dogs wrestled some concessions out of Waxman (D-Calif.), particularly related to a public health care option and employer mandates. The committee's current version of the public option now more closely resembles that of the health committee in the Senate.

For instance, rather than linking the public option to the rates enjoyed by Medicare, the new language would require a separate agreement without Medicare's bargaining power, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius would be responsible for negotiating deals with service providers from day one of the public plan's existence, rather than year three. States can also set up co-op insurance plans in addition to the public option, but not in its stead.

"The public option must go out and negotiate with providers, just like private health insurance companies do," Ross said. "It's strictly optional. It won't be mandated on anyone. It will not be based on Medicare rates."

Under the terms of the compromise, close to 86 percent of small businesses -- those with an annual payroll of $500,000 or less -- will be exempt from the mandate to provide employees with health insurance, Ross said, although the Blue Dogs weren't alone in pushing for that change. Those with an annual payroll between $500,000 and $750,000 must provide graduated partial assistance.

"That's as close as you can get to totally removing the mandate without removing it," Ross said. "Quite frankly, once you get up to three-quarter million a year in annual payroll, as a former small business owner myself, most of them are already providing health insurance, and if they're not, they should."

Under the original draft legislation, Ross said, barely one-fifth the number of businesses would have been exempted.

Provisions preventing discrimination against people with preexisting conditions remain in the bill, as does a ban on rescission, the notorious insurance-company practice of voiding contracts under some pretext when a customer becomes too costly.

The Blue Dog negotiators -- Ross, Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), Baron Hill (D-Ind.) and Zack Space (D-Ohio) -- account for a majority of the seven swing Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and their approval marks a big step toward passing the bill out of committee and onto the floor, where it will be reconciled with the two other health reform bills from the Ways and Means and Education and Labor committees.

Ross said he and the other committee Blue Dogs are determined to keep the cost of the final bill under $1 trillion over 10 years. He stumbled a bit, however, on the question of how many Americans he expects a weaker bill to cover.

"As many as when we went into these -- our objective has always been to make health insurance affordable for as many people as we can in this country," he said, but estimated another 10 steps between the current bill and the one that will reach President Obama's desk. "There's going to be a lot of changes between now and then."

Ross also credited representatives from the Obama administration -- including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Office of Health Reform head Nancy Ann DeParle -- with smoothing over negotiations with Waxman. For its part, the White House Press Office responded with a chipper statement released under Obama's name:

I want to thank the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives for continuing their work on health reform to provide more stability and security for Americans who have insurance, and quality, affordable coverage for those who don't. I'm especially grateful that so many members, including some Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are working so hard to find common ground. Those efforts are extraordinarily constructive in strengthening this legislation and bringing down its cost.

House leadership likewise praised the committee Blue Dogs. "I think the way they've structured it is a good compromise," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said. The offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) released a laudatory statement not far from Obama's:

We are pleased with the full participation of all our Members, who have reviewed the legislation and proposed significant changes. At this time, we want to particularly recognize the valued leadership of the Blue Dog Coalition to lower costs, to make the legislation work better for their constituents, and to assist small businesses. These are goals shared by all Members of the Caucus. At the request of the Blue Dog Coalition, in order to allow more time to carefully review the additional proposed legislative language, we will bring the bill to the House floor in September.

Meanwhile, some rank-and-file House Democrats have been grumbling that the conservative Blue Dogs are driving the debate. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said several members of the Energy and Commerce Committee complained during floor votes Wednesday afternoon that they hadn't been kept apprised of the changes to the bill before Waxman and the Blue Dogs reached an agreement.

The 83-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, to which Waxman belongs, has reacted with particular horror to the Blue Dog changes to the public option. Though there are not enough progressives on the Energy and Commerce Committee to overpower the Blue Dogs -- only five, aside from Waxman -- caucus co-chair Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) circulated a petition Wednesday afternoon to collect signatures in protest of the deal.

[UPDATE: Just before it began, Waxman scratched Wednesday night's committee markup of the bill in order to address concerns from progressives, he told reporters. Slated to resume the review process Thursday morning, Waxman still hopes to pass the bill out of committee by the end of the week.]

Still, progressive Democrats said they were optimistic that when it comes time to reconcile the three committee bills, the final product will be significantly more to their liking than the Energy and Commerce version. "At this point, I just want to make certain we have a public option and it's good and strong," Slaughter said.

