Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 220, Ed. 1 Monday, August 1, 2011 Page: 3 of 10
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Sweetwater Reporter
Monday, August 1, 2011 ■ Page 3
Congress moving quickly
on debt and spending deal
ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving quickly
on an agreement to avert a potentially devastating
default on U.S. obligations, with legislation that mixes a
record increase in the government's borrowing cap with
the promise of more than $2 trillion in spending cuts.
After a tense weekend of bargaining, President Barack
Obama and congressional leaders announced the agree-
ment Sunday night, providing an instant boost to Asian
financial markets and a huge dose of relief to an admin-
istration and Congress frazzled by months of partisan
warfare and the chance that a default could send the
still-fragile economy into recession.
Top Obama aide David Plouffe on Monday morning
said the deal was worthy of passage in both the House
and Senate, even if no one got all they wanted and despite
the protracted political battle that forced a jittery nation
to endure a "three-ring circus" in Washington.
Relief around the world was indisputable, with Asian
shares on Monday enjoying one of the best sessions
in weeks. The advance continued in Europe, and Wall
Street was set for a solid opening — both the Dow
futures and the broader S&P 500 futures were 1.2 per-
cent higher.
The Senate seems likely to vote first on the measure
while House GOP leaders work to assemble support for
it. Democratic votes are certain to be needed to pass
the measure in the Republican-dominated House, just
as Republicans will be needed to clear the measure
through the Democratic Senate. Liberal Democrats were
already complaining that Obama had given away too
much to GOP leaders.
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No,"
Obama said. "But this compromise does make a serious
down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and
gives each part} a strong incentive to get a balanced plan
done before the end of the year."
The legislation would slice more than $2 trillion from
federal spending over a decade and permit the nation's
$14.3 trillion borrowing cap to rise by up to $2.4 trillion,
enough to keep the government afloat through the 2012
elections — a key objective for Obama, whose poll num-
bers have sagged as the summertime crisis dragged on.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, telephoned
Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been
struck, then immediately began pitching the deal to his
fractious rank and file.
"It isn't the greatest deal in the world, but it shows
how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this
town," he said on a conference call, according to GOP
officials. He added the agreement was "all spending
cuts. The White House bid to raise taxes has been shut
down."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was
publicly noncommittal. "I look forward to reviewing the
legislation with my caucus to see what level of support
we can provide," Pelosi said in a written statement. But
Democratic officials said she was unlikely to do anything
to try to scuttle the package.
Passage seemed likely if not wholly assured. Support
from Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., should guarantee
Senate approval, but the House could prove more dif-
ficult because of defections from left and right alike.
"This deal trades people's livelihoods for the votes of
a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not
support it," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Tea party favorite and presidential candidate Michele
Bachmann, R-Minn., countered that the deal "spends
too much and doesn't cut enough. ... Someone has to
say no. I will."
The government presently borrows more than 40
cents of every dollar it spends, and without an infusion
of borrowing authority, the government would face an
unprecedented default on U.S. loans and obligations
— like $23 billion worth of Social Security pension pay-
ments to retirees due Aug. 3.
The increased borrowing authority includes $400
billion that would take effect immediately and $500 bil-
lion that Obama could order unless specifically denied
by Congress. That $900 billion increase in the debt cap
would be matched by savings produced over the coming
decade by capping spending on day-to-day agency bud-
gets passed by Congress each year.
A special bipartisan committee would be established
to find up to $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts, probably taken
from benefit programs like farm subsidies, Medicare
and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and
disabled. Republicans dismissed the idea that the panel
would approve tax increases.
Any agreement by the panel would be voted on by
both House and Senate — and if the panel deadlocked,
automatic spending cuts would slash across much of
the federal budget. Social Security, Medicaid and food
stamps would be exempt from the automatic cuts, but
payments to doctors, nursing homes and other Medicare
providers could be trimmed, as could subsidies to insur-
ance companies that offer an alternative to government-
run Medicare.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he'd have to "swallow
hard" and vote for the legislation even though he is wor-
ried about cuts in defense spending.
