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Come Get Your Money -- $266 Million Worth

November 25, 2008 5:56 PM

ABC News' Huma Khan Reports: Rep. Ron Klein, D-Fl., is reminding Americans to claim their money -- a total of 383,000 checks worth $266 million that could not be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

It includes $163 million in economic stimulus checks and $103 million in regular refund checks.

Taxpayers have until the end of the week to contact the IRS if they have not received their stimulus checks, which were mailed out earlier this year. By law, economic stimulus checks -- each worth $583 -- have to be mailed out by Dec. 31. If they don't meet the Nov. 28 deadline, people will have to wait until next year to claim it as a recovery rebate credit on their 2008 tax return.

There is no deadline to claim refund checks.

"We want people to get reunited with their money," joked IRS spokesperson Eric Smith.

The unclaimed money goes back into the Treasury until its recipients step up.

While $266 million is a whopping amount, every year millions of dollars in refund go unclaimed. The sum seems rather large because of the inclusion of economic stimulus checks this year. Less than 1 percent of these checks have been unclaimed, but that still means thousands of people haven't received their stimulus.

Taxpayers can claim their money by calling the IRS or going to the web site, where they can update their addresses and have the checks resent.

November 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Obama Points to Farm Subsidies for Budget Cuts

November 25, 2008 4:39 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf and Nitya Venkataraman Report: Asked today where he would start cutting spending once he becomes President, Barack Obama immediately pointed to abuse of farm subsidies.

If changing government is his goal, he'll have no more difficult time than with farm subsidies, which confound academics and politicians in both parties, but represent a lifeblood of revenue for the middle of the country.

"Let me give you one example of what I'm talking about," Obama said of government waste at a press conference in Chicago today. "There's a report today that from 2003 to 2006, millionaire farmers received $49 million in crop subsidies even though they were earning more than the $2.5 million cutoff for such subsidies. If this is true, it is a prime example of the kind of waste I intend to end as president." (Read the report here.)

While Obama was talking about people gaming the subsidy system, it is interesting that he immediately thought of farm subsidies - sold every five years when the Farm Bill is passed as a way to help family farmers stay in business and keep American agriculture competitive in the global economy - goals that many people think farm subsidies miss by a wide margin as John Stossel found in Nebraska in October.

Fred Kirschenmann who owns a 3500-acre mixed grain and livestock farm in North Dakota says "in the short term, subsidies are necessary when you have volatility in prices" but ultimately are "not a sustainable system" for small family farms.

Farmers, he says, have never been in a position to bring a product in and determine its value against the market. "They have no economic power to negotiate a price that compensates them for their cost of production."

"What we need to be doing is gradually transitioning away from subsidies to a system that allows farmers to recoup their cost of production,' he says. "Subsidies should not be a handout they ought to be designed so that they provide a basic support to a system so a farmer doesn't go out of business."

Obama grudgingly supported the farm bill last Spring, and supported overriding President Bush's veto of it. He argued at the time that while the bill was not perfect, it was good.

That was not the tack President Bush took when he vetoed the bill in large part for not working enough to cut farm subsidies. In the official administration policy against the Farm Bill, the White House said "the bill continues to increase price supports and send farm subsidies to people who are among the wealthiest 2 percent of American tax filers whose three-year average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is greater than $200,000. Payments should be targeted to those who really need them, especially those who have a meaningful connection to production agriculture. This action does not represent fiscal stewardship nor is it farm program reform."

Ending farm subsidies altogether is a favorite topic of Obama's favorite Republican, Indiana Republican Richard Lugar.

Lugar and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, in late 2007 offered an amendment to the most recent farm bill that would have ended direct subsidy payments to farmers altogether and instead created a safety net - think large-scale, no cost insurance for emergencies.

Their proposal got 37 votes in 2007. Obama was campaigning, but his Illinois colleague Dick Durbin supported the amendment.

On his change.gov transition website, President-elect Obama promises to "Fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Implement a $250,000 payment limitation so we help family farmers -- not large corporate agribusiness. Close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around payment limits."

Cutting subsidy payments at $250,000 was the same level sought by President Bush (and overridden by Congress with Obama's help).

November 25, 2008 in Bush, George W., Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (28)

For Obama, a Cautionary Tale on Budget Cuts

November 25, 2008 4:04 PM

ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: When President-elect Obama promised today to "scour our federal budget, line by line, and make meaningful cuts" he sounded like the current president.

"Just as we trust Americans with their own money, we need to earn their trust by spending their tax dollars wisely," President Bush said during his State of the Union address on January 28.  "Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion."

True to his word,  President Bush's 2009 budget submission proposed to "terminate or reduce 151 discretionary programs" and calculated that making all 151 of those cuts would reduce 2009 spending by $18 billion.