And with that in mind, Democrats are now casting the bill's delay over August recess as a chance for necessary further negotiation and review.

"A lot of people view this as the end ... the conversations are ongoing," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said. "Is there a Senate bill? You tell me. No? I rest my case. We've got a ways to go."

Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, Politico, TIME

Will Medicare Soon Become Obsolete? Is It Too Expensive For The Gov't To Maintain?

Huffington Post, Washington Post, MSNBC----


WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators agreed tentatively Tuesday on a plan to squeeze an additional $35 billion out of Medicare over the next decade and larger sums in the years beyond, according to congressional officials, a step toward fulfilling President Barack Obama's goal of curbing the growth of health care spending.

Under the plan, an independent commission would be empowered to recommend changes in Medicare annually, to take effect automatically unless Congress enacted an alternative. In addition to saving money, the proposal is aimed at turning the program for those age 65 and over into one that more clearly rewards quality, officials said.

The commission would be required to recommend $35 billion in savings over a decade from Medicare. There was no immediate estimate on the longer-term effects of the provision, the topic of exhaustive discussion among three Democrats and three Republicans groping for a compromise on legislation atop the administration's domestic agenda. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss details of the private talks.

The negotiations occurred as White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel spent much of his day in the Capitol attempting to untangle a dispute that has stalled a companion bill in the House.

Progress has been blocked by a group of conservative-to-moderate Democrats seeking to exempt additional businesses from a requirement to offer insurance under the bill, and to alter the rules governing a government insurance option, among other changes.

"The legislative process is about give and take," Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of the Democratic critics, said during a break in the talks. "There could be a breakthrough in the next few hours and then again there may not be."

There was no breakthrough, and the talks ended around 9:30 p.m. EDT with no agreement except to meet again Wednesday.

The White House and Democratic leaders originally set deadlines of votes in the House and Senate on health care legislation before lawmakers leave the Capitol for a monthlong summer vacation. While Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to publicly abandon that timetable for the House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did so last week, and it appears the earliest either house can vote is in September.

Obama is seeking legislation to extend health insurance to millions who lack it, at the same time he has asked lawmakers to slow the growth in the skyrocketing cost of medical care overall.

When it appeared more than a week ago that the House bill would fall short on cost-cutting, Obama called on lawmakers to relinquish some of the control they now exercise over setting payments to hospitals and other health care providers under Medicare.

Most of the variations under discussion have called for creation of a commission to issue annual recommendations for savings that would go into effect automatically unless the House and Senate blocked them. Currently, Congress must vote affirmatively to make any changes, a system that encourages individual lawmakers to seek favorable treatment for constituents or businesses in their districts or states.

Any bipartisan compromise that emerges from the negotiations is also expected to include a number of cutbacks in planned payments to hospitals and other Medicare providers, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

The bipartisan group is attempting to complete work in time for the Senate Finance Committee to vote on legislation next week.

While the lawmakers involved have devoted weeks to the talks, there is no guarantee that any agreement would survive scrutiny in the full Senate. There, Democrats control 60 seats, and liberals, in particular, are expected to seek major changes.

Both bills under discussion would require insurance companies to offer insurance to all comers, and bar them from raising premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

The bills provide federal subsidies to help lower-income individuals and families purchase insurance.


Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, Washington Post

Pres. Obama Takes Debate For HC Reform To North Carolina...Warns Congress, "Stop Scaring Everybody"

MSNBC, Whitehouse.gov, Washington Post, Charlotte Observer, News Observer----


(Pres. Obama takes re-tooled Health Care Reform pitch on the road.
He spent another day on the road Wednesday pushing a health care overhaul as Democrats in the House appeared to have settled on a compromise plan that they'll take to the floor for a vote. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Pres. Obama sends a stern message to the G.O.P. and Blue Dogs, "Stop scaring everybody".)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

RALEIGH, N.C. - After weeks of turmoil, House Democrats reached a shaky peace with the party's rebellious rank-and-file conservatives Wednesday and cleared the way for a vote in September on sweeping U.S. health care legislation.

Bipartisan Senate negotiators reported progress, too, on a bill said to extend coverage to 95 percent of all Americans without raising federal deficits.

"We're on the edge, we're almost there," said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican involved in the secretive talks, although a fellow party participant, Sen. Mike Enzi , dissented strongly.

Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat and chairman of the Finance Committee, said preliminary estimates from congressional budget experts showed the cost of the emerging Senate plan was below $900 billion and would result in an increase in employer-sponsored insurance — conclusions that may reassure critics who fear a bloated bill that prompts businesses to abandon the coverage they currently provide.

In the House, Democratic leaders gave in — at least temporarily — to numerous demands from rank-and-file rebels, so-called Blue Dogs from the conservative wing of the party who had been blocking the bill's passage in the last of three committees.

The House changes, which drew immediate opposition from liberals in the chamber, would reduce the federal subsidies designed to help lower-income families afford insurance, exempt additional businesses from a requirement to offer insurance to their workers and change the terms of a government insurance option.

At their core, both the House bill and the plan under negotiation in the Senate are designed to meet President Barack Obama's goals of spreading health coverage to millions who now lack it, while slowing the skyrocketing growth in health care costs nationally.

Obama has placed the issue atop his domestic agenda, and as recently as two weeks ago was pressing the House and Senate insistently to pass separate bills by the end of July or early August.

The United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens, and Obama campaigned on a promise to offer affordable health care to all Americans. However, the recession and a deepening budget deficit have made it difficult to win support for costly new programs.

About 50 million of America's 300 million people are without health insurance. The government provides coverage for the poor, elderly, military veterans and many children, but most Americans rely on private insurance, usually received through their employers. However, not all employers provide insurance and not everyone can afford to buy it. With unemployment rising, many Americans are losing their health insurance when they lose their jobs.

The White House issued a statement praising the development in the House, and with appearances in the states of North Carolina and Virginia, the president sought to minimize the significance of the slippage in his timetable.

"We did give them a deadline, and sort of we missed that deadline. But that's OK," Obama said. "We don't want to just do it quickly, we want to do it right."

Rep. Mike Ross, a leader of conservative and moderate Democrats, said the changes agreed to by the leadership would cut the cost of the House bill by about $100 billion over 10 years.

While Baucus reported the Senate Finance measure carried a price tag of under $1 trillion, congressional officials said it included only the cost of the first year of a 10-year, $245 billion program to increase doctor fees under Medicare. House Democrats used a similar sleight of hand, excluding the entire $245 billion when claiming their measure wouldn't add to the deficit.

The House deal was worked out over hours of talks that involved not only Democratic leaders but also White House officials eager to advance the bill. Senior congressional aides cast it as a temporary deal, saying leaders had not committed to support it once the bill advances to the floor of the House.

In the Senate, Baucus, Grassley and two other senators from each party have been negotiating for weeks in hopes of agreeing on compromise legislation. Both men face considerable pressure from their respective parties — Baucus not to stray too far from Democratic objectives, Grassley not to hand the president a political victory.



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Sources: Whitehouse.gov, MSNBC, Washington Post, Charlotte Observer, News Observer, Google Maps

Creative Mother Bakes Her Way Out Of Foreclosure..."Mortgage Apple Cake" (Partial Recipe)

MSNBC----


(How baking cakes saved her home.
TODAY’s Ann Curry talks to Angela Logan about how her cake, known as the “Mortgage Apple Cake,” helped her keep her home.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

During the Great Depression, people sold apples in the streets to get enough money for their next meal. Fast-forward 80 years to another recession and meet Angela Logan, who is selling apple cakes to friends, neighbors and total strangers over the Internet to get enough money to save her home from foreclosure.

Like so many great ideas, it was born of sheer desperation, Logan told TODAY’s Ann Curry Tuesday in New York. After 20 years of living in her home in Teaneck, N.J., a double financial whammy pushed her to the brink of losing it.

Double whammy:

The first hit was a home construction project to repair storm damage and make other improvements. The contractor turned out to be less than honest and hit Logan with thousands of dollars in overcharges she hadn’t planned on. Then an agency that represented Logan in her work as an actor went under, taking thousands of dollars she had coming to her with it.

Logan’s fiance and one of her three sons exhausted their savings trying to help keep her afloat. Finally, she applied for help under President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Plan. After three months of waiting for a response from the holder of her mortgage, she learned just two weeks ago that she had 10 days to make a $2,500 mortgage payment that would begin to qualify her for the federal program.

“We were in limbo for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, bam, we had to have this amount of money three months in a row in order to have our mortgage,” Logan told Curry. “I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to come out of foreclosure.”

