McConnell Silent on Defunding Obamacare in CR, Says Senate GOP ‘United’ Against Obamacare

(CNSNews.com) – Although his office would not say whether Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is advising his GOP colleagues to oppose a plan by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to defund Obamacare through a must-pass continuing resolution funding measure, the Senate Minority Leader’s office did say that his party is “united” in getting rid of the unpopular health care law.

“Republicans are 100 percent united in their support for repeal of Obamacare, and the Leader is a co-sponsor of a bill to defund it and a bill to repeal it,” Don Stewart, communications director for McConnell, told CNSNews.com in an email.

However, Stewart would not say whether McConnell opposes Sen. Lee’s plan or if news reports that McConnell is actively working against Lee are true.

The continuing resolution, or CR, is legislation to fund the government for a certain period in the new fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1. It is must-pass legislation, meaning Congress and the president must come to an agreement on how much to spend and for how long by Sept. 30 or the government would shut down for lack of congressionally authorized funding.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading....

Even Before Memorial Defacement, Nat'l Park Service Was $11.5B Short for Maintenance

(CNSNews.com) - The defacement of the Lincoln Memorial, splashed with green paint overnight, comes at a difficult time for the National Park Service, which says it is running way short of money for maintenance projects.

In testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, the director of the National Park Service said at the end of fiscal 2012, the National Park Service faced an $11.5-billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects.

"This amount grows annually at a far greater rate than the Service is able to pay down," Jonathan Jarvis said.

Just to hold the backlog at $11.5 billion would require the NPS to spend nearly $700 million a year on deferred maintenance projects, he said. "To place this figure in perspective, the annual operating budget of the entire National Park Service in Fiscal Year 2012 was $2.2 billion."

The park service says it needs more money, not only to repair or maintain existing facilities and roads (half the maintenance backlog is roads and bridges), but also for visitor education and safety, resource protection and wildlife management.

"Congress charged the National Park Service with protecting these special places in perpetuity, and it is the fundamental responsibility of Congress to provide annual appropriations commensurate with the responsibilities it has given us to manage these special places," Jarvis said in his written statement to the committee.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading.....

HUD's New 'Fair Housing' Rule Establishes Diversity Data for Every Neighborhood in U.S.

To ensure that "every American is able to choose to live in a community they feel proud of," HUD has published a new fair-housing regulation intended to give people access to better neighborhoods than the ones they currently live in.

The goal is to help communities understand "fair housing barriers" and "establish clear goals" for "improving integrated living patterns and overcoming historic patterns of segregation."

“This proposed rule represents a 21st century approach to fair housing, a step forward to ensuring that every American is able to choose to live in a community they feel proud of – where they have a fair shot at reaching their full potential in life,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

“For the first time ever," Donovan added, "HUD will provide data for every neighborhood in the country, detailing the access African American, Latino, Asian, and other communities have to local assets, including schools, jobs, transportation, and other important neighborhood resources that can play a role in helping people move into the middle class."

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading:

Justice Dept. Dispatching 780 Observers To Monitor Tuesday’s Election

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday that it is dispatching 780 department personnel and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management to monitor Tuesday's elections in 51 jurisdictions around the country--including Queens, N.Y.

The department said that in following out its duties under the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act it intended to make certain that people with disabilities, people who can't read or write, and people who don't understand English have their voting rights protected.

"The observers and department personnel will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act," DOJ said in a press release.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Goon Squad: AFL-CIO Chief Trumka Promises More Than 2,000 Union “Poll Monitors” In Battleground States…

(CNSNews.com) - Setting the scene for possible post-election legal challenges, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said his unions plan to deploy 2,000 “poll monitors” who will be linked with lawyers around the country as a way to prevent
"voter suppression" in states such as Ohio.

During a media conference call on Thursday, Trumka recalled being at an early voting site in Las Vegas where he saw “challengers inside.”

“We’re going to have over 2,000 people that are going to be available as poll monitors that’ll be connected to a number of lawyers around the country. So that if they [the opposition] attempt to deny them the right to vote, or hassle them we’ll be able to have a rapid response team that will respond immediately to that and protect them,” Trumka said.

“That will be up in the core states like Ohio, where we think there could be problems and so we’ll challenge those everywhere we can and protect the votes,” he said.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Gallup: Obama's Job Approval Drops 7 Points in 3 Days

President Barack Obama in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Oct. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

(CNSNews.com) - In the most precipitous decline it has seen in more than a year, President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped 7 points in three days,according to Gallup.

