Road Trip

A caravan will take off from St. Louis, Missouri, Monday in support of Gulf Coast businesses in the aftermath of the oil disaster.



"We've learned of so many businesses in the Gulf region that are losing their customers, employees and dreams because of the impact on tourism," organizer Dennis Gorg said in a statement. "As a small business owner, I can't imagine how I'd support the people who depend on me. We can do something. We can become tourists with a purpose."

The caravan plans to stop and spend money at businesses along the Gulf in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, completing their trek on Friday. The group says it will blog about its experience.

Obama administration officials said Sunday that while the undersea gusher in the Gulf of Mexico has been brought under control, the worst oil spill in U.S. history will continue to be felt along the Gulf Coast for some time.

"If you're sitting in Barataria Bay, it's still a disaster. If the folks have not come back to the panhandle of Florida, it's still a disaster," former Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the administration's point man for the disaster, told CNN's "State of the Union."

A report from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration last week found three-quarters of the oil spilled between late April and mid-July has been collected, dispersed or evaporated. But Allen said, "We need to keep a steady hand at the tiller to keep the cleanup going."

"It's a catastrophe. It's a catastrophe for the people of the Gulf, and it requires our attention until we get the job done," he said.

Allen will hold a teleconference Monday to update response efforts in the Gulf.

And White House environmental adviser Carol Browner told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the "first phase" of the disaster was over -- but it is "not the end by any means."   See Full Story





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CS Sunday: Spill Bills & Sunrise Transmission | Clean Skies

Congress is working on two versions of spill bills in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. But those bills may end up costing the renewable energy industry. Neither has a Renewable Electricity Standard and without that wind, solar and geothermal experts say those industries can't flourish. Tyler Suiters delves into the bills, and speaks with a woman whose family invested in solar, and sees a bright future for the energy source.    Watch Video


 





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National Guard Troops heading To Arizona

 As Arizona counts down the days until its controversial immigration bill goes into effect, the federal government announced on Monday that National Guard troops and other reinforcements are scheduled to arrive in the state beginning Aug. 1 to help battle the movement of illegal immigrants and drugs across the border.

In addition to the roughly 524 National Guard troops that the administration has previously promised to send to the Arizona-Mexico border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Monday that hundreds of additional Border Patrol agents and customs officers will also be sent to the area.

"We are also reassigning major technology assets, including mobile surveillance systems, thermal-imaging binocular units, and trucks equipped with detection scopes, as well as observation and utility aircraft," Napolitano said in a guest column in the Arizona Republic.

Up to 1200 Guard troops will be deployed to the Southwest in total, and the troops will train and be fully deployed by September, reports The Associated Press. They are slated to be stationed on the border for a year, and will be working in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

The Republic also spoke to a government official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, who said Napolitano will be sending over 300 Border Patrol agents and port inspectors to the Tucson Sector, while also shifting 100 existing ICE personnel to be on duty across Arizona state.

The Obama administration has publicly decried Arizona's new law, scheduled to start being enforced July 20, and the Justice Department is suing to block the bill on the grounds that it attempts to usurp the power of the federal government.

Instead, President Obama has outlined an approach to immigration reform that would include a process to allow illegal immigrants to gain residency by paying back taxes and passing background checks, among other stipulations.

In her column for the Republic, Napolitano reiterated that security along the U.S.-Mexico border has improved in recent years. "Despite what those looking to score political points may tell you, the numbers show we are moving in the right direction," she wrote. "Last year, illegal crossings along the Southwest border were down 23 percent...And, by all measurable standards, crime levels in U.S. border towns have remained flat for most of the last decade."

Yet recent polls show that most Americans support even tougher laws against illegal immigration. A Gallup poll this month found that a majority of Americans responded badly to the Justice Department's lawsuit against the Arizona bill, with 50 percent of respondents reporting a negative initial reaction, while only 33 percent reacted positively.

"This means the Obama administration is sailing against the tide of public opinion in its efforts to block the law," Gallup reported.    Source: DailyNews





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Next up on unfinished Senate agenda: unemployment insurance

Once Democrat Carte Goodwin is sworn in Tuesday to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd, Senate Democrats will have the votes to try again to extend unemployment insurance to the jobless.