Logan, the 55-year-old mother of three sons, is also a substitute teacher and is studying at Bergen Community College in New Jersey to become a nurse. She hit on the idea of selling the scrumptious apple cake her grandmother taught her to bake when she was a child in Atlanta.

“I asked the kids, ‘What do you think about me selling this cake to pay the mortgage?’ ” Logan related to Curry. “The kids — who usually say, ‘Nah, that’s a bad idea ’cause Mom said it’ — said, ‘Yeah, we love your cake. We think it would be a great idea.’

“So we said, ‘What will we call it? We’ll call it Mortgage Apple Cake.’ ”

Selling like (hot) cakes:

The cake is made with organic ingredients, and after some research, Logan decided that $40 was a reasonable price. She figured if she could sell 100 cakes, she could keep her home.

The next day, Thursday, July 16, Logan started spreading the word. “I set out to ask family and friends. I stood up in class and asked my classmates. I told them about the situation and they just gave me money for cakes. I went to my church; they gave me money for cakes. My friends from organizations I have worked for doing nonprofit fundraising events — they told all their friends. And between the Wednesday when I started and the next Thursday, I sold 42 cakes from my home with four pans, one bowl and one mixer.”

Her local newspaper, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., heard about Logan’s efforts to bake herself out of foreclosure and wrote a story about her. Other newspapers followed up, along with local television stations. Before Logan knew what had hit her, she had orders for 500 cakes.

She was getting up at 3 a.m. to bake the cakes one at a time in her own kitchen, but there was no way she could fill so many orders. She also didn’t know how she could deliver cakes to addresses all over the United States as well as overseas.

Angels to the rescue:

Into the breach stepped two angels. The Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., read about her efforts and offered her the use of its kitchen, free of charge. That was vital, because health officials in her hometown had decided she couldn’t run a commercial bakery from her home.

The second angel showed up on her doorstep, also after reading about Logan’s story. He is Josh Kaye, founder and president of Bake Me A Wish, a not-for-profit bakery that sells delicious goodies for charitable causes. He volunteered his organization’s kitchens to take over the bulk baking, as well as to deliver the cakes.

“She was staying up all hours of the night trying to bake cakes,” said Kaye, who joined Logan on TODAY. “I said, ‘Bake Me A Wish is going to come here and we’re going to bail you out. We’re going to help you pay your mortgage.’ And we started to bake cakes for her.”

Logan delivered her first mortgage payment on time, and expects to make the next two payments, which will make her eligible for a renegotiated loan that will knock $1,000 off her monthly mortgage payment.

Meanwhile, she and Kaye are working to make her success help others.

“We’re going to give a portion of all the sales we have to giving back to other people in need,” Kaye said. “We’re negotiating with a charity right now to enable them to do that.”

Said Logan as Curry dug a fork into a big wedge of the moist and delectable Mortgage Apple Cake, “It’s all so fast, I cannot believe it. It’s like a dream come true. It’s surreal.”

The complete recipe of Angela Logan’s apple mortgage cake is her secret — but this much can be revealed. The cake includes:
— Buttercream cheese frosting
— Fresh Gala and Red Delicious apples, cut fresh
— Whole grain and unbleached flour
— Saigon cinnamon
— A secret ingredient that makes it moist



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Sources: MSNBC, Today's Show, Whitehouse.gov, Makinghomeaffordable.gov, Google Maps

Jackson 5 Throwback: "I Want You Back" (Video)

Michael Jackson with The Jackson 5 performing "I Want You Back," on Soul Train in 1972. Michael was 13.





Sources: MSNBC, Youtube

Obama Administration Spends $1 Billion Of Recovery Act Funds To Hire 4,699 Police Officers (Stimulus Watch)

Whitehouse.gov, Charlotte Observer----


The Recovery Act is providing $1 billion in grants to fund the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers in all 50 states. The grants will be awarded to 1,046 agencies across the country, and will provide 100 percent of the salary and benefits for 4,699 officers for three years. The Vice President explained that these Recovery Act funds will not only save and create jobs, but will also help build safer communities as we move forward:

A big part of the Recovery Act is about building communities – making them as strong as they can be, allowing every American family to live a better life than the one they are leading now. And we can’t achieve the goal of stronger communities without supporting those who keep our streets safe.