Plouffe said in a morning network television interview
that the administration wasn't giving up on pushing for
new tax revenues down the road.
"The only way to really reduce the deficits significantly
in a smart way is to make sure there is smart entitle-
ment reform and closing of loopholes and tax reform,"
he said.
The pact was sealed during a weekend of talks in which
GOP leaders Boehner and McConnell dealt directly with
the White House, especially Vice President Joe Biden.
The final battle was fought over Pentagon spending cuts,
with Democrats emerging with a face-saving victory for
$350 billion in defense spending curbs.
But Republicans set the parameters of the debate,
with Boehner successfully winning spending cuts equal-
ing the amount of the debt increase — though the cuts
phase in over time and future Congresses will have
ample temptation to find ways around stringent spend-
ing caps called for in the pact.
Obama said such appropriated accounts would be left
with the lowest levels of spending as a percentage of the
overall economy in more than a half-century.
The measure capped a long saga: first, meetings in
a Biden-led group that fell apart over revenues; then,
efforts by Obama and Boehner to forge a so-called grand
bargain, cutting the deficit by $4 trillion or more over a
decade, including new revenues agreed to by Boehner.
In the end, the deal was a split-the-differences com-
promise, with plenty for both sides to dislike. House
GOP defense hawks came out on the losing end. So too
did Democratic liberals seeking tax increases.
Plouffe was interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning
America," CBS's "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today"
show. McCain appeared on CBS.
Gay marriage: awkward issue
for some GOP hopefuls
DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Same-sex marriage might seem
like a straightforward issue You're for it or against it.
Yet for the field of Republican presidential hopefuls,
it's proving to be an awkward topic as public attitudes
change an more states legalize gay unions, the latest
being New York.
Numerous recent polls suggest a slim majority of
Americans now back gay marriage. Support is hi est
among Democrats but > growing across the political
spectrum even while religious conservatives — a key
part of the GOP primary electorate — remain largely
opposed.
The result, according to political analysts from both
major parties, is a dilemma for the leading GOP can-
didates, most of whom oppose same-sex marriage but
tend to avoid raising the topic unless asked.
"They see the polling — more and more Republicans
are supporting gay marriage," said David Welch, a
former research director for the Republican National
Committee. "It puts them in an awkward position with
the younger members of the party and also with inde-
pendents whose votes you need to win."
Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House
adviser on gay rights, said the political climate has
changed rapidly and dramatically as leading Democrats
celebrate the advent of gay marriage in New York and
the imminent end of the ban on gays serving openly in
the military under President Barack Obama.
"It's now advantageous for Democrats to support gay
rights, and a net negative for Republicans to oppose
them," Socarides sai . "It's become extremely compli-
cated for many of the Republican candidates who are
used to using anti-gay rhetoric as a way to gin up their
base."
Obama, though still not ready to endorse gay mar-
riage, says he's evolving" on the issue and is supporting
a bill that would exten federal recognition to same-sex
couples who marry in the six states hat allow it.
New Hampshire is among those six states and also
home to the first Republican primary next winter.
According to conservative activists in the state, none of
the major GOP presidential ca lidates has yet taken a
public position on the ongoing effort by some Republican
legislators to repeal the 2009 state law legalizing same-
sex marriage.
Andy Smith, director of the University of New
Hampshire Survey Center, predicted that most of the
GOP contenders would continue trying to dodge the
issue because of lukewarm public support for repeal.
However, David Bates, one of the .wmakers push-
ing for the repeal, says he and his colleagues intend to
put some heat on the GOP contenders scheduling
debate on the repeal bill in the weeks leading up to the
primary
"We will be seeing to it that each candidate addresses
it," Bates said. "They will not be able to duck it."
In Iowa, where social conservatives are likely to play a
key role in the GOP caucus next winter, two can dales
— Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania — both signed a
pledge denouncing same-sex marriage rights. Former
governors Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty were among
lose refusing to sign the pledge, but both issued state-
ments stressing that they favored limiting marriage to
one-man, one-woman unions.
