Obama Care: Establishment

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION
ON ELECTION ADMINISTRATION

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the efficient administration of Federal elections and to improve the experience of all voters, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. There is established the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (Commission).

Sec. 2. Membership. (a) The Commission shall be composed of not more than nine members appointed by the President. The members shall be drawn from among distinguished individuals with knowledge about or experience in the administration of State or local elections, as well as representatives of successful customer service-oriented businesses, and any other individuals with knowledge or experience determined by the President to be of value to the Commission.

(b) The President shall designate two members of the Commission to serve as Co-Chairs.

Sec. 3. Mission. (a) The Commission shall identify best practices and otherwise make recommendations to promote the efficient administration of elections in order to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots without undue delay, and to improve the experience of voters facing other obstacles in casting their ballots, such as members of the military, overseas voters, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency.

In doing so, the Commission shall consider as appropriate:

(i) the number, location, management, operation, and design of polling places;

(ii) the training, recruitment, and number of poll workers;

(iii) voting accessibility for uniformed and overseas voters;

(iv) the efficient management of voter rolls and poll books;

(v) voting machine capacity and technology;

(vi) ballot simplicity and voter education;

(vii) voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and other special needs;

(viii) management of issuing and processing provisional ballots in the polling place on Election Day;

(ix) the issues presented by the administration of absentee ballot programs;

(x) the adequacy of contingency plans for natural disasters and other emergencies that may disrupt elections; and

(xi) other issues related to the efficient administration of elections that the Co-Chairs agree are necessary and appropriate to the Commission's work.

(b) The Commission shall be advisory in nature and shall submit a final report to the President within 6 months of the date of the Commission's first public meeting.

Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The Commission shall hold public meetings and engage with Federal, State, and local officials, technical advisors, and nongovernmental organizations, as necessary to carry out its mission.

(b) In carrying out its mission, the Commission shall be informed by, and shall strive to avoid duplicating, the efforts of other governmental entities.

Sec. 5. Termination. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after it presents its final report to the President.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability of appropriations, the General Services Administration shall provide the Commission with such administrative services, funds, facilities, staff, equipment, and other support services as may be necessary to carry out its mission on a reimbursable basis.

(b) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (the "Act"), may apply to the Commission, any functions of the President under that Act, except for those in section 6 of the Act, shall be performed by the Administrator of General Services.

(c) Members of the Commission shall serve without any additional compensation for their work on the Commission, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(e) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

Here’s a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.

Despite strong efforts to fix our broken national infrastructure over the past four years, much work needs to be done if we are to prove to the world that there is no better place to do business than in the United States.

The Obama Administration has harnessed new technology to engage the public, worked to disclose information more quickly, and given citizens a greater voice in decision-making. There is more work to do, and we remain committed to continuing this in the second term.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

Establishment Republicans plan to perpetuate losing formula - The Hill's Congress Blog @import "/plugins/content/jw_disqus/tmpl/css/template.css"; li.item435,li.item437,li.item439,li.item441,li.item443,li.item497,li.item499,li.item501,li.item503,li.item605,li.item689,li.item691,li.item693,li.item695,li.item697,li.item683,li.item685{display: none;} var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "10314615" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); function getURLParameter(name) { return decodeURI( (RegExp(name + '=' + '(.+?)(&|$)').exec(location.search)||[,null])[1] );}(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=369058349794205"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); if (getURLParameter("set_fb_var") == '1') { jQuery.cookie('set_fb_var', 'true', { expires: 7, path: '/' }); return true; } if (!jQuery.cookie('set_fb_var') && d.referrer.match(/facebook.com/i)) { window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '340094652706297', status: true, xfbml: true, cookie: true, oauth: true }); }; }}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));if((navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i)) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/iPod/i))) {document.write('

');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)) {document.write('

');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i)) {document.write('

');}

Follow!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

Advanced Search Options »

Home/News Senate House Administration Campaign Polls Business & Lobbying Sunday Talk Shows Campaign Business & Lobbying K Street Insiders Lobbying Contracts Lobbying Hires Lobbying Revenue Opinion Columnists Editorials Letters Op-Ed Weyants World Capital Living Cover Stories Food & Drink New Member of the Week 20 Questions My 5 Min. W/Obama Announcements Meet the Lawmaker Jobs Video Gossip: In The Know

Briefing Room RegWatch Hillicon Valley E2-Wire Floor Action On The Money Healthwatch Transportation DEFCON Hill Global Affairs Congress Ballot Box GOP12 In The Know Pundits Twitter Room

