The debt ceiling must go

By Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) - 01/11/13 11:30 AM ET

Here is a stubbornly well-kept secret: the debt ceiling is arbitrary, doesn’t affect the deficit, and serves no real function in keeping spending down. In addition, it has recently become a cudgel which extremist Republican legislators use to beat the rest of us into submitting to political blackmail. They say to us: If you do not agree to massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs, we will refuse to raise the debt ceiling and, thereby, cause an economic catastrophe by making the country default on its debts.

The debt ceiling was raised seven times during the George W. Bush administration, with no great battles and no threats of economic chaos. But now that we have a Democratic president, the Republicans have chosen to exploit the debt ceiling as a means of blackmailing the American people in order to impose their extreme and regressive agenda. The result of this extortion, in 2011, was a downgrading of the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history and a terrible compromise that punishes middle and working class people, retracts social safety nets, and inhibits economic progress just when we most need federal leadership toward economic recovery.

There is certainly a time and a place for discussion of the proper levels of taxation and spending, and I am ready to have that discussion. But such discussions need not – must not – be tied to the routine raising of the debt ceiling to pay for debts already incurred. It’s time to repeal the debt ceiling, and I will soon re-introduce legislation to do so.

The facts are plain: eliminating the debt ceiling would not create new deficit spending. That occurs when Congress decides to authorize more spending than revenue. The debt ceiling simply prevents the President from borrowing money to pay the debts when they come due.

Repealing the debt ceiling would ensure that Republican radicals can no longer play a dangerous game of chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States. We cannot risk allowing this artifact of World War I to threaten our nation’s creditworthiness.

Instead, we need to finally focus on the real work at hand: creating jobs and economic development, providing aid to states, building infrastructure, and injecting aggregate demand back into the economy. Then, when the economy has recovered, we can undertake to pay down the national debt.

If we are to prevent years of underemployment and the attrition of America’s great middle class, we must act now. We must not permit an artificial debt ceiling to throw the country into default, and our economy into chaos. It’s time to abolish the debt ceiling.

Nadler is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

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UPDATE 1-FDA advisory panel backs J&J diabetes drug approval

* FDA panel votes 10-5 in favor of canagliflozin approval

* Panel members would like longer-term follow-up on heart risk

* Drug is first in new class of treatments for Type 2 diabetes

(Updates with details from panel discussion)

Jan 10 (Reuters) - A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended the agency approve an experimental new treatment for diabetes developed by Johnson & Johnson, potentially making it the first drug of its type to be approved in the United States.

The FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drug Advisory Committee voted 10-5 on Thursday to recommend the agency approve the drug, canagliflozin, for Type 2 diabetes, saying that it proved effective at lowering blood sugar in patients with diabetes, though some panelists had lingering concerns about its potential to cause cardiovascular problems and recommended longer term follow-up.

Canagliflozin, which will be sold under the brand name Invokana, is a member of a new class of diabetes drugs known as sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors which lower blood sugar by blocking reabsorbtion of glucose by the kidney and increasing the excretion of glucose in urine.

In its discussion, the panel weighed the relative risks and benefits of canagliflozin, especially in relation to any potential it might have to increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

A clinical trial of patients at especially high risk of cardiovascular disease showed that within the first 30 days, 13 patients taking canagliflozin suffered a major cardiovascular event compared with just one patient taking a placebo. After that the imbalance was reversed. The drug also caused a slight increase in unhealthy LDL cholesterol.

The majority of panelists felt the overall risk benefit profile was acceptable but that longer-term data will be needed to fully assess the impact on patients of the higher LDL levels. The y were unable to determine conclusively that the imbalance in cardiovascular events seen in the first 30 days was a statistical anomaly.

Diabetes is a condition that affects the body's ability to metabolize glucose and is often caused by obesity. Left untreated, the disease can cause nerve disease leading to amputation, as well as kidney disease and blindness. It affects roughly 26 million people in the United States.

The panel also weighed the relative benefit of the drug for patients with impaired kidney function -- a common feature of patients with diabetes. They concluded that since the drug is less effective in patients whose kidney function is damaged, the risks may well outweigh the benefits in those patients.

Jeff Jonas, an analyst with Gabelli & Co, who estimates the drug will generate at least a billion dollars in annual sales for J&J, said he believes the FDA will approve the drug.

"It clearly works, and the side effects were not a major issue. If a patient has impaired kidneys, I think the FDA will say no, don't use it."

Damien Conover, an analyst at Morningstar, believes the drug could generate peak annual sales of more than $2 billion.

The vote in favor of canagliflozin follows the agency's rejection last January of a similar drug made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and AstraZeneca Plc. That drug was subsequently approved in Europe, however, under the brand name Forxiga. European regulators concluded that concerns cited by the FDA about a potential increased risk of cancer or liver injury were addressed by warnings in the drug's product label.

