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'Heavy-Weight' to Give Dem Radio Address

September 28, 2007 2:51 PM

ABC News' Lindsey Ellerson Reports: To pressure President Bush not to veto Senate-passed legislation that would extend a federal children's health insurance plan, Senate Democrats have asked 12-year-old Graeme Frost -- who benefited from the program while recovering from a severe car accident -- to deliver the weekly radio address. 

"One of the pleasures that the speaker and I have is that we submit who is going to give the radio address following the president," said Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid Friday during a ceremony on Capitol Hill.  "We decided that we wanted this week to have a real heavy-weight. And that's why this week we have 12-year-old Graeme with us."

In the radio address, Graeme asks why President Bush wants to "stop" the program. 

"I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting SCHIP," Graeme will say in the Saturday radio address, according to a transcript released Friday. "All I know, is that I have some really good doctors that took care of me when I was sick and I'm glad I could because of the children's health program. I just hope the president will listen to my story and help other kids be as lucky as me."

A resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Graeme was seriously injured in an car accident three years ago. His family's participation in the Children's Health Insurance Program helped facilitate his recovery.

"I was in a coma for a week and couldn't eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse. I was in the hospital for five and a half months, and I needed a big surgery."

Now Graeme has recovered and is back at school, but still struggles with injuries from the accident.

"One of my vocal chords is paralyzed so I don't talk the same I used to, and I can't run or walk as fast as I did.  The doctors say I can't play football anymore, but, I might still be able to be a coach. I'm just happy to be back with my family," he says.

"These children are why we are here," House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Friday. "They are why this Congress came together in a bipartisan way in overwhelming agreement on this legislation."

The legislation, which would have extended health benefits to ten million American children from poor families, was passed by the House on Tuesday and by the Senate late Thursday evening. The bill would increase spending on the program from approximately $5 billion to $12 billion annually for the next five years, a sum that is double what Bush recommended.

While a majority of the Senate supported the bipartisan bill, in a phone call on Friday morning, Bush told Pelosi he will veto the measure.

"I reached out to the president this morning to say that I was still praying that he would have a change of heart," Pelosi said. "I think I have to pray a little harder, but I will not give up."

The President is still intent on vetoing the $30-billion expansion because he says the bill would extend health benefits to children of middle class and upper class families, rather than just children of poorer families.

"Congressional leaders have put forward an irresponsible plan that would dramatically expand this program beyond its original intent," Bush will say in his radio address on Saturday.  "They know I will veto it."

"The President has been very clear for months that if the bill came to him in its current form, that he would veto it," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters Friday.

"The President is saying, let's take care of the neediest children first, let's not put scarce federal dollars towards a program that was meant for the poorest children and let it creep up to middle income families with incomes up to $83,000 a year," Perino said.

During the Friday morning ceremony Reid said that this legislation is the last straw. "I spent more time on this legislation than any other piece of legislation in my entire legislative career," he said.

ABC News' Ann Compton and James Kane contributed to this report.

September 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Pelosi: House to Go It Alone on Iraq

September 28, 2007 1:08 PM

ABC News' Dean Norland Reports: House Speaker  Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said  Friday that the House can no longer wait for  the Senate to pass legislation to change the direction of the war in Iraq.

"We in the House cannot confine our aspirations to changing the direction in Iraq to what might be possible today in the United States Senate," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly on-camera briefing.

The speaker further explained that those in favor of redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq will "appeal to the American people from the House of Representatives in a way that is less dependent on what is legislatively possible in the United States Senate."

While it takes sixty-votes to even proceed to debate on a bill in the Senate, Pelosi said of the House, "we can't go as slow as that ship."

The speaker declined to say if any of the bills the House will consider as part of its go-it-alone strategy will contain specific dates to pull troops out of Iraq. 

Three of the bills the House will consider next week concern the Iraq war.   

One will require that the administration provide Congress with a detailed plan for redeploying troops out of Iraq.  Another will deal with military contractors working in the was zone.  A third will deal with increasing the independence of inspectors general so there is a  better handle on how U.S. reconstruction money is being spent in Iraq.