Given the size of the deficit (it was more than $430 billion last year), $18 billion in savings is quite modest.  But how many of those 151 programs were ultimately eliminated?

None.  Instead Congress added an extra $20 billion in spending.

November 25, 2008 in Bush, George W., Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Gates Cabinet Appointment 'A Done Deal'

November 25, 2008 2:49 PM

ABC News' Martha Raddatz and Jake Tapper Report: Sources tell ABC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be staying on in the top Pentagon job, for at least the first year of the Obama administration. "It is a done deal" a source close to the process tells ABC News.

Gates, while a registered independent, has served numerous Republican administrations. President George W. Bush nominated Gates to replace the Donald Rumsfeld after the 2006 midterm elections, when the war in Iraq was spiraling out of control.

The former Eagle Scout is expected to be rolled out immediately after the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend as part of a larger national security team expected to include Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, as Secretary of State; Marine Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.) as National Security Adviser; Admiral Dennis Blair (Ret.) as Director of National Intelligence; and Dr. Susan Rice as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Gates was CIA Director for President George H.W. Bush in 1992, and gave the impression to some that he would stay on in that role if asked by incoming President Bill Clinton. Clinton did not keep him on, replacing him instead with Jim Woolsey.

November 25, 2008 in Washington | Permalink | User Comments (13)

McCain to Seek Senate Re-Election in 2010

November 25, 2008 2:32 PM

ABC News' Lindsey Ellerson Reports: Former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, age 73, said Tuesday in Arizona that he intends to seek a fifth Senate term in 2010.

"I intend to run again," said McCain during his first news conference since his White House loss to President-elect Barack Obama.  "We will make a formal announcement at the appropriate time."

McCain was unable to escape the press conference without a flurry of questions about his former running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The GOP Senator stood by his veep pick, forecasting a "very bright" future for Palin.

"I think she did a great job of energizing our base. I'm very proud of her. It's one of the great pleasures I've had, to get to know her and her family. And I think she has a very bright future in a leadership position in the Republican Party," McCain said.

McCain also took a light-hearted tone when discussing the failed GOP presidential ticket, joking that the curse of Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater's unsuccessful presidential run in 1964 has become Arizona's continued legacy.

"Unfortunately, now it's Goldwater, Udall, Babbitt, McCain, all who have made it, again, impossible for mothers in Arizona to tell their children that some day they can grow up and be president of the United States," said McCain.

McCain applauded Obama for his recently announced economic team, as well as Obama's top pick for the director of the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

"I have already talked with her and look forward to moving her nomination as quickly as possible through the United States Senate," said McCain of the popular Democratic governor.

"I think she's highly qualified.  And we as citizens of Arizona are very proud to have a border state governor and someone with her knowledge and expertise serving in this very, very important and vital position."

When asked if he had any intension to run for governor of Arizona if the post was vacant, McCain said he remains committed to a fifth term in the Senate.

"My attention will be focused on -- on running for re-election in the Senate," said McCain.  "That's a six-year term, and I would be committed to fulfilling that."

The Arizona Republican pledged to work together with Obama and referenced their meeting last week at the president-elect's transition headquarters in downtown Chicago. 

"As you know, President-elect Obama and I had a very good meeting and discussed a number of issues, ranging from Afghanistan and Iraq to the need for -- address the challenges facing our economy, including various reforms in the practices of the Congress, as far as spending and budgetary issues are concerned," said McCain. "So I look forward to working with President-elect Obama and -- as we face these enormous challenges that we have."

McCain also said that he looks forward to resuming his work in the Senate, adding that he is eager to get back to his duties on behalf of Arizonians.

"I will resume my duties in the Indian Affairs Committee and work on Native American issues, land, water, and, of course, the significant military presence we have here in Arizona," said the Senator.  "I'll be looking forward to working on those issues, as well as the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee."

The Republican Senator also announced his intension to visit the Middle East in the near future.

"I intend to travel soon to both Iraq and Afghanistan," said McCain.  "Obviously, the situation in Iraq, as regards to the status-of-forces agreement and the status of our forces and the -- the success of the strategy, and now the next steps we need to take, I look forward to discussing with General Odierno and the leaders of the Iraq government."

November 25, 2008 in McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (26)

Schumer Giving Up D.S.C.C. Gig

November 24, 2008 5:28 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) is giving up his job running the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee after two successful campaign cycles which saw his party go from minority status under a newly re-elected President Bush to its biggest Senate majority in three decades.

In 2006, Schumer helped engineer a 6-seat gain that gave the Democrats a 1-vote majority in the Senate. 

In the still unfolding 2008 election, the Democrats picked up 7 additional seats in the Senate with possible pick-ups in Minnesota and Georgia yet to be determined.