In the three-day period ending on Oct. 23, says Gallup, 53 percent said they approved of the job Obama was doing and 42 percent said they did not.

On Oct. 24, that dropped to 51 percent who said they approved and 44 percent who said they do not.

On Oct. 25, it dropped again to 48 percent who said they approved and 47 percent who said they do not.

On Oct. 26, it dropped yet again to 46 percent who said they approved and 49 percent who said they did not.

In May 2011, Obama's approval dropped 7 points in four days, sliding from 53 percent on May 24 to 46 percent on May 28.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Another Reason Why America Is Amazing ...

U.S. May Overtake Saudi Arabia As World’s Top Oil Producer
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. oil output is surging so fast that the United States could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer.

Driven by high prices and new drilling methods, U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons is on track to rise 7 percent this year to an average of 10.9 million barrels per day. This will be the fourth straight year of crude increases and the biggest single-year gain since 1951.

The boom has surprised even the experts.

"Five years ago, if I or anyone had predicted today's production growth, people would have thought we were crazy," says Jim Burkhard, head of oil markets research at IHS CERA, an energy consulting firm.

The Energy Department forecasts that U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons, which includes biofuels, will average 11.4 million barrels per day next year. That would be a record for the U.S. and just below Saudi Arabia's output of 11.6 million barrels. Citibank forecasts U.S. production could reach 13 million to 15 million barrels per day by 2020, helping to make North America "the new Middle East."

The last year the U.S. was the world's largest producer was 2002, after the Saudis drastically cut production because of low oil prices in the aftermath of 9/11. Since then, the Saudis and the Russians have been the world leaders.

The United States will still need to import lots of oil in the years ahead. Americans use 18.7 million barrels per day. But thanks to the growth in domestic production and the improving fuel efficiency of the nation's cars and trucks, imports could fall by half by the end of the decade.

The increase in production hasn't translated to cheaper gasoline at the pump, and prices are expected to stay relatively high for the next few years because of growing demand for oil in developing nations and political instability in the Middle East and North Africa.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Obamacare Mandate: Anyone Who Works 30Hr Week Is Now 'Full-Time'

(CNSNews.com) – A little-known section in the ObamaCare health reform law defines “full-time” work as averaging only 30 hours per week, a definition that will affect some employers who utilize part-time workers to trim the cost of complying with the ObamaCare rule that says businesses with 50 or more workers must provide health insurance or pay a fine.

“The term ‘full-time employee’ means, with respect to any month, an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week,” section 1513 of the lawreads.  (Scroll down to section 4, paragraph A.)

That section, known as the employer mandate, requires any business with 50 or more full-time employees to provide at least the minimum level of government-defined health coverage to those employees.

In other words, a business must provide insurance if it has 50 or more employees working an average of just 30 hours per week, which is 10 hours per week fewer than the traditional 40-hour work week.

If an employer meets the requirements and does not offer health insurance, it must pay a penalty per employee for each month it does not offer coverage – not exceeding $750 per employee over the course of a year.

The obscure provision recently reemerged in regulations issued by the IRS for how employers must account for which workers are full-time and which ones are not.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

DHS Report On Immigration: Lowest Number Of Illegal Alien Arrests Since 1972…

(CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security’s 2011 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics was released last month, including figures that show that the number of illegal aliens apprehended in the United States was the lowest in 40 years.

The report shows (page 91, table 33) that in fiscal year 2011, the number of illegal aliens apprehended was 641,633 – at that time the lowest total apprehensions since 1972 when the number of illegal aliens apprehended was 505,949.

The report shows that the number of illegal aliens apprehended has steadily decreased over the course of the Obama administration, from 869,857 in fiscal year 2009 to 641,633 in fiscal year 2011.

The table includes the following totals for fiscal years 2008-2011:

2008: 1,043.863

2009: 869,857

2010: 752,329

2011: 641,633

The table also shows that from 1976 to 2008, the number of apprehensions ranged from 910,361 in 1980 to 1,814,729 in 2000.

The largest number of apprehensions during the Obama administration – 869,857 in fiscal year 2009 – which, at the time, was the lowest total since 1974 when 788,145 illegal aliens were apprehended.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

U.S DEBT ADDED MONDAY GREATER THAN TOTAL DEBT ACCUMULATED IN COUNTRY'S FIRST 166 YEARS

On the first day of fiscal year 2013, the federal government added more debt than was accumulated between the nation’s founding and sometime in October 1942, about ten months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a span of about 166 years. 