September 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Hunter Demands Criminal Accountability in Jena 6 Case

September 28, 2007 11:02 AM

ABC News' Mike Chesney Reports: Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., stood apart from his Republican presidential rivals at a Thursday debate on issues of concern to minorities by demanding criminal accountability for 17-year old Mychal Bell, an alleged perpetrator of a recent, high-profile beating in Jena, La.

"If in fact, the young man was kicked in the head while he was unconscious, there has to be accountability for that. And that is clearly criminal accountability," said Hunter. "I don't know what particular divisions between juvenile and non-juvenile courts are being made in this case, but there must be accountability."

Panelist Juan Williams, from National Public Radio, had asked the candidates about how they would handle inequalities for Black and Latino Americans in the judicial system.

"As young black and Latino Americans are watching this debate, they often feel quite alienated from the Republican Party, a party that does not seem to respond to their issues," Williams started. "The one area of these problems touching on federal government policy has to do with criminal justice. Today, in Jena, La., it was announced that one of the Jena 6, originally convicted as an adult, will be tried now as a juvenile."

"Name one reform," he continued, "that you would endorse to assure young black and Latino people in America that they will have equal justice in America’s courts."

Rather than offering reforms of the criminal justice system as five of his G.O.P. rivals did, Hunter emphasized the need for criminal accountability. When pressed in a follow-up question by moderator Tavis Smiley to offer a systemic reform, Hunter demurred and instead offered an endorsement of the American jury system.

"Juries, obviously, are blemished in many ways and are not perfect," said Hunter, "but a jury trial under the law is, I think, the best system of justice on the face of the Earth."

Bell faced a maximum 15 years in prison after being tried and convicted as an adult last month for aggravated second-degree battery. Now that he is being tried as a juvenile, he cannot be given a sentence which extends past the age of 21.

Asked following the forum if he supported Bell being tried as an adult, Hunter did not state a position, saying instead, "I haven’t seen all the facts," before reiterating his general support for some form of criminal accountability in this case.

Thursday's All-American Presidential Debate Forum, which took place on the campus of an historically black college in Baltimore, was skipped by four leading contenders for the G.O.P.'s presidential nomination: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, and Arizona Sen. John McCain

September 28, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Iraqi Insurgent FISA timeline: Probable Cause and the AG

September 27, 2007 7:28 PM

ABC News' Jason Ryan Reports: The Acting Deputy Director of National Intelligence has sent a letter to the House Intelligence Committee revealing details on the gap in obtaining a FISA after 3 US soldiers were captured in Iraq on May 12.

The incident where the military was required to get a FISA warrant is a real world example in the FISA reform legislation being examined by Congress. The FISA legislation passed by Congress in August, the Protect Act, provided a fix to the government's ability to intercept foreign to foreign communications.

The letter from the acting Deputy Ron Burgess notes, "On May 14, 2007 as soon as the specific leads had been identified analysts began to compile all the necessary information to establish a factual basis for the issuance of a FISA court order as required by the emergency authorization provision of the statute."

"This case presented novel and complicated issues…This was the focus of the internal Executive Branch deliberations between 12:53pm and 5:15pm and the reason behind the decision to contact the Attorney General for emergency authority rather than the Solicitor General." Burgess wrote.

The letter to Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes also notes, "The Director used this example to illustrate the point that, due to changes in technology, the FISA statute extends privacy protections to foreign terrorists located outside of the United States merely because FISA makes a geographic distinction based on the location of the collection."

According to one intelligence official, US officials were attempting to intercept and review email and Internet communications of the insurgents. A career Justice Department official said tonight that the Attorney General needed to get to a secure phone and secure location before he could be briefed on the situation. A copy of the letter has been sent to the DC Assignment desk.

The key times attached to the letter:

May 12, 2007: :Three US solider were reported missing and believed to have been captured by Iraqi insurgents…SIGINT [signal intelligence] assets responded by dedicating all available resources to obtaining intelligence concerning the attack."