For congressional Democrats – especially in the often-gridlocked US Senate – this week marks a sprint to wind up a large, unfinished agenda in time to sway midterm elections.

Big-ticket items range from energy and campaign-finance reform to decisions over expiring Bush-era tax cuts, war funding, and 12 spending bills for fiscal year 2011, which begins Oct. 1. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the US Supreme Court, with a full Senate vote expected later in the week.

With the swearing-in on Tuesday of Democrat Carte Goodwin to fill the seat of the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Democrats say they have the 60th vote needed break a Republican filibuster and approve a long-stalled $34 billion extension of unemployment benefits..

Highlighting the unfinished Senate agenda in his weekly address on Saturday, President Obama charged Republicans with "filibustering the nation's economic recovery" and making a stand “on the backs of the unemployed.” Most Senate Republicans oppose the measure on the grounds that Democrats have not identified offsetting spending cuts to pay for it..

“We're all for extending unemployment insurance. The question is, when are we going to get serious … about the debt?” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union." “We recently passed a $13 trillion cumulative deficit threshold. When are we going to get serious about this? This administration has been on an incredible spending spree.”.

Back in February, when maverick Sen. Jim Bunning (R) of Kentucky launched a one-man bid to block a $10 billion, temporary extension of eligibility for unemployment insurance, 78 senators opposed him, including 19 of his GOP colleagues. But since then, Senate Republicans, with the exception of Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, have rallied around the theme of reining in federal deficits, even at the expense of unemployed constituents..

“There’s bipartisan support for the idea of helping the unemployed. The Democrats missed a great opportunity to pass a bill showing that we could also control costs,” says Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina..

At the same time, Republicans say there is no need to offset the cost of extending the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, now set to expire Dec. 31. If these cuts expire, the highest income tax bracket jumps from 35 percent to 39.6 percent; the lowest, from 10 percent to 15 percent. The top rate for dividends, now 15 percent, runs up to 39.6 percent. The top rate for taxes on capital gains rises from 15 to 20 percent. The estate tax, which dropped to zero for 2010, reverts to a top rate of 55 percent..

“We believe that the problem is not that we tax too little but that we spend too much,” Senator McConnell said Sunday..

Mr. Obama campaigned on a pledge to extend the Bush tax cuts for families with incomes less than $250,000 a year and for individuals earning less than $200,000 – a measure that Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation estimates will cost $300 billion annually..   Full Story

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Jobless aid stalls in Senate; home buyers get more time

The Senate failed once again late Wednesday to advance a plan to restore jobless benefits for people out of work more than six months, leaving millions of unemployed workers in limbo until after the July 4 recess.

The measure fell one vote shy of the 60 needed to end a Republican filibuster. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) said he was prepared to provide that vote, but that Democrats had rejected his request to pay for at least half of the $34 billion measure with unspent funds from last year's stimulus package.

"Democrats are more interested in having this issue to demagogue for political gamesmanship than they are in simply passing the benefits extension," Voinovich, who is retiring, said in a statement. "I came to the table with a fair compromise and the ball is in their court."

Democrats countered that the 9.7 percent jobless rate constitutes a continuing emergency that, under congressional budget rules, has traditionally been addressed through deficit spending.

"For those who question whether this is an emergency situation, they should talk to the Nevadans who I hear from every day who rely on this assistance to put food on the table and pay the bills while they look for work," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said at a news conference with Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis.

That argument won over at least two Republicans: Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine voted for the stripped-down measure, which would have restored jobless benefits that expired June 2 and extended the deadline for home buyers to claim a tax credit aimed at reviving the housing market until Sept. 30. After the overall bill failed, the Senate passed a separate measure that sent the tax credit to President Obama for his signature.

At Snowe's urging, Democrats had jettisoned numerous other provisions from the jobless bill, including $16 billion for cash-strapped state governments, $1 billion for summer jobs and $32 billion in special-interest tax breaks that expired earlier this year.

But other Republicans -- as well as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) -- continued to insist that at least a portion of the jobless benefits be paid for, arguing that the nation can no longer afford to add to record budget deficits. When it became clear that the vote would fail, Reid switched sides for strategic reasons, making the final vote 58 to 38.