Due to the closeness of the vote in Minnesota, an automatic hand recount is currently taking place between Democrat Al Franken and incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. A Dec. 2 run-off is slated to take place in Georgia between Democrat Jim Martin and incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The Peach State holds a run-off election if no Senate candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. 

If Democrats were to win both races, they would have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority. Even if the Democrats lose both races, no party has had a 58-seat majority in the Senate since the Democrats controlled that many seats in the 96th Congress which took place from 1979-80.

Schumer is leaving his campaign post because he wants to play a more active role in the burst of legislation expected during Obama's first year in office.

The New York Democrat's successor has not yet been named by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
One Democrat frequently mentioned is New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.

November 24, 2008 in Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (11)

The Note: Obama Waits on Change for January

November 21, 2008 8:21 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note:

Change doesn’t have to wait until January.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is gone. (A sign of a new day.)

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., is gone, partly, too. (A sign of a new order.)

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., isn’t going anywhere. (But she’s gone quite a distance to get there.) 

Penny Pritzker leaves before she ever even arrives. 

And the auto bailout came back to life after it was declared dead, only to die again. (It may yet rise again -- though not until next month.) 

As for President-elect Barack Obama -- he is, for the most part, waiting for January.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

Thus far through the transition, we’re learning that Obama remains, at his core, a cautious and patient politician -- one who can be quite stingy with his political capital.

Meanwhile, the stock market is in freefall, Detroit is near collapse, and Congress is in a stalemate. Obama has had nearly half of his Cabinet filled for him, without a single formal announcement.

(If you’re scoring at home, he’s now had more haircuts than press conferences as president-elect.)

Other than a few comments, Obama has chosen not to play in the current crisis: “With the stock market plunging and the credit market entering a new freeze, cries are being heard for a new government intervention to prop up major financial institutions before President-elect Barack Obama takes office,” Floyd Norris writes in The New York Times. “By resigning from the Senate before the current session began and allowing it to appear that a sense of drift could prevail until he is inaugurated, Mr. Obama may have missed an opportunity to exert leadership.” 

“How much can go wrong in the two months before Mr. Obama takes the oath of office? The answer, unfortunately, is: a lot,” Paul Krugman writes in his column. “At minimum, the next two months will inflict serious pain on hundreds of thousands of Americans, who will lose their jobs, their homes, or both. What’s really troubling, however, is the possibility that some of the damage being done right now will be irreversible.” 

“The problem is that nothing of significance can or will happen until the new President takes office in January, even though there is -- finally -- a great appetite for action in Washington. This is going to be a very frustrating few months,” Time’s Joe Klein writes.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

November 21, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary, Inauguration, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (43)

Obama: 'The Elections Aren't Over'

November 20, 2008 8:36 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis reports: Barack Obama has gingerly entered the fray in the Georgia Senate race, cutting a 60-second radio ad in support of Democrat Jim Martin.

"The elections aren't over," says Obama in the radio ad after thanking everyone who voted for him. "... I want to urge you to turn out one more time and help elect Jim Martin to the United States Senate."

Georgia is holding a Senate run-off on Dec. 2 because neither Martin, the Democrat, nor Saxby Chambliss, the incumbent Republican senator, received more than 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 4 due to Libertarian Senate candidate Allen Buckley.

When the new Congress convenes next year, Democrats will control a minimum of 58 Senate seats. There are still two races -- Georgia (where the run-off is taking place) and Minnesota (where a hand recount is taking place) -- that are still undecided.

If Democrats were to win both seats, they would have a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate.

Listen to the ad HERE.

November 20, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (26)

Hillary's $7.5 Million Problem

November 20, 2008 8:31 PM

ABC News' Tahman Bradley Reports: Hillary Clinton continues to carry $7.5 million of debt owed to vendors from her failed presidential bid which ended in early June, her campaign finance report covering the month of October shows.

Even though the election is over, Clinton can continue to raise money for unpaid bills, as long as contributors clearly designate their contributions as being specially for retiring presidential campaign debt. There's no time limit on how long a candidate can carry debt.

The campaign retired a few hundred thousands dollars of debt in October after bringing in $774,299 last month.

Clinton lost all opportunities to get back the $13.1 million in personal money she loaned the campaign. Campaign finance law restricts the amount of time a candidate can pay back personal loans in an effort to limit candidates from self-financing campaigns. Clinton needed to pay herself back by the final day of the Democratic convention.

If Clinton accepts the position of Secretary of State, or some other post in the Obama administration, she would be barred by The Hatch Act of 1939 from soliciting and receiving political contributions. The Clinton campaign organization, however, can continue to raise money for the purpose of retiring debt even if the senator accepts an appointed position in government. Raising a small amount of money from loyal donors without help from Clinton might be doable, but raising $7.5 million without the candidate seems like a tall order.