CNS News noted the $93,245,605,914.16 added to the debt on Monday “equaled about $816 for every American household.” And “since median household earns about $138.36 per day over a 365-day year,” the median household would need to give up all of the money it earns for nearly six days to pay off its share of the debt accumulated on the first day of fiscal year 2013.

According to CNS News, on September 30, 1944, “the total debt of the U.S. government was $91,057,523,886.72,” and by Oct. 31, 1942, it was $97,168,867,541.93.

The $93,245,605,914.16 in debt the country incurred on Monday also was "the second-largest increase on the first day of a fiscal year in the history of the country. The record ($99,500,170,215.20) was set on the first day of fiscal year 2009 when the country was mired in a banking crisis that resulted in massive government bailouts. 

Below is how Monday's debt increase compares with how much the debt increased on the first day of the last eight fiscal years:

FY 2013:$93,245,605,914.16

FY 2012: $46,758,942,639.56

FY 2011: $49,224,554,918.30

FY 2010: $10,690,160,807.67

FY 2009: $99,500,170,215.20

FY 2008: $54,899,028,094.15

FY 2007: $41,410,211,399.05

FY 2006: $37,814,341,549.00

Via: Breitbart

Continue Reading...

Obama Makes 10th Las Vegas Trip Since Telling Bankers Not To Visit The City “On The Taxpayers Dime”…

(CNSNews.com) - Less than three weeks into his presidency Barack Obama warned executives of banks that had received federal bailout money that they better not take business trips to Las Vegas. Since then, Obama himself has made 9 trips to Vegas—and is making a tenth today.

“You can't get corporate jets,” Obama said at a Feb. 9, 2009 townhall meeting in Elkhart, Ind. “You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime.”

By May 27, 2009, Obama was in Las Vegas to tour a “solar photovoltaic array” at Nellis Air Force Base with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

According to an archive of the president’s official schedule maintained by the Chicago Sun Times, Obama has frequently returned to Vegas for purposes ranging from pushing his jobs bill, to campaigning with Reid, to attending fundraisers.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Bureau of Economic Analysis: Debt Is Now Approximately 103 Percent of GDP

(CNSNews.com) - According to the most recent official estimate by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Gross Domestic Product for 2012 will be $15.6061 trillion--or about $440.5 billion less than the $16.0466 in debt that the federal government had accumulated as of the close of business on Monday.

In other words, the debt is now approximately 103 percent of GDP.

The BEA, which is part of the Department of Commerce and which officially calculates GDP, based its current estimate of this year's GDP, published on Aug. 29, on economic data available through the end of the second quarter of this calender year.

If that current estimate is correct, the debt of the United States government eclipsed the value of the Gross Domestic Product of the United States on April 2 of this year.

On Friday, March 30, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, the federal debt was $15,582,078,681,188.69. By the close of business on Monday, April 2, it was $15,620,325,998,403.96.

The BEA defines GDP as: "The market value of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, regardless of nationality."

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

Gallup: Americans Rate Public Schools the Worst Place to Educate Children

(CNSNews.com) - A new Gallup pollreleased today indicates that Americans rate public schools the worst place to educate children.

In the national survey conducted Aug. 9-12, private independent schools, parochial and church-related schools, charter schools and home-schooling all rated higher than public schools.

Gallup interviewers asked respondents: "I’m going to read a list of ways in which children are educated in the U.S. today. As I read each one, please indicate--based on what you know or have read and heard--how good an education each provides children--excellent, good, only fair, or poor. How about: public schools, parochial or church-related schools, independent private schools, charter schools, or home-schooling?"

Only 5 percent said they believe public schools give children an excellent eduction.

Another 32 percent said they believe public schools give children a good education. But this combined 37 percent who said public schools give children an excellent or good education was the lowest among the different types of schools Gallup included in its survey.

Via: CNSNews

Continue Reading...

GOVERMENT SENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS TO MILLIONAIRES

A government report released August 2nd says that thousands of people earning a million dollars in income have also received unemployment benefits within the same year.

CNSNews revealed the Congressional Research Services report which was based on IRS data. A summary page in the report states "a small percentage (approximately 0.02%) of tax filers receiving unemployment benefit income had AGI of $1 million or more in tax year 2009 based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data." A chart translates that percentage into 2,362 individuals.

Even more striking is the total of money paid out to millionaires: $20.8 million in 2009 alone. For those making between half a million and one million, UI paid out an additional $74.9 million in 2009.

One hundred million dollars may not seem like a lot in the scheme of things, but like so many other government programs, it seems wasteful when we are borrowing forty cents of every dollar we spend.

Via: Breitbart 

Continue Reading...