The election of Barack Obama is a call for change, and not only of the occupant of the White House. Throughout the campaign, Senator Obama has championed a different kind of politics than we have seen in years, a politics based on what we can do together rather than on what drives us apart. The Members of the 111th Congress need to take that lesson to heart.

As a nation and as members of the federal government, we face a daunting situation. We must get to work finding solutions, rather than assigning blame. The consensus is clear that we need to change course. No one man and no single party, however, has a monopoly on the good ideas or the smarts we will need to put our country back on the right track. The Obama Administration will include Republicans and, probably, some Independents as well. Congress must share that bipartisan spirit, among ourselves and in our dealings with the Executive Branch. Read the rest of this entry »

Barack Obama’s victory is a historic and glorious achievement for Obama, America and the world. In this defining moment in America’s history, the citizens of this nation have come together to prove that this great country is truly a place where all things are possible. This is an extraordinary moment for this country and I am so proud to have had the chance to witness this day.  Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, his staff and the millions of supporters who voted to make this day a reality.

I want to thank my supporters, family and most of all the people of Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District for re-electing me to another term. Today’s historic election of President-elect Obama demonstrates a renewed sense of civic participation among citizens, and I am proud and humbled to be part of such an extraordinary event in our nation’s history.

Just as important, however, is the sense of urgency among Americans that it is time to rework this economy, create jobs, and rebuild the middle-class. We need to work on a plan that invests in small businesses and in our nation’s ailing transportation infrastructure to remain competitive. It is time to embrace a strategy for energy independence to foster investments in renewable energy and propel the new energy economy. And we  need to work on providing all Americans with access to affordable, quality health care.

I am eager to get back to work and tackle these issues with the incoming Obama administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress,

I recently questioned the Obama extreme position of taking more energy sources off the table “Does Gabrielle Giffords agree that coal is not an acceptable source of energy?  Does Giffords agree with Obama’s extremist view that overregulation will force energy companies out of business?”

Giffords record is clear.  She has been against accessing our own resources.  When given the chance to vote on an all-of-the-above energy policy, she said “no”. Read the rest of this entry »

The words Barack Obama uses are deeply meaningful to organized labor. He speaks to union members on a gut level about concepts that define their lives: unity and brotherhood.

Listen to what he says in his closing argument speech:

“Each of us has a responsibility to work hard and look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to our fellow citizens. That’s what’s been lost these last eight years – our sense of common purpose; of higher purpose. And that’s what we need to restore right now.”

That’s the theme of serving as a brother’s keeper that Obama detailed at the Democratic National Convention. Read the rest of this entry »

What was interesting in today’s testimony is that there was a consensus report for an immediate economic stimulus package to get the economy moving. We have taken steps to stabilize our financial markets and with the stock market going up and credit becoming released– not in the way that we’d like– we’ve seen some improvement in that area. We need to improve our overall economy. We need to keep that economic engine going. This hearing was for an economic stimulus package, and in addition there was the report from USA Today, where the overwhelming majority of economists that they interviewed about the need for a stimulus package today called for a quick stimulus immediately, even before the president in sworn in in the new Congress, to act as soon possible to move a stimulus forward. And they called for a number between $300 and $450 billion dollars– larger than the one we had earlier. They feel that you need this type of input into our overall economy. Read the rest of this entry »

Judicial Watch has issued a request to the Illinois State Board of Elections to investigate whether the Obama campaign’s planned Election Day text messages would violate a state law that prevents electioneering in polling places.  Judicial Watch plans to issue similar requests to election officials in other states.

According to media reports, Senator Obama’s campaign sent text messages to voters on primary day in New Hampshire encouraging them to vote for Senator Obama.  The Obama campaign apparently intends to conduct a similar text message campaign on Election Day.  Given that these messages will likely be received and read by voters on their cell phones inside polling places, and perhaps inside voting booths, the messages may violate an Illinois state law against electioneering within polling places. Read the rest of this entry »

The tidal wave of money flowing into the presidential campaign is a powerful demonstration of the need for fundamental changes in the way we fund our elections, not proof of the health of the private contribution system. Politicians and their supporters will spend $5.3 billion on races, and raise the vast majority of those funds from large donors seeking their favor, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Less noted is the success of the Clean Elections programs, or full public financing, that have been implemented in seven states and two cities. Clean Elections is a proven policy successful in the states where it’s been implemented. Elections in these Clean Elections states are about voters and ideas instead of the endless campaign money chase. Read the rest of this entry »

The Project On Government Oversight was a little ahead of the times when in December, 2003 we called for Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) to resign from the Senate. POGO acted after an expose by the Los Angeles Times revealed a long list of financial benefits that Senator Ted Stevens and his family members had received because of his power as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  He is the only Member of Congress to earn this distinction from POGO.  We take no cheer from this but fervently hope his conviction this week on multiple corruption charges will hasten his departure from the Senate.  Senator Steven’s stunning arrogance and malfeasance have finally brought him to justice.

In the future, we hope both the Executive and Congressional branches of government will be filled with people who are inspired to public service rather than seeing their federal jobs as personal enrichment opportunities.

Read POGO’s recommendations to Presidential Transition Teams.

- Marthena Cowart, POGO Director of Communications

Protestors disrupted a convention of mortgage financers in San Francisco this week, storming the stage as former Bush advisor Karl Rove spoke, heckling bankers with bullhorns, and badgering a panel with demands for a foreclosure moratorium.

Fear and frustration compelled ordinary citizens to harangue the green-visor set at their normally-staid annual meeting. Middle class Americans are losing their jobs and their homes and their hope while watching Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson spend their tax dollars to bail out the infinitely-wealthy on Wall Street whose reprehensible risk-taking caused the country’s financial crisis. The middle class want their piece of the American pie.

Congress is trying to dish it out in the form of a second stimulus package that would extend unemployment insurance and food stamps and create jobs through programs such as highway construction projects.

Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin oppose it. They’re running around the country with caricatures of Joe the Plumber and Joe Sixpack, pretending the GOP ticket represents the best interests of the working class and small business owners. Read the rest of this entry »