Among the other major GOP candidates, former
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman stands out as supporting civil
unions, which Would extend marriage-like rights to
same-sex couples. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a favorite of
many libertarians, says he supports the right of states
to legalize same-sex marriage but opposes any effort to
require recognition of those unions on a national level.
Both Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — a pos-
sible contender — have said they respect the rights of
individual states to legalize same-sex marriage, yet both
also say they would support an amendment to the U.S.
Constitution that would define marriage nationally as
limited to heterosexual couples.
For Perry in particular, that stance involved some
scrambling after he won applause at a Republican con-
ference in Colorado on J y 22 for his remarks about
New York's same-sex marriage law.
"That's New York, and tlu s their business, and that's
fine with me," said Perry, who was highlighting his sup-
port for states' rights.
Some leading social conservatives were dismayed by
such comments from Perry, who they have strongly
supported over the years. Eager to soothe the concerns,
Perry did a broadcast interview Thursday with Tony
Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council to
clarify his Colorado remarks and make clear he still sup-
ported the federal marriage amendment .
"I probably needed to add a few words after that 'It's
fine with me,"' Perry said. "Obviously gay marriage is not
fine with me. My stance hasn't changed. I believe mar-
riage is a union between one man and one woman."
Bachmann built her political career in Minnesota on
staunch advocacy of socially conservative positions,
including opposition to abortion and gay marriage. In
recent days, however, she has balked at answering ques-
tions about various gay-related topics, including reports
that her husband's Christian counseling clinic is tried
to convert gay patients away from homosexuality.
Chuck Donovan, a senior research fellow with the
conservative Heritage Foundation, predicted that GOP
candidates would face mounting pressure from left and
right to be specific about the gay marriage issue, and
not just fall back on endorsement of a federal constitu-
tional ban that has no chance of passage any time soon,
if ever.
On the other hand, Donovan said he understood why
GOP candidates might soft-pedal their opposition to
same-sex unions.
"Most of them sense they're not going to get the warm-
est media treatment if they come out and take a stance
on the marriage issue," he said,
Jan van Lo uizen, who has done polling for George
W. Bush and other Republicans, said most of the GOP
contenders are faced with a common dilemma — if they
trumpet their opposition to same-sex marriage to win
conservative votes in GOP primaries, do they risk losing
moderate votes in a general election?
His advice to GOP candidates on the marriage debate:
"I would simply ignore it. The fiscal issues are so much
more decisive than the social issues. Why go out on a
limb with this one?"
The tea party movement, though its ranks include
many social conservatives, has generally not sought to
make same-sex marriage a dominant issue at this stage
of the 2012 campaign.
' Because all the economic issues are going to explode,
nobody except extreme hard-core advocates on each
side will be talking it," said Judson Phillips, founder of
the Tea Party Nation.
GOP candidates might be better off under this sce-
nario, according to Phillips, who depicted same-sex
marriage as "a hugely awkward issue for them."
Sal Russo, a strategist for the Tea Party Express,
said the movement's followers are primarily concerned
about the size and cost of government and have diverse
views about social issues.
"We have libertarians who support same-sex mar-
riage, and Christian activists who adamantly oppose it,"
he said.
Texas trial to resume for
polygamist sect leader
WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — Polygamist leader
Warren Jeffs is back in court, three days after threat-
ening that God would strike down all involved should
his trial continue.
Jeffs is accused of sexually assaulting two underage
girls whom he took as brides. His followers believe
polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and see Jeffs as
God's earthly spokesman.
The 55-year-old fired his attorneys and is represent-
ing himself. He gave a speech defending polygamy
Friday, then read a statement he said was from God
promising "sickness and death" unless the persecu-
tion of his religion ceases.
Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, claims his rights to free-
dom of religion have been trampled.
He wants the case delayed until a separate hearing
on that issue is held, but "the judge has refused.