House leaders were planning to take up the jobless bill Thursday and said they expect it to pass. But its failure in the Senate ensures that more than 2 million people will have their checks cut off before Congress returns to Washington after a week-long break. The Labor Department estimates that more than 1.2 million people already have been affected.

States typically provide unemployment benefits for up to 26 weeks. Congress triggered emergency benefits in 2008 and expanded them in last year's stimulus package. On June 2, the federal programs was providing more than 5 million people with up to 99 weeks of assistance.  Via Washington Post






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Solar Panels, Loans and a Turf War

The Obama administration is devoting $150 million in stimulus money for programs that help homeowners install solar panels and other energy improvements, which they pay for over time on their property tax bills.

At the same time, the two government-chartered agencies that buy and resell most home mortgages are threatening to derail the effort by warning that they might not accept loans for homes that take advantage of the special financing.

The mixed messages have alarmed state officials and prompted many local governments to freeze their programs, which have been hailed as an innovative way to help homeowners afford the retrofitting of a house with solar panels, which can cost $30,000 or more before incentives.

“The thing that is maddening is that this is having a real-life impact with companies laying off people and homeowners in limbo as all these projects are stalled,” said Clifford Rechtschaffen, a special assistant attorney general in California.

Under the financing programs, a local government borrows money through bonds or other means, and then uses it to make loans to homeowners to cover the upfront costs of solar installations or other energy improvements. Each owner repays the loan over 20 years through a special property tax assessment, which stays with the home even if it is sold.

The technique, known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, was pioneered by Berkeley, Calif., in 2008, and 22 states have authorized such programs, which are intended to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency. So far, only a few thousand people have used them.

But the Energy Department wants to promote the programs — and give an economic boost to companies that install energy systems — through the $150 million in stimulus funds, which are intended to help communities cover setup and administrative costs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government entities that guarantee more than half of the residential mortgages in the United States, have different priorities. They are worried that taxpayers will end up as losers if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage on a home that uses such creative financing. Typically, property taxes must be paid first from any proceeds on a foreclosed home.

In letters sent to mortgage lenders on May 5, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stated that energy-efficiency liens could not take priority over a mortgage. “The purpose of this industry letter is to remind seller/servicers that an energy-related lien may not be senior to any mortgage delivered to Freddie Mac,” wrote Patricia J. McClung, a Freddie Mac executive.

However, the agencies did not offer guidance to mortgage lenders on how to handle properties that carry the energy liens. Backers of the programs fear that mortgage lenders, who depend on Fannie and Freddie to buy their home loans, will now start demanding that the entire lien be paid off before issuing a new loan.

That is what happened to Deke DeKay of Healdsburg, Calif., when he sold a house in nearby Geyserville in May. Mr. DeKay, who had purchased the foreclosed home as an investment, put in new insulation and heating and cooling systems, financed by $11,000 from Sonoma County’s program.

“We thought this would be an interesting way of upgrading the home’s energy efficiency without adding to the purchase price,” Mr. DeKay said. “Then right before the close of escrow, the bank discovered this stuff Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae put out and refused to approve the loan without the assessment being paid off first.”

Now Mr. DeKay is worried about his own home, which carries a $25,500 lien for a five-kilowatt solar array installed last year. “If we ever want to refinance the house, it will be impossible for us to do that,” he said.

State and local officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, and some members of Congress have jumped into the fray, pressing the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, for clarification of its position on the financing programs.

“The letters have had a devastating impact on PACE programs in California, placing at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of federal stimulus funding, hundreds of millions of dollars of state, local and private funding, and impacting California’s efforts to promote green jobs and greenhouse gas emissions reductions,” Ken Alex, a senior assistant attorney general in California, wrote in a June 22 letter to the housing agency.   Read Full story in    NYTIMES








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Obama Plans Immigration Speech This Thursday

President Obama will give a speech on immigration on Thursday, but it is unlikely to include any new policy initiatives and will not be preceded by an announcement on a Justice Department lawsuit in Arizona, officials said.
The appearance will take place at American University's School of International Service at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, the White House said.