A recent report by market research firm Decision Resources estimated that the market for Type 2 diabetes drugs will nearly double over the next decade, increasing from $26 billion in 2011 to nearly $50 billion in 2021 in the United States, Japan and the main markets of Europe.

The FDA is set to rule on whether to approve the drug by March 29th. The agency is not required to follow the advice of its advisory panel but typically does so.

(Reporting By Toni Clarke in Boston; additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot in New York; editing by Carol Bishopric)

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Brady Campaign lists recommendations to Biden gun task force

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence on Friday released the recommendations it passed along to Vice President Biden's task force on gun prevention in a meeting earlier in the week.

Biden's group held a number of meetings with gun-safety organizations and gun-advocacy groups over the past week as the task force prepares to pass recommendations to the president on preventing massacres similar to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December. The shooting resulted in 27 dead, including 20 six- and seven-year-olds.

"The recommendations we are presenting to the White House reflect what we believe are the changes that can have the biggest impact right away.  We cannot wait any longer," Brady campaign President Dan Gross said in a statement on Friday. "The American public wants this conversation to be taking place, but more importantly, they want action. We believe that as a nation we are better than this, and our recommendations can make a real difference."

The Brady Campaign recommended universal background checks for purchasing guns, putting a limit on the number of guns that can be bought in a small time period, making gun trafficking a federal offense and improving access to gun-related crime data. The group also recommended reducing the availability of assault weapons and gun magazines that carry a large number of bullets.

Biden said earlier in the week that participants in the meetings have repeatedly recommended universal background checks.

"There is a surprising — so far — a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks, not just close the gun-show loophole but totally [institute] universal background checks, including private sales," Biden said on Thursday.

Biden is likely to pass his group's recommendation's on to President Obama on Tuesday.

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Hate Group Spokesman Called Out For Anti-Gay Positions On Live TV

For reasons that remain unclear, cable news networks continue to provide airtime to the Family Research Council, neglecting to recognize that it has been designated as a hate group for its anti-gay views, let alone the fact that it hardly represents mainstream Christianity. Today was no exception, as FRC’s Peter Sprigg was invited on CNN to join the chorus of conservative objections that Pastor Louie Giglio will no longer be participating in President Obama’s Inauguration because of his anti-gay views. Sprigg attempted to claim that Christians are the victims, but fortunately, Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen was there to set the record straight:

SPRIGG: The world we live in, unfortunately, is increasingly marked by the enforcement of intolerance in the name of tolerance, exclusion in the name of inclusion, and forced uniformity in the name of diversity. It’s contradictory, it’s downright Orwellian, and yet people actually make these statements, unbelievably, with a straight face. [...]

BESEN: Peter, I find it ironic that you’re embracing diversity. I mean you called for the imprisonment of gay people and said we should export homosexuals out of the United States and suddenly you’re for tolerance? I’m a little confused here.

SPRIGG: [silent laughter] Well this is about Pastor Giglio and President Obama, it’s not about me.

Watch it:

Jeremy Hooper is right to celebrate this as a victory for GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project, which seeks to expose the anti-LGBT records of conservative spokespeople whose positions are typically not given proper context by the news outlets that interview them. Sprigg’s presence on CNN is the quintessential example of this whitewashing, because as Besen pointed out, his positions are seemingly even more anti-LGBT than Pastor Giglio’s. Sprigg has proven time and time again that he does not even have the most basic understanding of sexuality but does have a significant antipathy toward the very existence of gays and lesbians. He has no authority to speak about LGBT issues, and CNN should learn from this interview not to provide a pedestal for his bigoted point of view again.

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Statement by the Press Secretary on Bills Signed on January 10, 2013

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 1339, H.R. 1845, H.R. 2338, H.R. 3263, H.R. 3641, H.R. 3869, H.R. 3892, H.R. 4053, H.R. 4057, H.R. 4073, H.R. 4389, H.R. 5859, H.R. 6014, H.R. 6260, H.R. 6379, H.R. 6587, H.R. 6620, H.R. 6671, S. 925, S. 3202, S. 3666 and S.J. Res. 49

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, the President signed into law:

H.R. 1339, which designates the City of Salem, Massachusetts, as the birthplace of the U.S. National Guard;

H.R. 1845, the "Medicare IVIG Access and Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2012," which establishes a demonstration project to evaluate the benefits of allowing Medicare Part B coverage for in-home intravenous treatments for patients with primary immune deficiency disease; and amends certain rules under which Medicare is a secondary payer to specified third party payers;

H.R. 2338, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Cocoa, Florida as the Harry T. and Harriette Moore Post Office;

H.R. 3263, the "Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2012," which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of non-project water at the Norman Project in Oklahoma;

