Obama administration

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Obama's Cure Not Potent Enough for Economic Ills

Call for bold action on economy followed by plan that falls a long way short

(Newser) - Barack Obama's call for aggressive action on the economy hasn’t been backed up by a plan bold enough to do the job, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. Plunging levels of investment and consumer spending will leave a gap of around $2 trillion between what America produces...

Dems Don't Like Obama Tax Cuts
Dems Don't Like Obama Tax Cuts
Jan 9, 2009 5:35 AM CST

Dems Don't Like Obama Tax Cuts

Hill leaders doubt plan's stimulus power, say prez-elect trying too hard to woo GOP

(Newser) - Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts are opening a rift with his former congressional colleagues, the Hill reports. Democratic lawmakers are skeptical as to whether the cuts—which are 40% of the proposed stimulus package—will give the economy the necessary boost. Some think the president-elect is trying too hard to...

Obama Is 'Prepared to Talk to Hamas'

Secret contact under consideration: sources

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama is prepared to break with Bush administration policy and open lines of communication with Hamas, sources close to the transition team tell the Guardian. Advisors believe that ostracizing Hamas isn't working and support a move by Obama to quietly contact Hamas, perhaps through intelligence agencies—the same...

DTV Date Switch Gains Momentum in DC

Fund to aid consumers' conversion has run dry; June 1 may be alternative

(Newser) - Pressure from an influential consumer group and a change in attitudes on Capitol Hill may push back the mandated switch to digital television, Broadcasting & Cable reports. A letter from the Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, to key lawmakers and the Bush and Obama administrations urges them to reconsider...

Reid: I Won't Be Obama Rubber Stamp

Senate majority leader vows Congress won't just be Obama's rubber stamp

(Newser) - The 111th Congress is going to be a lot more than just a rubber stamp for Barack Obama's policies, Harry Reid tells the Hill. The Senate majority leader says Democrats must take care to avoid over-reaching. "If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him," the Democrat...

Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time
Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time
ANALYSIS
Jan 7, 2009 4:41 AM CST

Gupta's Right Doc for Political Prime Time

CNN's medicine man will help push preventive health care message, Park notes

(Newser) - Barack Obama's choice of CNN's health correspondent as his surgeon general is raising eyebrows, but the pick underlines Obama's plans to focus on preventive care, Alice Park writes in Time. The telegenic Sanjay Gupta, while lacking the government experience most surgeon generals have brought to the job, has anchored specials...

4 Justice Dept. Picks Mark Break From Bush Era

Obama taps Harvard dean, Clinton vets

(Newser) - Barack Obama announced his nominees for four top positions in the Justice Department yesterday, all of whom suggest a sharp turn away from Bush-era legal policies. Among them is Elena Kagan, the dean of Harvard Law School and a Clinton adviser, who is the first woman named solicitor general. In...

Groups Go High-Tech in Push for Obama Jobs

Groups modernize process of sorting resumes

(Newser) - Special interest groups eager to cement plum spots in the Obama administration are using private websites and online databases to angle for positions, Politico reports. Instead of tossing their résumés onto the pile at Change.gov, savvy applicants are casting their lots with these groups, which pore over...

Recession-Battered States Slash Medicaid

Governments lower payments, cut add-ons to health program

(Newser) - As states across the country struggle to cope with staggering budget shortfalls, 19 of them have cut back on Medicaid, reports the Washington Post. The states, along with DC, are lowering payments to hospitals and nursing homes, ending coverage for less common treatments, and booting some citizens out of the...

Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09
Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09
ANALYSIS
Dec 25, 2008 9:24 AM CST

Battle Over Regulation Looms in '09

Some worry Obama won't do enough to rein in derivatives market

(Newser) - After the economic meltdown of 2008, the coming year will see a battle over one of the most politically contentious issues in finance: the regulation of derivatives markets. Some who opposed government oversight before now acknowledge the need for tighter controls. But they face an uphill battle, reports Newsweek, against...