13& 14th: Intelligence community began to develop leads.

May 15: 10:00am "key US agencies met to discuss options for colleting additional intelligence."

10:52am: "NSA notified..DOJ of its desire to collect communications that require a FISA order…it was determined some FISA coverage already existed."

12:53pm to 5:15pm :"Administration lawyers and intelligence officials discussed various legal and operational issues associated with the surveillance."

5:15pm: DOJ's FISA Office the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR) received a call formally requesting emergency authority to conduct surveillance."

5:30pm: "The OIPR attorney on duty attempted to reach the Solicitor General who was the Acting Attorney General while Attorney General Gonzales was addressing a United States Attorney's Conference in Texas. However the Solicitor General had left for the day and the decision was made to attempt to reach Attorney General in Texas."

OIPR contacted DOJ command center and requested to locate the Attorney General. "After Several telephone calls with the staff accompanying the Attorney General, the OIPR lawyers were able to speak directly with the Attorney General and brief him on the fact of the emergency request."

" At 7:18pm, the Attorney General authorized the requested surveillance, the Justice Department attorney's immediately notified the FBI."

"At 7:28pm, the FBI notified the key intelligence agencies and personnel of the approval."

"At 7:38pm, surveillance began."

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Senators Reach Out to Burmese with Youtube

September 27, 2007 7:00 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: In a web video recorded today and posted on Youtube, Senators Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, have reached out to the "freedom-loving people of Burma."

"The world has not ignored your efforts. Each day more people become invested in your quest for democracy. The regime can no longer ignore the outside world as people see the images of your peaceful demonstrations and the barbaric efforts to quash them," said McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader.

"Most of all we want you to know that we, like so many others throughout the world, actively support your struggle for freedom, democracy and reconciliation. Your struggle is our struggle. The world is watching and we are cheering you."

McConnell and Feinstein have both tried to keep a light on the situation in Burma for several years. McConnell had tried to travel there, but was denied a visa. He and Feinstein were the authors of legislation, signed into law earlier this summer, that extended economic sanctions on the military junta that run the country.

In the web video, Feinstein pledges to keep up the pressure on the government there:

"Our pledge to you is that we will continue to press the military regime to release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to begin a true dialogue on national reconciliation with all parties. We will continue to urge Burma’s neighbors with the closest ties to the regime

– China, India, Japan, Russia, and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations –

to put pressure on the regime to cease its attacks and embrace a peaceful political settlement. We are watching, we are paying attention, and we will not give up on our shared vision of a free and democratic Burma."

It is unclear how many of the monks and Burmese struggling against the military junta will actually see the web video, however, The CIA World Fact Book, for instance, says Internet access in the country has been restricted to government and some businesses, giving only a small fraction of the population and the junta itself access to the video.

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Edwards to Accept Public Financing

September 27, 2007 5:26 PM

ABC News' Raelyn Johnson Reports: As the end of the third quarter fundraising period draws to a close, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has announced that he intends to accept public financing for his bid for the Democratic nomination.

Edwards, who has severely lagged behind Clinton and Obama in fundraising, has not leaked his third quarter fundraising expectations, as he has done in previous quarters.

The campaign is saying this is not a red flag when it comes to his fundraising capabilities, but a step to curb the money in politics and make a statement about the influence of money.

In a statement released to the media, the Edwards campaign challenged Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., calling on her to join him now in accepting public financing and "ending the money game in Washington."

"You can't buy your way to the Democratic nomination –- you should have to earn the votes of the American people with bold vision and ideas," said David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager.

"Senator Clinton said she believes public financing is the answer to ending the influence of lobbyists and special interests in Washington, Bonior said in the statement. "If she really believes that, she should join Senator Edwards and seek public financing, or she should explain to the American people why she does not mean what she says."

To be eligible for public financing, a candidate must prove to the Federal Election Commission their campaign has raised $100,000 by collecting $5,000 from any twenty states from contribution totaling no more than $250 each. 