Officials in Arizona and Texas are clamoring for more National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that their share of a planned new deployment won't be enough to make a dent in illegal immigration.

After a meeting Monday with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, officials with the Obama administration announced that Arizona would receive a sizable share of the 1,200 planned new troops, 524. That is more than double the number allocated to any of the other three border states, even though Arizona abuts only about 19% of the U.S.-Mexican border.

By comparison, Texas is set to receive 250 guard troops, even though it has 60% of the 2,000-mile border. California will receive 224 and New Mexico 72, the administration announced. The remaining troops would report to a national liaison office.

Texas and Arizona, both led by Republican governors, immediately complained about their allocations. "Obviously, that is not sufficient to secure the border," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "We're going to continue to urge the federal government to provide the resources we need."

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer expressed similar concern and said that the 524 troops were not what she had hoped she would receive.

Tensions have already been high between Ms. Brewer and the Obama administration after the governor signed a law requiring police who are enforcing other laws to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. The Obama administration has threatened to sue Arizona over the law.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to complaints from the governors by saying the administration's effort to secure the border has been extraordinary. "The president has made a big commitment to securing the border," he said Tuesday. President Obama is expected to make a speech on immigration laws Thursday.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, struck more conciliatory tones. Mr. Schwarzenegger, in a statement, applauded President Obama for sending the additional troops. However, he too said he would "continue to urge the federal government to provide more National Guard personnel for our border.

" Mr. Richardson's office called the Obama administration announcement a good first step.
Texas and Arizona say that crime is high along their borders and there is an imminent need for amped-up security.

The sector of the border that includes Tucson, Ariz., had more arrests of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border than any other sector, with 241,000 in 2009, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The next closest was the San Diego sector with 119,000 arrests.
Still, the arrests in the Tucson sector in 2009 were down 36% from 2007.

Federal legislation sponsored by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, would bring 6,000 National Guard troops to the four border states. Arizona has requested 3,000 of those.

"Those numbers are more in line with what is usually estimated as needed to secure the border," said Fred Burton, a former special agent with the state department and a vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, a global intelligence company.     Source-Wall St Journal

Jobless Aid Measure Dying In Senate

Republicans in the Senate appear likely to kill legislation to provide continued unemployment checks to millions of people and provide states with billions of dollars to avert layoffs.

It would be a bitter defeat for President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats, who have been trying to advance the measure for months as an insurance policy against a double-dip recession.

Despite another round of cuts to the measure aimed at pacifying GOP deficit concerns, the measure seems doomed to die by a filibuster in a vote expected as early as Thursday.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would pull the measure from the floor if Democrats lose the vote. Democrats hope that political pressure from voters and business groups might eventually revive the measure.

The latest version of the measure contains a variety of provisions sought by lawmakers in both parties, blending jobless aid averaging about $300 a week with the renewal of dozens of tax cuts sought by business groups and a host of other legislation. It is considerably smaller than a version that passed with GOP help just three months ago.

"It adds new taxes and over $30 billion to an already staggering $13 trillion dollar national debt," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The catchall measure also includes $16 billion for state governments to avert layoffs, farm disaster aid, $1 billion for a youth summer jobs initiative and an extension of a bond program that subsidizes interest costs for state and local infrastructure projects. It would levy a new tax on investment fund managers but extend tax breaks such as lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and develop new products, and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in states without income taxes.

The death of the measure would mean that more than 200,000 people a week would lose their jobless benefits because they would be unable to reapply for additional tiers of benefits enacted since 2008. People seeking the popular homebuyer tax credit would be denied a paperwork extension approved by the Senate last week.

"This is a bill that would remedy serious challenges that American families face as a result of this Great Recession," said Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chief author of the bill. "This is a bill that works to build a stronger economy. This is a bill to put Americans back to work."

And doctors are livid about a 21 percent cut in their Medicare payments imposed last week; the bill would have afforded them a six-month reprieve from the cuts. Stand-alone legislation to address the problem has stalled in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is insisting that it be part of the broader measure. By the end of this week, about 1.2 million people will have lost their jobless benefits since a temporary extension expired at the beginning of the month, according to Labor Department estimates.