Stimulus Fight: Green Vs. Quick
 Stimulus Fight: Green Vs. Quick 
Dec 24, 2008 6:52 AM CST

Stimulus Fight: Green Vs. Quick

Democrats battle for stimulus in 2009 infrastructure bonanza

(Newser) - As the incoming administration prepares its massive stimulus package, a divide is emerging between environmentalists, who want to prioritize "green-collar" jobs such as wind and solar power, and advocates of ready-to-go infrastructure like roads and bridges. As the Washington Post reports, each side is accusing the other of...

Clinton Moves to Beef Up State
Clinton Moves
to Beef Up State
Dec 23, 2008 8:20 AM CST

Clinton Moves to Beef Up State

Bigger budget, expanded role sought for department that withered under Bush

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is already working to restore some of the strength sapped from the State Department under the Bush administration, the New York Times reports. Clinton is seeking a bigger budget for the department and wants to restore the role played by high-profile special envoys. Officials say Clinton also wants...

Bush Pentagon Team Asked to Stay On
Bush Pentagon Team Asked
to Stay On
Dec 23, 2008 2:00 AM CST

Bush Pentagon Team Asked to Stay On

Gates keeps appointees on board until they are replaced

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has taken the unusual step of inviting most of President Bush's political appointees to remain at the Pentagon until they are replaced, the Washington Times reports. An undisclosed number will be dismissed, but Gates, keen to avoid a "leadership vacuum" with two wars on, wants...

With Picks, Obama Plays Both Sides of 'Change' Coin

He's got old hands on economy, foreign policy, new faces to bring shifts elsewhere

(Newser) - Barack Obama seems intent on giving America two administrations for the price of one, Gerald Seib writes in the Wall Street Journal. The first, his national-security and economic appointments, is full of well-known Washington veterans, sending a message of steadiness amid war and financial calamity. But the second wave of...

Obama Picks Physicist as Science Adviser

Harvard energy expert to get key role, cheering scientists

(Newser) - Barack Obama will appoint Harvard physicist John P. Holdren as science adviser this weekend, pointing to an expanded role for science in the next administration, the Boston Globe reports. Holdren is versed in energy, climate change, and nuclear proliferation. Coming on the heels of Nobel laureate Steven Chu’s nomination...

Support Strong for Gay Navy Secretary

'Don't ask, don't tell' wouldn't apply because post is a civilian job

(Newser) - Retired military leaders and congressional Democrats are urging Barack Obama to nominate Bill White, an openly gay executive at the New York museum featuring the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, as secretary of the Navy, the Washington Times reports. The civilian post would not be subject to the Pentagon’s “...

White House Preps Crisis Scenarios for Obama Team

Bush administration strives to stop transition period becoming a security weak spot

(Newser) - The White House has drawn up more than a dozen contingency plans to help Barack Obama if a crisis erupts early in his presidency, the New York Times reports. The briefings go way beyond what other administrations have prepared and deal with potential threats ranging from a North Korean nuclear...

EPA Pick Has Toxic Record, Critics Charge

Jackson promised NJ cleanup effort, then didn't follow through

(Newser) - Lisa Jackson, Barack Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, will bring some controversy with her, ProPublica reports. Critics say that after promising to speed efforts to clean up toxic waste sites as New Jersey’s top environmental official, Jackson failed to follow through. A defender says Jackson...

Collapsing Nations Threaten to Be Obama's First Crisis

Imploding world economies would demand tough foreign policy choices

(Newser) - Barack Obama's first major foreign policy crisis threatens to be no less that the complete collapse of a large and unstable nation, Marc Ambinder writes in the Atlantic. The transition team has so far been silent—in public, anyway—on the prospect, but there are indications they are convinced the...

GOP May Grill Bill at Hillary's Hearing

Lawmakers likely to raise conflict of interest issues

(Newser) - Senate Republicans are considering calling on Bill Clinton to testify at his wife's confirmation hearing for secretary of State, Politico reports. It's unusual for anybody apart from the nominee to testify at a confirmation hearing. But GOP lawmakers are concerned about Bill's worldwide business dealings and their potential impact on...

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