With the 111th Congress only weeks away, The Hill asked some members of Congress what they think their top priority will be in the New Year.

The Big Question is a feature where influential lawmakers, pundits and interest group leaders give their answers to a question that’s driving discussion in news circles around the country.

Today’s Big Question is:

Is $850 billion too much, too little, or just right for the next economic stimulus package?

See responses below from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Libertarian Party Chairman William Redpath, United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard, ATR President Grover Norquist, and Hudson Institute President Dr. Herbert London.

See the last Big Question here.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said:

Given current unemployment numbers and the prospect of a very long and painful recession, it is important that we enact an economic recovery package that will create jobs and boost our economy over the long term. Read the full response

William Redpath, chairman, Libertarian Party said:

The proposed $850 billion economic stimulus is too high by the portion of it that’s not a tax cut. Read the full response

Leo Gerard, international president, United Steelworkers said:

This moment demands bold action to avert a prolonged worldwide economic contraction. Congress must respond to this crisis with the investment of $900 billion in America over two years, at the very least. Read the full response

Read the rest of this entry »

The next few months will be a pivotal period in the history of the United States and for much of the world. The Bush Administration, perhaps the most reactionary and incompetent that our country has ever seen, is leaving office after eight disastrous years. President Barack Obama and an increased Democratic majority take power amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The decisions that are made early on will send an important signal as to whether Obama’s campaign of “hope” and “change” will be seriously pursued and realized, or whether the power of the Big Money interests will persist — regardless of which president is in office or which party has the majority. Will a new president and a new and more Democratic Congress finally respond to the needs of the middle class and working families of our country, or will Wall Street, insurance and drug companies, the military-industrial-complex, the oil and coal companies, big media, and the other powerful special interests continue to hold sway?

Here are just a few of the issues that President Obama, the Congress and all Americans must confront: Read the rest of this entry »

There are not any issues that divide Pelosi/Reid and Obama. They are all big spenders. They all want higher taxes. They all want to ration the energy used by average Americans and to increase the price of same. And they all want to give the trial lawyers, the union bosses and the big city political machines everything they demand as the investor/owners of the modern Democrat party.

There will be differences of opinion about tactics, even strategy, and from time to time who should get the credit or blame for various efforts.

I’ve learned as a freshman you have to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them.

They say freshman members of Congress need to have two or three things and focus on them like laser beams, but I can’t do that. It’s hard for me because I’ve always been an activist.

I’ve learned that in Congress, if you don’t ask, you don’t get it. You have to know when to ask and how to ask. Some members will say, “Oh you can get away with it, you have a liberal district”, and I tell them: “I have 23 counties and 8 of them carried for George Wallace,” so it isn’t liberal land where I come from. Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Question is a feature where influential lawmakers, pundits and interest group leaders give their answers to a question that’s driving discussion in news circles around the country.

Today’s Big Question is:

Will 2009 be a better year than 2008, and why?

See responses below from Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, ATR President Grover Norquist, Americans United for Change President Brad Woodhouse, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, and J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said:

The next year may be bad news for the majority of Americans concerned about government corruption.

Expect an attack, orchestrated by Obama allies and agents, on Patrick Fitzgerald as he digs deeper in corruption in Obama’s home state. Read the full response

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said:

This coming year, 2009 will have certain advantages over 2008. On the most important front I get to spend all year with our new daughter Grace Salam who joined our family from Bethlehem half way through 2008.

On the economic front, most of the drop in the stock market has already taken place. Read the full response

Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change, said:

2008 was a year when Americans demanded change, and 2009 will be the year for action.  After a White House that turned a blind eye for too long to our nation’s economic problems, President Elect Barack Obama and congressional leaders are putting forward a strong jobs and economic recovery plan that will put in place the building blocks to kick start our economy. Read the full response here.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton takes a look at how industries are employing lobbyists even in a recession, so that they can reap the benefits or avoid costly regulations that the Democratic Majority plans to implement.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury released the Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Report of the U.S. Government.

According to a Treasury press release:

Revenue results in this year’s Financial Report were $2.7 trillion, increasing slightly by $34 billion or just over 1 percent, compared to last year. Total costs were $3.6 trillion, an increase of $.7 trillion or 25 percent compared to last year. Net operating cost increased to $1 trillion, up from last year’s net operating cost of $275.5 billion.

During the last session of Congress, I introduced H.R. 3958, the Truth in Accounting Act, which would require the Treasury to calculate the long-term budget figure in this report to create greater transparency in the budgeting process and provide a more accurate assessment of our nation’s real financial standing. Read the rest of this entry »

President Bush took to the TV Friday to announce that he wouldn’t walk past the financial crash of America’s Big Three automakers and do nothing to save their lives.

Refusing resuscitation, Bush said, would be irresponsible during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

A week earlier, 31 GOP Senators, mostly from Southern states, voted to avert their eyes and allow American auto companies to die. They opposed $14 billion in federal loans for GM and Chrysler, revealing that their loyalty lies not with America, not even with their own states, but with South Korea and Germany and Japan.

They are Toyota Republicans.

Toyota has non-union manufacturing plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas – states whose senators led the GOP quest to slay the Big Three American auto manufacturers – Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and John Cornyn, R-Tx. Here’s the Republican from Mississippi, Sen. Thad Cochran, explaining why he’d vote against the loans, “Things have changed. It’s not just the Big Three anymore,” he said, pointing out that Nissan and Toyota employ more Mississippians than General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. But, he said, the foreign companies would not share “in the benefits of that automobile bailout program.” Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that when President Obama gets sworn into office, among his top priorities will be to guide Congress through an $850 billion economic stimulus package. As a result, this astronomical number has created a tsunami of activity from special interest groups looking for their piece of the pie. $850 billion is simply an astonishing figure - not only exceeding the hefty $700 billion price tag of the financial sector, but also dwarfing the annual budget for the Pentagon.

What does Obama intend to do with all of your hard-earned money? According to today’s Washington Post, the 850 billion “would include at least $100 billion for cash-strapped state governments and more than $350 billion for investments in infrastructure, alternative energy and other priorities…”

You’ve got to wonder if the infrastructure investments that Obama is going to include in his package might come from the list of 11,391 projects that the U.S. Conference of Mayors recently submitted to Congress.  The list includes things like a $4.8 million polar bear exhibit at the Providence, RI zoo and a $1.5 million water ride in Miami, FL. Read the rest of this entry »