Man sought in Tyler boy's
death caught in Mexico
TYLER, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a man sought
over the November death of his girlfriend's year-old
son has been caught in Mexico and returned to East
Texas.
Smith County Jail records show 26-year-old Simon
Lopez of Tyler was held Monday on a capital mur-
der charge, with bond set at $2 million. Records did
not list an attorney for Lopez, who was captured
Thursday in Queretaro, Mexico.
Police say Lopez was watching Jeremy Silva of
Tyler while the child's mother worked, then called
one of her relatives to say the boy wasn't breathing.
Investigators say Lopez left the boy with the relative
and fled.
Autopsy results show the toddler died from blunt
force trauma.
Dallas police last December tried to arrest a man,
believed to be Lopez, at a hotel but he ran away.
Four children hospitalized
after found in hot vehicle
DALLAS (AP) — Four children are hospitalized after
Dallas police found them left alone in a sport utility
vehicle in 101-degree heat.
Their parents were arrested and charged with
child endangerment. Twenty-four-year-old Nicholas
Madison and 22-year-old Natasha Hamalian are
booked into the Dallas County jail without bond.
Online jail records show neither have an attorney.
Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Sherri Jeffrey says the four
children range in age from 2 months to 5 years and
were listed in stable condition at Children's Medical
Center of Dallas.
The incident happened outside a plasma dona-
tion station in southeastern Dallas just after noon
on Sunday when passers-by found and rescued the
children.
The National Weather Service has a heat advisory in
place for the Dallas-Fort Worth area through Tuesday
morning.
Pets
Continued from page 1
immediate veterinary treatment."
But according to Dr. Peek, some pets are at a higher
risk during the extreme weather. "This would in ude
pets with very dark colored or heavy hair coats, over-
weight pets and those dogs that are members of the
brachiocephalic breeds," said Dr. Peek.
Brachiocephalic breeds, explained Dr. Peek, are
described as breeds with very short muzzles, like Boxers,
Chinese pugs, Boston Terriers and English Bulldogs —
"the ultimate example of this category...If you have one
of these breeds, now is a time for extra caution."
Small measures, like keeping your pet's hair well
groomed and trimmed, can help your pet beat the heat.
The AAHA recommends for owners to rub a bit of sun-
block on the skin around the lips of your pet along with
the tips of your pet's ears and nose to prevent from sun-
burn, peeling, or even skin cancer.
The ASPCA even offers a PetWeather app for iPhones
and Android phones which tells owners if the local out-
side conditions are safe for pets or not. Also, visit the
local veterinarian for treatments and preventative mea-
sures to take on pests like fleas, ticks and mosquitoes —
who can transmit heartworms to dogs and cats.
Just like us humans, the heat is unbearable for our
four-legged friends. Failure to provide adequate care for
your pet could lead to dehydration, heatstroke or even
fatal consequences.
MIDDAY ON WALL STREET
Today's Trading
Change
DOW
12,089.13
-54.11
NASDAQ
2,745.33
-11.05
S&P
1,284.94
-7.34
General Motors
28.09
+0.41
Ford Motor Co.
12.39
+0.18
AT&T
29.42
+0.16
Pepsico, Inc.
63.87
-0.17
I S<i Corp.
11.21
-0.17
Archer-Daniels
30.42
+0.04
GE
17.87
-0.04
Deere & Co.
79.13
+0.62
McDonalds Corp.
86.25
-0.23
Chevron Texaco
105.02
+1.00
Exxon Mobil
79.22
-0.57
Fst. Fin. Bnkshs.
32.18
-0.05
Coca-Cola
67.56
-0.45
Dell
16.18
-0.06
SW Airlines
9.86
-0.10
Microsoft
27.17
-0.23
Sears Holdings Co.
69.89
+0.22
Cisco
15.84
-0.14
Wal-Mart
52.45
-0.26
Johnson & Johnson
63.93
-0.86
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 220, Ed. 1 Monday, August 1, 2011, newspaper, August 1, 2011; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229527/m1/3/?q=%22Texas+Press+Association%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.