H.R. 3641, the "Pinnacles National Park Act," which redesignates the Pinnacles National Monument in California, as the Pinnacles National Park;

H.R. 3869, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Little Rock, Arkansas as the Sidney "Sid" Sanders McMath Post Office Building;

H.R. 3892, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Roseville, California as the Lance Corporal Victor A. Dew Post Office;

H.R. 4053, the "Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012," which clarifies requirements for Federal agencies to use improper payment information to determine program or award eligibility; establishes a Do Not Pay Initiative; and expands OMB responsibilities in the effort to eliminate and recover improper payments;

H.R. 4057, which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a comprehensive policy for providing information regarding higher education and training programs to veterans and members of the Armed Forces;

H.R. 4073, which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to accept a railroad right of way within and adjacent to the Pike National Forest in Colorado;

H.R. 4389, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Fowler, California as the Cecil E. Bolt Post Office;

H.R. 5859, which repeals the requirement that the Department of Transportation prescribe regulations to require automobile dealers to provide insurance cost comparison information to prospective buyers; and requires the Department to report to Congress on the most useful way to provide consumers with information on the susceptibility of automobiles to damage;

H.R. 6014, the "Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012," which authorizes the Justice Department to carry out a grant program to assist States with the first-year costs associated with the implementation of a process to collect DNA from individuals who are arrested for or charged with certain criminal offenses under State law;

H.R. 6260, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service as the Lieutenant Kenneth M. Ballard Memorial Post Office;

H.R. 6379, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Ravenel, South Carolina as the Representative Curtis B. Inabinett, Sr. Post Office;

H.R. 6587, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Simi Valley, California as the Postal Inspector Terry Asbury Post Office Building;

H.R. 6620, the "Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012," which restores lifetime Secret Service protection of former Presidents who did not serve as President prior to January 1, 1997, and their spouses; and provides for protection of all children of former Presidents until they become 16 years of age;

H.R. 6671, the "Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act of 2012," which allows the informed, written consent that a video tape service provider must receive from a consumer in order to be authorized to disclose personally identifiable information to a third party to also be obtained using the Internet; and specifies that the consent would have to be either given at the time the disclosure is sought or given in advance for a set period of time of up to two years or until the consumer withdraws the consent, whichever is sooner;

S. 925, the "Mt. Andrea Lawrence Designation Act of 2011," which designates "Mt. Andrea Lawrence" in the Inyo National Forest and Yosemite National Park; 

S. 3202, the "Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012," which amends authorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs related to: cemetery matters; health care; and miscellaneous matters;

S. 3666, which amends the Animal Welfare Act to modify the definition of "exhibitor"; and

S.J. Res. 49, which appoints Barbara Barrett as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

We'll soon reach a milestone in Afghanistan -- when Afghan forces take full responsibility for their nation's security and the war draws to a close.

The President asks Jacob Lew -- the current White House chief of staff -- to serve as the next Treasury Secretary.

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Ohio School Board Votes To Arm School Janitors

The Montpelier Exempted Village Schools Board of Education in Montelier, Ohio voted unanimously on Wednesday night to allow handgun training for four custodians, who will then tote firearms on the school’s campus. In an explanation of this policy that echoes the National Rifle Association’s infamous claim that “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” school Superintendent Jamie Grime claimed that “having guns in the hands of the right people are not a hindrance. They are a means to protect.”

This is not the first time janitors were suggested as the first line of defense against a school shooter, in an article arguing that the Sandy Hook shooting resulted in more deaths because “[t]here was not a single adult male on the school premises when the shooting occurred,” the National Review’s Charlotte Allen lamented that “[t]here didn’t even seem to be a male janitor to heave his bucket at Adam Lanza’s knees.”

[HT: Stephen Webster]

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U.S. Monthly Budget Deficit Nearly Disappeared In December

According to data from the Treasury Department, the U.S.’s monthly budget deficit all but vanished in December, coming in at just $260 million. Analysts had expected a $1 billion deficit for the month:

The U.S. government budget deficit narrowed to its most favorable December monthly result in five years, reflecting higher revenue, lower spending and calendar- driven shifts in some monthly payments.

The shortfall last month shrank almost completely to $260 million from $86 billion in December 2011, according to Treasury Department data issued today in Washington. The gap was smaller than the $1 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Through the first three months of this fiscal year, the deficit was 9.1 percent smaller than the same period last year.

This was the best December result since 2007, before the financial crisis began. Monthly deficits can be a bit volatile, to be sure, but the low number is still a sign that the nation’s finances are moving in the right direction.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, $1.4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years would be enough to stabilize and eventually reduce U.S. debt. And for that number to be truly balanced — once all of the budget deals crafted since 2011 are taken into account — it would have to be composed of about 90 percent new revenue. 75 percent of the deficit reduction achieved by the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans has been via spending cuts.

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