Crestfallen Democrats tried in vain to win support from moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, leaving them apparently two votes short of the 60 needed to defeat a filibuster. But talks collapsed Thursday, aides said, leading Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to offer a pared-back measure that would add $33 billion to the deficit over the upcoming decade.

The bill has long been considered a must-pass measure, but the political sands have shifted since it first passed in March. That vote came in the wake of a political scalding for Republicans after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., blocked a short-term extension of jobless aid.

In the interim, however, the debt crisis in Europe and growing anxiety on deficits and debt among voters, has turned Republicans against the legislation, even though it's been cut considerably since passage of a March version that would have added about $100 billion to the debt.

Most of the measure — except for a six-month extension of jobless benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months — is financed with offsetting tax increases or spending cuts, including more than $10 billion cut from last year's stimulus bill. Congress has always approved additional unemployment benefits as a deficit-financed emergency measure.
 
Democratic leaders said they bent over backwards to accommodate demands by  Read Full Story

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Obama Administration Announces New Border Security Measures

The Obama Administration announced Wednesday that it will station an aerial drone in Texas as part of its stepped-up surveillance of criminal trafficking along the Mexican border.



Federal authorities also have signed an agreement to allow local police from non-border communities to temporarily "deploy" to the border region to assist with security, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Our Southwest border states have endured more than their share of challenges," said Napolitano, a former Arizona governor. "I share the frustration border communities feel."

In a speech at a Washington think tank, Napolitano laid out the case that the "border is as secure now as it has ever been."  She also said that some "are looking to score political points" by depicting the border as far more dangerous than it really is. "The numbers tell the story, and they do not lie," she said. Even as killings have increased in Mexico, violent crime is down along the U.S. side of the border, she said.

At the same time, seizures of illegal weapons, drugs and cash have risen. Nevertheless, Napolitano acknowledged that more can be done. 

On Tuesday, President Obama asked Congress for $500 million in emergency border security, including two more aerial drones and 1,000 more Border Patrol officers to join 1,200 National Guard troops heading to the region.

Many of the steps Napolitano outlined have long been advocated by Texas Republicans -- and created a side dispute over Obama's choice for the No. 2 position at the Federal Aviation Administration. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) had pressed for months for a pilotless drone, and when it was slow in coming,

Cornyn blocked Senate confirmation of Michael Huerta to be deputy director of the FAA. On Wednesday, after learning that the agency had given its approval for the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, to operate in Texas, Cornyn said he would allow a vote on Huerta. "While the approval process should not have taken this long, I'm pleased to see the FAA moving forward," he said.

"The FAA needs to implement a system that will reflect the great importance of border security as well as the growing significance of UAVs in homeland security and national defense."

Unmanned aircraft are used routinely in Iraq and Afghanistan and also patrol much of the Arizona border, using sensors to pinpoint trafficking activity. The vehicle being stationed in Texas has the ability to fly for 20 hours. It will arrive at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi this summer.

Later this month, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who recently signed into law tough new state controls on immigration, will meet with administration officials for the second time. 
  Via Washington Post


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Poll: Americans Are Willing to Make Energy Sacrifices for a Better Future

Maybe it's something in the air--or in the Gulf--but Americans have finally decided that they are willing to make personal sacrifices for the betterment of both the environment and the economy. In a recent national survey commissioned by GE, 79% of those polled said they would adjust their energy consumption habits and behaviors in the short term to ensure bigger changes in the long-term--most likely because 72% of respondents believe that their energy use can directly harm the country's economic growth. As part of their commitment to change, 88% of those polled said they would be willing to use a smart device like a smart meter, thermostat, or smart appliance. That's encouraging news for companies like GE that are investing big bucks in smart grid-aware microwaves, oven ranges, hot water heaters, dryers, and more. These surveys are tied into larger concerns about the economy, as reported in a poll this week from the New York Times and CBS. According to the poll, 48% of Americans disapprove of the way the President is handling the economy, and only 34% believe that Obama has a clear plan for creating jobs. And while GE's survey indicates that Americans are willing to take charge on energy issues, the CBS poll shows that they also want government leadership. Fifty-nine percent of those polled think that Obama doesn't have a plan to deal with the Gulf oil disaster, and the majority of respondents want more environmental regulation for offshore drilling. Changing attitudes about energy use might not be directly related to the Gulf oil disaster, but the heartbreaking images of oil-soaked animals certainly have an effect. And as long as environmental issues impact our checkbooks, Americans will continue to care. 
Via Fast Company