The Recovery Act grants will be administered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The Department of Justice received over 7,200 requests for the grants. Attorney General Holder explained how grant recipients were chosen:

And these officers will go directly to the places they are needed most. These funds are focused on hiring officers who will be on the streets, in our neighborhoods, and on the front lines of our fight to keep the American people safe. And let us not forget: keeping brave and well-trained police officers employed is also good for our economy.

These grants not only represent 4,699 men and women across our country fighting crime, but also 4,699 men and women who will be able to make house and car payments, make ends meet, and save for their children’s future.

Of course, with such an incredible program, it’s no surprise that the number of grant requests was overwhelming. We received applications from more than 7,000 cities and towns, and made funding decisions based on crime rate, financial need, and community policing activities.

The thousands of applications that poured in are indicative of both the tough times our states, cities and tribes are facing and the unyielding commitment by law enforcement to making our communities safer. I’m proud to be a part of an administration that backs up the commitment of our law enforcement community not just with words, but with the resources our partners need.



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Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Recovery.gov, Charlotte Observer, Flickr, Google Maps

Michael Jackson's Doctor One Step Closer To Joining Other Convicted Killers Behind Prison Bars...Greedy, Legalized Drug Pusher

Washington Post, MSNBC
---


(Police and drug enforcement officials have executed search warrants at the Las Vegas home and office of Michael Jackson's personal physician. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Law enforcement sources say Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gave the pop icon the powerful sedative propofol before he died. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Legal experts discuss the case against Michael Jackson's doctor.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

LAS VEGAS -- Federal agents searched the home and office of Michael Jackson's personal physician Tuesday in a widening investigation of whether administering a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid was so reckless that it constitutes manslaughter.

Such charges against a doctor for the death of a patient are extremely rare. Authorities would have to show there was a reckless action that created a risk of death.

After a three hour-search of Dr. Conrad Murray's sprawling home near the 18th hole of a golf course in a private gated community, Los Angeles police and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents carried away five or six plastic storage containers and several thick manila envelopes. Across town authorities searched Murray's medical offices, Global Cardiovascular Associates Inc., for nine hours seeking documents. Investigators removed several boxes but declined to describe what they had seized.

Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, issued a statement saying the sealed search warrant "authorized investigators to look for medical records relating to Michael Jackson and all of his reported aliases."

Murray was present during the search of his home and assisted the officers, who seized cell phones and a computer hard drive, Chernoff said.

Though authorities characterize Murray as the target of the investigation, they have stopped short of labeling him a suspect.

Murray told investigators he administered the anesthetic propofol to Jackson the night he died to help him sleep, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The official told AP that Murray left the bedroom where Jackson was sedated and returned to find the star not breathing. It's unclear how long Murray was out of the room.

The official said investigators are working under the theory that propofol caused Jackson's heart to stop. Toxicology reports that should show what killed Jackson are expected as early as this week.

Propofol typically is used to render patients unconscious for surgery. The drug can depress breathing and lower heart rates and blood pressure.

Home use of propofol is virtually unheard of, and if Murray left Jackson's side he would have violated guidelines for the safe use of the drug drawn up by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Those rules say a physician "should be physically present throughout the sedation and remain immediately available until the patient is medically discharged from the post procedure recovery area."

In considering a manslaughter charge against a doctor, a patient's complicity in taking the risk could reduce the doctor's culpability, said Harland Braun, a prominent Los Angeles defense attorney who has represented doctors in cases involving administering of drugs.

If a doctor is aware of the risk, there might also be an issue of whether the patient knows that risk and decided to take it.

Chernoff has said the doctor "didn't prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson." He declined interview requests Tuesday.

The search of Murray's home and business involved members of the DEA's Los Angeles Tactical Diversion Squad, agency spokesman Jose Martinez said. The team typically looks into cases involving legally prescribed drugs such as narcotic painkillers that are illegally sold or obtained by people not authorized to have them, such as "doctor shoppers" who get medications from several physicians so they can sell the drugs or feed their addiction.

Lt. Greg Strenk of the Los Angeles police robbery and homicide division said outside the medical office that the searches had been completed in Las Vegas but the investigation was ongoing.

The Las Vegas searches were the second time in less than a week that investigators targeted Murray's property. Last week authorities searched his Houston clinic and a storage unit. Court records show they were seeking evidence of whether the doctor committed manslaughter.