Money for the public financing system comes from a fund paid for by taxpayers who agree to set aside $3 from their income taxes for the presidential account. Taking money from the fund means the candidate must comply with spending limits.

Edwards could get up to $21 million in public money for the primary, but his overall spending on the primary elections could not exceed about $50 million. Candidates eligible for public financing receive matching payments from the federal government for the first $250 of each individual contribution they raise.
 

With files from the Associated Press.

September 27, 2007 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Edwards Talks Darfur, Global Warming with MTV Crowd

September 27, 2007 3:44 PM

ABC News' Raelyn Johnson Reports: There was no 'boxers-or-briefs' moment for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as he took part Thursday in MTV-MySpace candidate forum at the University of New Hampshire. Education dominated the discussion but topics remained weighty, ranging from Iraq to Darfur to global warming, covering even the rebuilding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

(The MTV candidate forums put themselves on the roadmap to the White House in 1992 when then-Gov. Bill Clinton answered 'briefs' to the now-infamous and then-racy 'boxers-or-briefs' question.)

For Edwards, the forum's tone quickly turned into Politics 101 as Edwards sought to school the college-aged crowd on the nature of politicians and to “listen very carefully when you hear the candidates.”

When asked about ending the war in Iraq, Edwards sought to clarify the different between his plan and what other candidates are proposing.  During Wednesday's Democratic debate, Edwards said he would not continue combat missions in Iraq if elected and blasted Clinton for suggesting otherwise.

"It's important for America to understand the difference," Edwards said as he reiterated his version of the exchange with Clinton.

Edwards was the first to participate in MTV's series of candidate forums leading into the 2008 presidential election that was broadcast live on the Internet. 

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Clinton Library Donors Remain Secret

September 27, 2007 2:20 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein and Eloise Harper Report: Former president Bill Clinton said Thursday that he will not reveal the names of donors to the Clinton Presidential Library unless he is required to by law, rebuffing pressure from his wife's rivals for more disclosure.

"We don't believe in one set of rules for us and another set for everybody else," the former president said at a news conference in New York. "The people that have already given me money, I don't think I should disclose it unless there is some conflict of which I am aware -- and there is not -- because a lot of people gave me money with the understanding that they could give anonymously. And if they gave publicly they would be the target for every other politician in America."

At Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she was "sure [the former president would] be happy to consider" making public the names of donors to the library. But she refused to say whether she had asked him to do so.

"I don't talk about my private conversations with my husband," Clinton said.

She also touted a bill she’s sponsored that would require "sitting presidents" -- though not former presidents -- to reveal any donation to their presidential libraries. "I think that's a good policy," she said.

The former president said that if such a bill becomes law, he will also disclose donors to his library, even though he would not technically be covered by it.

"If she becomes president, I will treat as if we are covered by that, and I will disclose all of the donors to our library and activities if she becomes president," President Clinton said.

At Wednesday’s debate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called on all presidential libraries to disclose their donors. Obama has filed a bill in the Senate that would require disclosure of all contributions to presidential libraries -- including Clinton's.

"I think it's important not only that all this information is disclosed, but I also think that we need to have a situation in which we are disclosing the funneling of large donors," Obama said.

Under current law, presidential libraries are treated like any other charitable organization, and are not required to disclose their donors.

But some have called for that law to change, so the public has access to more information about individuals, companies, and foreign governments that may seek to influence policy through their donations. Recent presidents, including Clinton and Bush, have begun raising money for their libraries while still in office.

The issue of contributions to the Clinton library has gotten fresh attention in recent weeks with the widening scandal surrounding disgraced Clinton fund-raiser Norman Hsu. Hsu has given widely to the Clintons and their causes; he raised $850,000 for Sen. Clinton’s campaign, and gave $30,000 to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Those contributions have been returned. But Clinton aides have declined to say whether Hsu has given any money to the foundation that funds the Clinton Presidential Library, or whether such funds have been returned.