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Jobless Aid Bill Hits Deficit Wall In Senate

President Barack Obama's plea for more stimulus spending as insurance against a double-dip recession hit a roadblock in the Senate on Wednesday, the victim of election-year anxiety over huge federal deficits. A dozen Democrats joined Republicans on a key 52-45 test vote rejecting an Obama-endorsed, $140 billion package of unemployment benefits, aid to states, business and family tax breaks and Medicare payments for doctors because it would swell the federal debt by $80 billion.

The swing toward frugality runs counter to the advice of economists who support the bill's funding for additional jobless benefits and help to states to avoid layoffs of public service jobs. They fear that the economy could slip back into recession just as it's emerging from the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned last week that while lawmakers need to come up with a plan for tackling the nation's long-term deficit crisis, the U.S. recovery is still fragile. It's too early for large, immediate spending cuts, Bernanke said. "We've got to do more to build on the existing jobs momentum and that's what these targeted measures are about," said White House economist Jared Bernstein.
The Senate earlier passed another version with even bigger deficits. But that was before tea party-backed candidates running on anti-deficit, anti-big government platforms began knocking off more established politicians in spring primaries.
Despite the loss, Democratic leaders predicted serenely that a scaled-back version of the measure — extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and providing $24 billion in aid to the states — could pass, possibly as early as later this week, after relatively minor revisions. "We need to change a few things," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Later Wednesday, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., unveiled a new, slimmer version of the bill that he predicted would "provide a path forward."  But Republicans cautioned that the margin of Wednesday's vote was a bad sign for a bill that, even after     Read More





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BP Officials Arrive at White House- Watch Video

 President Obama announced Wednesday that energy giant BP will finance a $20 billion fund to compensate people whose livelihoods have been damaged by the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the giant British company's chairman apologized to America for the worst spill in U.S. history.

Obama said BP has voluntarily agreed to set aside $100 million to help oil workers displaced since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and killed 11 people.

Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer overseeing executive pay issues for the White House, will be in charge of the compensation fund. A three-person panel will mediate any disputes.

Feinberg oversaw payments to 9/11 victims for the federal government.   

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Obama's Remarks To Nation On Oil Spill

President Obama's remarks to the nation on the BP oil spill:

 Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al Qaeda wherever it exists. And tonight, I've returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we're waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.
On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.
Because there has never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That is why just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation's best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge — a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation's Secretary of Energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice.
As a result of these efforts, we have directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. In the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that is expected to stop the leak completely.
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.
But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.

Tonight I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we're doing to clean up the oil, what we're doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf, and what we're doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.

First, the cleanup. From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history — an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and cleanup the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf. And I have authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, they're ready to clean beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims — and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible.
Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already been removed from the water through burning, skimming and other collection methods. Over five and a half million feet of boom has been laid across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We have approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to try and stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we are working with Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida to implement creative approaches to their unique coastlines.

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Obama to address nation on Gulf spill, demand BP damage fund

 President Obama plans to address the nation this week about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst in U.S. history. White House adviser David Axelrod told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that Obama will discuss the disaster after he returns from a visit to the region Monday and Tuesday, reports the Associated Press. "The president will announce several steps" for handling the spill's fallout, Alexrod said. Scientists estimate the Gulf spill has spewed anywhere from 40 million gallons of oil to more than 100 million gallons since the Deepwater Horizon rig, run by energy giant BP, exploded April 20.
Axelrod said Obama, who meets Wednesday at the White House with BP executives, will demand the company fund an escrow account that a third-party panel will administer to distribute damage claims from individuals and businesses hurt by the Gulf spill, reports POLITICO.

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Enjoy the video of President Obama singing Kick A*s!

