Rep. Miller to co-chair new jobs caucus
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, will announce today the creation of a bi-partisan "Jobs Now!" congressional caucus. Miller will be one of its three co-chairs.
The caucus will look for ways to create jobs without increasing taxes or the deficit.
The co-chairs are from hard-hit Midwestern states. In addition to Miller, they are Reps. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. One hundred and three House members have signaled they want to be part of the caucus.
GOP primary to take on Rep. Schauer ranked among top 7
A Capitol Hill newspaper picks the Republican battle for the chance to take on freshman Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, as one of the top seven primaries in the country.
Tim Walberg, who held the seat for one term before Schauer ousted him, faces attorney Brian Rooney in the Aug. 3 primary for Michigan's south-central 7th Congressional District. Here's the Hill's take: "Rooney, the brother of freshman Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), hasn't proven his political mettle yet (he just got in), but there appears to be an opening against Walberg. He wasn't exactly greeted with open arms when he decided to seek a rematch with Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.). We'll have to see if the establishment rallies around Rooney as an alternative."
Rep. Schauer holding health care town hall
Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, hosts the first of several town halls on the House-passed health care bill on Thursday.
Schauer and Michigan's seven other Democrats voted for the bill, which passed the House narrowly, 220-215.
Town halls on health care became a flash point last August. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, was heckled, for example, and the offices of other Democrats became the sites for protests.
Schauer's first town hall is for Branch and Calhoun County residents, from 10:00 to 11:30 on Thursday morning, at the First Baptist Church, 80 E Michigan Ave, in Battle Creek.
His news release says, "Last Saturday, Schauer supported a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that will offer every single American access to quality, affordable health insurance, strengthen Medicare for seniors by closing the prescription drug donut hole, and lower health care costs for Michigan businesses to help them compete. At Thursday's town hall meeting, the Congressman will share information about what's in the bill for Michigan and answer questions from local residents."
Buses in Michigan get 'mini-hybrid' boost
Michigan will receive a $363,609 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to make transit buses across the state more fuel-efficient.
The grants were announced this week by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.
The Michigan Department of Transportation will use the money from the federal stimulus act to equip buses with "mini-hybrid" components. The components will replace parts of a diesel-powered bus's powertrain with electric components that have been shown to improve fuel efficiency by more than 10 percent, according to a statement from Levin's office.
"This grant will help manufacturers by increasing demand for their goods, help transit agencies reduce their fuel costs, and help our environment by reducing harmful emissions," Levin said.
Added Stabenow: "We are protecting our future by making our public transportation fleet more environmentally friendly."
President names Metro Detroiter to arts committee
President Barack Obama has appointed a Metro Detroit arts supporter to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Madeleine Harris Berman, a member of the Boards of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theater and the Detroit Zoological Institute, was appointed Monday.
Harris Berman serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Americans for the Arts and previously served on the President's Committee of the Arts and Humanities in 1994.
Harris Berman will be one of 26 members from the private sector and 12 members from federal agencies with cultural programs who will serve on the committee. First Lady Michelle Obama is the panel's honorary chairwoman.
Senate could pass its jobless benefits bill tonight
The Senate could pass its extension of unemployment benefits as early as tonight.
The Senate is expected to take up the issue again at 4 this afternoon, and then vote on whether to end debate and proceed to a vote on the bill. That vote is expected to get at least the 60-vote margin necessary to end debate. If so, it's possible, senators may agree to immediately proceed to passing the measure.
But, because the Senate and House bills differ, conferees will have to be appointed to come up with a compromise bill. That bill would have to pass both chambers, then go to President Barack Obama, who has signaled he'll sign it.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress expands the program.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Washington office says if all that were completed this week -- a high hurdle -- the Unemployment Insurance Agency would be able to begin payments to those who've exhausted their benefits by mid-December.
The Senate will consider extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states. The House-passed bill extends 13 weeks of additional benefits to states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or more. Michigan's rate is 15.3 percent --the highest in the nation.
White House says 22,514 stimulus jobs created in Michigan
The Obama administration said today that 22,514 direct jobs have been created so far in Michigan out of the $787 billion stimulus package.
But Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, criticized the announcement. "You have to looked at what's happened to the economy overall since the stimulus bill was enacted, and things have gotten steadily worse," Hoekstra said. "Michigan's economy has deteriorated. Sure you can throw some money around, but look at the big picture of the economy. We've saddled our kids with $800 billion in debt and all we have is an economy that has deteriorated."
Rep. Schauer comes out in favor of health care bill
Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, said today he'll support the newly unveiled Democratic health care bill.
"This is the plan we need to fix our broken health care system and get our economy back on track by reducing the federal deficit by $30 billion over the next decade," said Schauer, a freshman.
"After talking to small business owners, workers, doctors and seniors, it's clear to me that our current health care system is broken. Health costs for small businesses have skyrocketed 129 percent since 2000, and if we don't act now, health care costs for average Michigan families will continue to increase by $1,800 each year for the next 10 years."
The state's other freshman, Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, hasn't said whether he'll back the bill.
House-Senate conferees agree to $475 million for Great Lakes
House-Senate conferees today approved an Interior appropriations bill that includes $475 million for Great Lakes restoration.
The conferees chose to go with the full $475 million passed by the House and favored by President Barack Obama over the $400 million that had been passed by the Senate.
The House could take up the final bill later this week, followed by the Senate next week.
Senate votes 87-13 to proceed on jobless benefits extension
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to move ahead on considering extending jobless benefits. Michigan Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Carl Levin, D-Detroit, voted to move ahead on the legislation.
But the final vote may not take place until late this week or next week because of the complicated "cloture" proceedure Senate Democrats needed to use to get debate started.
The Senate will consider extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states.
The Senate is expected to pass the bill. Then a House-Senate conference will be needed to reconcile the differences with the House bill. President Barack Obama supports the additional benefits.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress lengthens the program.
Michigan's jobless rate is 15.3 percent -- the highest in the country.