Home Senate House Administration Campaign Polls Business & Lobbying Sunday Talk ShowsBlogsBriefing Room RegWatch Hillicon Valley E2-Wire Floor Action On The Money Healthwatch Transportation DEFCON Hill Global Affairs Congress Ballot Box GOP12 In The Know Pundits Twitter RoomOpinionA.B. Stoddard Brent Budowsky Lanny Davis David Hill Cheri Jacobus Mark Mellman Dick Morris Markos Moulitsas (Kos)Robin Bronk Editorials Letters Op-Eds Juan Williams Judd Gregg Christian Heinze Karen Finney John FeeheryCapital LivingCover Stories Food & Drink Announcements New Member of the Week My 5 Min. W/Obama All Capital LivingVideoHillTubeEventsVideoClassifiedsJobs ClassifiedsResourcesMobile Site iPhone Android iPad Lawmaker Ratings White Papers Order Reprints Last 6 Issues Outside Links RSS FeedsContact UsAdvertise Reach Us Submitting Letters Submitting Op-eds Subscriptions

Establishment Republicans plan to perpetuate losing formulaBy Sal Russo, co-founder and chief strategist, Tea Party Express-02/05/13 03:05 PM ET !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

The Tea Party movement is a major force in American politics because people are sick and tired of the tax-and-spend policies and crony capitalism of both political parties. Now we learn of the newly launched Conservative Victory Project that wants to push the Tea Party out and replace them with the failed strategies of 2008 and 2012.

After Election Night 2012, even some Tea Party members bought into the false narrative of devastating losses in the Tea Party’s conservative ranks. However, the Tea Party grew in Congress with the election of 27 new Tea Party conservatives to the House and three new Tea Party Senators. The movement again exhibited electoral strength even while the GOP establishment stumbled badly.

If the inappropriately named Conservative Victory Project were actually interested in victories and in conservatives, they would be pushing Republicans to embrace the pro-growth,fiscally economic messages of Tea Party leaders like Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and others, who not only won impressive election victories, but also continue to articulate a conservative message that appeals to all Americans. The Conservative Victory Project would have likely supported the opponents of all of these great U.S. Senators.

If these establishment big donors want to see a real disaster, then all they have to do is push Tea Party conservatives into supporting alternative third candidates in competitive races or even tempt them to form a third party. In the general elections, responsible Tea Party leaders have supported establishment Republicans consistently after primaries, while moderates have been spotty at best in being loyal to conservative primary victors.

Establishment Republicans seem to prefer candidates like Florida’s ex-Governor who ran as an independent when he lost the primary. They thought highly of former Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana who refused to support the Republican nominee that defeated him. These are the same big donors in 1980 who rejected Ronald Reagan as a loser, while they supported John Connally, George H.W. Bush and Howard Baker instead. When Reagan won the nomination, many then supported third party candidate, liberal Republican Congressman John Anderson. Reagan defeated Anderson along with President Jimmy Carter in a landslide election.

They just need to look at the record in 2012 and see where their problems really reside. In the Senate, the Republicans drastically underperformed, even though eight of the nine new Senate Democrats faced the establishment-anointed candidates. In comparison, the three incoming Republicans – Ted Cruz, Jeff Flake, and Deb Fischer - are not only strong fiscal conservatives, they are Tea Party darlings that have garnered national attention. So while the Republicans squandered an opportunity for a majority, the Tea Party amplified its voice and influence in the Upper Chamber.

What these big donors are unable to realize is that the people elect the candidates, not their flashy million dollar television advertisements. They wasted money on million dollar advertisements without resulting in a single noteworthy victory. If you don’t have a candidate that represents the electorate with a strong Tea Party message of economic growth and fiscal responsibility, it won’t matter how much you have to spend, because they won’t win.

Just look at the 2012 results in the House of Representatives we see an overwhelming success for Tea Party-backed candidates. The incoming freshman class includes 35 republicans, 27 of which are Tea Party conservatives. Though five replaced outgoing Tea Party members like Mike Pence and Ron Paul, the other 21 are brand new additions to the lower chamber’s Tea Party members.

The Tea Party movement’s success continues because it has been clear in its desire to restore economic sanity by curbing excessive spending and encouraging economic growth. Some Republicans, notably newly elected Senator Ted Cruz and 2010-elected Senator Marco Rubio, have been admirably trying to yank the Republican Party to a more inclusive political posture that is consistent with Tea Party ideas.

GOP insiders should stop pointing the finger at the Tea Party movement for the Republican’s own shortcomings, and instead listen to the likes of Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio for a message that will appeal to 100 percent of Americans – instead of just 53 percent that were targeted in 2012. Not only will their message continue to see success at the ballot box, but their policies will move the country in the right direction.

Russo is the co-founder and chief strategist of Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee.

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=369058349794205"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); View Comments Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/281225-establishment-republicans-plan-to-perpetuate-losing-formulaThe contents of this site are © 2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.