News Nov. 4

November 4, 2009

Senator Sanders

Global Warming As the Senate environment committee took up a landmark climate-change bill on Tuesday, Republicans, unhappy with the legislation, refused to show up, The Washington Post and The Hill reported. "The Republican Party has increasingly become the party of 'no,' " announced Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sits on the Democratic side. "President Obama ran on the campaign model of 'Yes, we can,' and our Republican friends seem to be saying 'No, we won't.'" LINK, LINK and LINK

Health Care "President Obama, once a supporter of single payer, has bent a bit to the moneyed interests...Bending even worse are supposed Democrats Max Baucus of Montana and Kent Conrad of North Dakota, who put forward the health care cooperative idea in lieu of a public option. Sen. Sanders and Rep. Dennis Kucinich have amendments to facilitate state single-payer initiatives like the Minnesota Health Act, which...has the support of 64 percent of Minnesota doctors," according to an op-ed in the Duluth News Tribune. LINK

International

British Banks The Tories accused the government of creating a "new world record" for bank bailouts with its plan to break up the part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, The Guardian reported. LINK

National

Financial Reform Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to unveil sweeping financial reforms as soon as next week that breaks with the Obama administration and the House on two key issues, The Washington Post reported. The legislation would consolidate federal responsibility for banking oversight, now assigned to four agencies, into a single regulator. Compared to a White House plan, Dodd would grant less power to the Federal Reserve to curb activities that pose a risk to the entire financial system. LINK

House to Accelerate Credit Card Rules House Democrats want tougher rules for credit card companies to go into effect by Dec. 1, accelerating by two months the enactment date of legislation previously passed by Congress. The House was expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that would limit when and how banks raise interest rates, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Congress Poised to Keep Homebuyers' Tax Credit The Senate and House are poised to agree on a compromise measure to extend unemployment benefits that also would expand a popular $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, despite a recent government report on extensive mistakes and suspected fraud in the program, according to The New York Times. LINK

Buffett Bets Big on Railroad Warren Buffett made the biggest bet of his career, agreeing to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in a $26.3 billion deal that reflects his long-term optimism about the U.S. economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

Election Day Republicans swept contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday. Democrat Bill Owens won a hard-fought race for a U.S. House seat in New York that pitted many conservative Republicans against the party establishment. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Democrats easily held onto an open congressional seat when Lt. Gov. John Garamendi defeated Republican David Harmer, the Los Angeles Times reported. LINK and LINK

No to Gay Marriage In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state's new law allowing same-sex marriage after an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the national gay-marriage movement. LINK

Vermont

Recession An advocacy group says there are 15,700 fewer jobs in Vermont now than there were at the start of the recession.  The Public Assets Institute says state government accounts for about 700 of those lost jobs reductions from a combination of layoffs, retirements and attrition. In the private sector, job losses have come in just about every industry. There has been a slight boost in the number of federal and local government jobs, Vermont Public Radio reported. LINK

Champlain Bridge A video released Tuesday by the New York Department of Transportation shows extensive cracking on at least one of the concrete piers supporting the closed Lake Champlain Bridge linking Addison to Crown Point, N.Y. New York officials closed the bridge Oct. 16 after discovering cracks in at least two concrete piers supporting the span, The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK

Blodgett to Stay in Burlington Blodgett Corp. has no immediate plans to leave its perch on Lake Champlain, despite indications last year that a larger facility was needed to handle growth, The Burlington Free Press reported. "We don't have any significant plans to move the facility, as of today," Blodgett Corp. President Gary Mick said Tuesday. The future of the commercial oven maker became more prominent after General Dynamics announced last month that the company would move to IBM's campus in Williston next year. LINK