Murray, 56, who is licensed in California, Nevada and Texas, became Jackson's personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July.

He was staying with Jackson in the entertainer's rented Los Angeles mansion and, according to Chernoff, "happened to find" Jackson unconscious in his bedroom the morning of June 25. Murray tried to revive him by compressing his chest with one hand while supporting Jackson's back with the other.

It took up to a half hour before paramedics were called, Murray's lawyers have said. The paramedics arrived about three minutes later and tried to revive the pop star for another 42 minutes before taking him to nearby UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was pronounced dead.

Jackson is believed to have been using propofol for about two years and investigators are trying to determine how many other doctors administered it. Murray told investigators he had given Jackson the drug several times before, the law enforcement official told AP.

As investigators try to untangle Jackson's complex medical history they have interviewed at least six doctors who treated him and searched records for transactions involving aliases Jackson may have used to get drugs.

The official said Murray directed investigators to a closet in the room where Jackson slept. In it, they found enough propofol and sedatives to fill two gym bags. The room also contained an IV line and three tanks of oxygen, which would be needed for administration of propofol.



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Sources: Washington Post, MSNBC, Google Maps

NFL Grants Michael Vick A Second Chance...Will Society Follow Suit?

Fox Sports, NBC Sports----



(NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell states that esteemed Football Coach Tony Dungy will be Michael Vick's Mentor.)

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Michael Vick is back in the NFL. Now all he needs is a team to play for.

Vick, free after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring, was reinstated with conditions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. He could participate in regular-season games as early as October.

Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games — if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.

Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.

Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted bankrolling a dogfighting operation on his property in Virginia. At the time, Goodell said Vick must show remorse before he would consider reinstating him.

"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others," Goodell said in his letter to Vick. "I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."

"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," the letter said. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."

Goodell said he spoke to numerous current and former players and coaches as he weighed his decision and that the responses were "very mixed."

"I do recognize that some will never forgive him for what he did," Goodell said. "I hope that the public will have a chance to understand his position as I have."

Vick, once the highest-paid player in the league, said he was grateful for a second chance.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to commissioner Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said in a statement released by his agent, Joel Segal. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given.

"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward," he said.

The announcement came after a busy first week of freedom for Vick, who met with union leaders and Goodell on consecutive days last week. His 23-month federal sentence ended when an electronic monitor was removed from his ankle on July 20 at his home in Hampton, Va.

He met with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, last Tuesday and, on Wednesday, with Goodell at a security firm in Allendale, N.J.

Goodell said Vick agreed to undergo psychiatric testing, which determined that he was capable of returning to the NFL but needed continuing counseling.

He said keeping Vick from playing at the start of the regular season wasn't a form of punishment, but a chance for the quarterback to gradually transition back into the league.

"I have thought about every alternative, but I think this gives him the best chance for success," Goodell said. "We are not looking for failure here. We are looking to see a young man succeed."

But Vick's issues are far from over and he needs a team to call his own. So far, the owners of the New York Giants, Jets and Dallas Cowboys have said they had no interest in the 29-year-old quarterback. Neither do the Falcons, who officially released Vick in June.

Vick filed for bankruptcy protection last July, listing assets of about $16 million and debts of more than $20 million, and has a hearing about his plan to repay his creditors on Friday in Newport News, Va. That plan is built around his ability to make NFL-type money again.

He's unlikely to command anything close to the 10-year, $130 million contract he once had with the Falcons, or to get endorsement deals after the grisly details of the dogfighting ring were publicized.

Vick pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn't perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground.

Vick's appearances at federal court in Richmond, Va., prompted large groups of protesters to gather outside. Many were with PETA and held signs depicting photographs of pit bulls ravaged in dogfights.

Still, there were supporters who wore his No. 7 jersey.

Vick has already taken steps to rebuild his image.

He met with the president of the Humane Society of the United States while serving his federal sentence at Leavenworth, Kan. He plans to work with HSUS in a program designed to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting. He was not permitted to work with the program while in custody.

Ed Sayres, president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the organization hopes Vick "rises to the occasion and proves worthy of the rare second chance Commissioner Goodell has granted him."

"Opportunities for redemption are rare — but that is exactly the opportunity that awaits Mr. Vick," he said.



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Sources: NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Zimbio, PETA, Google Maps