The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark. -- which will eventually include a library, a 30-acre park, an archive, and a school of public service -- has raised $165 million from private sources, according to press accounts. None of those sources must be revealed, under state and federal law.

In 2004, a reporter for the New York Sun offered a peek inside the library's fund-raising machine. The reporter, Josh Gerstein, reviewed a list of donors that was available to the public on a touch-screen computer mounted on a wall inside the library; the computer no longer has that information.

Among the entities who have been reported to have given more than $1 million toward the presidentical center: the governments of Dubai, Kuwait, and Qatar; the Saudi royal family; a deputy prime minister of Lebanon; filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Stephen Bing, and David Geffen; Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton; the Anheuser-Busch Foundation; and Vin Gupta, chairman and CEO of infoUSA Inc., a telemarketing firm that has come under scrutiny for its handling of private information.

September 27, 2007 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (21)

Huckabee Proposes 'Regional Summit' for Iraq

September 27, 2007 1:56 PM

ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Though GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is being noticed tonight for participation the PBS debate on minority issues (in a forum conspicuously absent of the party frontrunners), tomorrow morning the former Arkansas governor will spend time in Washington presenting a platform on Iraq and the war on terror

The speech before the Center for Strategic and International Studies marks one of Huckabee’s first opportunities to speak at length to a large group about one issue – arguably THE issue -- in the '08 campaign cycle.   

Entitled 'Paths and Priorities in the War on Terror'  Huckabee's speech is expected to continue speaking to necessary success in Iraq. He has long argued that Democrats “deny that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror even as we fight Al Qaeda there”; Huckbee charges that the only way out is honorable victory. 

In addition to military might, Huckabee’s position also supports a “regional summit” to help bring about a peaceful resolution in the region. 

His campaign’s website doesn't mince words. 

“Withdrawal would have serious strategic consequences for us and horrific humanitarian consequences for the Iraqis. If we leave, Iraq's neighbors on all sides will face a refugee crisis and be drawn into the war: Iran to protect the Shiites; Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan to protect the Sunnis; and Turkey to protect its control over its own Kurd population.” 

While his war rhetoric may sound strikingly similar to fellow Republicans, Huckabee supports a energy independence solution that, to some, leans left. 

In an August debate moderated by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Huckabee said “Every time somebody in this room goes to the gas pump, you’ve helped make the Saudi royal family a little wealthier and the money that has been used against us in terrorism has largely come from the middle east” and “if we can feed ourselves, if we can fuel ourselves, if we can manufacture the weapons to fight for ourselves, we’re a free people.  If we can’t do those three things, we’re not free.”

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Rice Opens Climate Change Conference

September 27, 2007 1:00 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia Reports: The State Department is hosting a two-day global conference on climate change, something President Bush called for months ago.  The world's largest economies are in attendance to explore ways to reduce greenhouse emissions while protecting growing economies, something that the Kyoto agreements, set to expire in 2012, were criticized for not balancing enough.

Just days after the UN Climate Conference, Secretary of State Rice opened the State Department's conference Thursday morning, saying that global warming is a global problem on the scale of weapons proliferation, the spread of disease, and transnational terrorism.

She said, "We agree that climate change is a real problem and that human beings are contributing to it. The best science tells us exactly this."

The secretary outlined three principle goals for the conference: to agree on long term greenhouse gas reduction goals; to establish national targets and programs to reach the broader goal, saying that this is not a one size fits all approach; and to work with private industry to develop new energy technologies.

Rice added that there is a need to forge a consensus on how best to address climate change, while protecting economic growth in growing countries.  She pledged the cooperation of the United States and acknowledged the nation's contribution to climate change thus far.   

While inside the State Department leaders stayed focus on business, outside, it got a bit colorful.  Protesters stormed the perimeter of the State Department, resulting in the arrest of 47 people, according to State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey.  The demonstrators were blocking the entrance of the building and after being asked to move three times, guards from the Federal Protection Service, which provides protection for US govt buildings, arrested the protesters.

President Bush is slated to address the conference Friday.

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (5)