Campaign finance law is pretty flexible in a candidate's ability to retire debt after a presidential election is over and a little innovative campaign treasury maneuvering could yield a faster way for Clinton to erase most of the remaining debt. On August 28, Clinton's Senate account received $6.4 million in contributions that were first designated for the presidential campaign for use in the general election. That money could theoretically be transferred back to the presidential campaign and used to knock out vendor debt.

The Clinton presidential campaign this week was still hunting for help with unpaid bills, sending supporters an e-mail asking for money.

November 20, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (69)

Biden Keeping Seat Warm for His Son?

November 20, 2008 4:00 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Vice-president-elect Joe Biden is a busy man these days, wading through transition matters as he and President-elect Barack Obama try to fill out their new administration.

And unlike Obama, Biden, D-Del., is still a member of the United States Senate -- though he didn’t appear at this week’s post-election session, and has shown no signs of returning to Senate business.

The Obama-Biden transition office refuses to explain or elaborate on why Biden feels it is appropriate to continue to serve in the Senate. Obama, meanwhile, tendered his resignation effective Sunday.

Elizabeth Alexander, a Biden spokeswoman with the transition office, issued this statement:  “Vice President-elect Biden is consulting with leaders in Delaware and will make an announcement on his plans soon.”

The lack of resolution has stoked speculation in Delaware and beyond that the only reason Joe Biden is still in office has everything to do with Beau Biden.

The younger Biden is headed to Iraq with his National Guard unit, and this week took his name out of the running to serve as his father’s direct replacement. But whoever is chosen by Delaware’s governor to replace Joe Biden will only serve until a special election is held, in 2010 -- by which time Beau Biden will be stateside again.

That’s where the games begin. Delaware’s current governor, Ruth Ann Minner, leaves office on Jan. 20 -- the same day that Sen. Biden is set to become vice president. If Biden were to resign his seat before Jan. 20, Minner would get to name a replacement.

If, on the other hand, Biden waits for the new governor to take office, selecting a new senator would be among the first tasks of the incoming governor, Jack Markell.

Things are lining up that way: Markell this week announced that he will take the oath of office at 12:01 am on Jan. 20 -- giving him a 12-hour window in which Biden could resign and allow Markell could name a replacement.

Minner and Markell are both Democrats, so who makes the choice won’t impact the balance of power in the Senate. But Minner has something of an independent streak, and Markell is viewed in some circles as more likely to be swayed by Sen. Biden’s wishes regarding his seat.

Joe Rogalsky, a Markell spokesman, said the governor-elect hasn’t communicated with Biden about his timeframe or preferences, and said it’s up to Biden as to when to resign his seat.

“Jack is really 100 percent focused on the transition process, and the problems facing the state. He hasn’t thought about who to pick, if he has that opportunity,” said Rogalsky said. “Jack has a ton of respect for Sen. Biden, but he hasn’t given this any thought.”

Rogalsky said the midnight swearing-in is designed to allow Delaware residents -- including Markell himself -- to attend the gubernatorial swearing-in as well as witness the presidential inauguration 12 hours later.

But the thinking in Delaware and national political circles is that Markell will appoint a placeholder who will promise, either explicitly or implicitly, to serve only two years.

That would presumably leave Beau Biden -- Delaware’s 39-year-old attorney general, who delivered a well-received introduction for his father at this summer’s Democratic National Convention -- with a clear primary field in 2010.

Such a move would be perfectly legal. And there’s precedent: A similar maneuver was used to keep John F. Kennedy’s Senate seat in the family, and 48 years later, Ted Kennedy is still representing Massachusetts in the Senate.

But the timing of installing a Biden replacement could harm Delawareans: The newly elected senators will take office Jan. 3, and all will have seniority over Biden’s replacement if Biden stays in office beyond then.

The new senator is also missing out on orientation and training sessions, while Delaware has only half of the voice of other states in the Senate as other matters are considered, said Samuel B. Hoff, a political science professor at Delaware State University.

“They’re going to lose time in getting up to speed if they keep playing this political shell game,” Hoff said. “It’s created drama that just doesn’t need to be there. When it comes to representing the people, this isn’t the best way to do it.”

Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said such political maneuvering doesn’t fit with the Obama-Biden ticket’s promise of a new kind of politics.

“It’s important for our leaders to put the country ahead of their personal political interests, but it’s not clear Obama and Biden are doing that,” Conant said. “There’s no place for political games that benefit Joe Biden’s family and political interests at the expense of Americans.”

ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe contributed to this report.

November 20, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (22)