President Obama was interviewed on the Today Show by Matt Lauer on Tuesday, June 8. In the interview, Matt Lauer and the President discussed who was at fault in Gulf Oil Spill. President Obama is angry, and said so in plain, caustic terms. Share

Kalamazoo Student Sitting Behind Obama Was Asleep

One of the Kalamazoo Central students -- who was seated behind keynote speaker President Barack Obama during Monday night's commencement ceremony -- fell asleep.


The student, who earned such a prime seat by singing in the choir, was captured on video due to his proximity to the president. He also was a hot topic on Twitter and the subject of several recently created Facebook pages with close to 11,000 fans.  While it’s not a massive number of Facebook users, it’s impressive that so many people noticed the kid sleeping during a mid-day event and turned to Facebook to share the experience.



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BP plans to suspend shareholder dividend amid oil spill

BP is expected to announce next week that it will suspend its shareholder dividend, the BBC has learned.No announcement is expected to be made until after talks between BP and US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. BBC business editor Robert Peston says that BP directors are to meet on Monday to discuss the payments.BP has been under intense pressure from the US government, which wants BP to use the money to pay for the Gulf of Mexico clean-up.Meanwhile, BP's shares closed up 7.2%, recovering losses suffered on Thursday."In practice, Monday's discussion at newly instituted weekly meetings of the board will be about when to suspend the payments, how long to suspend the payments, and what to do with the billions of dollars that would be saved and not paid to shareholders," our business editor says.
Dividend options Pensions expert and former government adviser Ros Altmann told the BBC that if the company did cut its dividend it would be "a blow", but should not be taken "out of proportion".
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Speedy Green Cleaning



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Ariz. governor takes on immigration law controversy, boycotts and Mexican president's comments

Ariz. governor takes on immigration law controversy
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Gulf oil spill reaches day 50, Obama wants an 'ass to kick,' residents just want a solution

The Gulf Coast has had its behind beaten for the past seven weeks. Now President Obama wants an "ass to kick."
When an offshore oil rig near the Louisiana coast exploded April 20, no one immediately anticipated the blast would spark the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Fifty days later, the environmental catastrophe is crystal clear.
In the following weeks, Americans have watched the CEO of the company responsible for the disaster jam his foot into his mouth repeatedly while efforts to stop the massive spill failed.
The government's response, lacking sufficient outrage according to the public, has been equally unable to keep thousands of gallons of oil each day from spewing into the Gulf.
BP CEO Tony Hayward has recently apologized for comments like, "I want my life back," that the Gulf was "a big ocean" and that "the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest."
President Obama used the gaffes to fire back, most notably saying in a "Today" show interview that he would fire Hayward if he were his boss and that he's looking for an "ass to kick."
All this while black ooze smothers the region's wildlife and economy.
Thad Allen, the Coast Guard admiral in charge of the government effort, summed up the chaos and confusion.
"Everyone wants certainty," he said. "With an oil spill like this, there isn't any."
Even the numbers are murky. Estimates peg the amount of oil floating in the ocean between 23 million and 49 million gallons.

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Environmental group calls on Obama to support clean energy

 Ahead of President Barack Obama's third visit to oil-hit Louisiana, the head of the oldest US environmental group called Thursday for him to develop the coastal industry into a hub for sustainable energy.

"We stand in support of the 35,000 oil and gas workers in Louisiana who are trying feed their families," Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, told AFP. "It's not the fault of the workforce that America has become dependent on dirty sources of energy," he said.

As crude from a sunken BP-leased oil rig continued to devastate the Gulf's fragile wetlands, Brune urged Obama to redirect 10 billion dollars in annual federal incentives from oil and gas interests to developing a new energy economy based on wind, solar, and geothermal power, among other alternative sources.

"Places like Venice and the Gulf of Mexico... areas that have been the backbone of the industrialized fossil fuel-based economy, need to be the first places where we create a clean energy economy," Brune said.

"Knowing that we're not going to end all oil drilling tomorrow... we have the opportunity to aggressively phase in clean energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal (power)," he said.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal pointed out earlier this week that a prolonged moratorium on offshore drilling championed by Obama would threaten thousands of jobs in the state.

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