National Governors Association Inaugural State of the States Address
National Governors Association leadership will deliver the Association’s Inaugural State of the States Address. The speech is expected to review current conditions and challenges faced by states and highlight the collective vision of governors priorities for 2013.
This is the first State of the State address that NGA leadership will be delivering. The governors will talk about issues of importance to all governors, including the economy, health care, education and homeland security. There will also be an opportunity for questions following the speech before the governors leave the stage.
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January 9, 2013
10:00 AM ET
Speakers:
NGA Chair Delaware Gov. Jack Markell
NGA Vice Chair Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin
Live Coverage via CSPAN: http://www.c-span.org/Events/NGA-to-Give-State-of-the-States-Address/10737437053/
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
All Times Eastern
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the presidential daily briefing
11:00 AM
Vice President Biden meets with the National Rifle Association, gun-safety organizations and shooting victims groups as part of the Administration’s effort to develop policy proposals in response to the tragedy in Newtown. Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder also attends.
Eisenhowed Executive Office Building
12:30 PM
President Obama and Vice President Biden meet for lunch
1:00 PM
1:45 PM
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
4:45 PM
President Obama hosts cast and crew members of the television show 1600 Penn for a screening at the White House.
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:00 PM
January 9, 2013
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
1:45 PM ET
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
Center for Strategic and International Studies
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ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/Live/
10:00 AM ET
National Governors Association
State of the States Address
12:30 PM ET
State Department briefing
The State Department holds a briefing with reporters.
1:45 PM ET
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
Center for Strategic and International Studies
6:45 PM ET
Honor cordon for Israeli defense minister
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hosts an honor cordon to welcome his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, to the Pentagon.
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CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
9:00 AM ET
Election Assistance Commission Reviews 2012 Election
The Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency charged with developing voting system guidelines and acting as a national clearinghouse on voting related issues, holds a day-long review of challenges and procedures of the 2012 election. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Election-Assistance-Commission-Reviews-2012-Election/10737437077/
10:00 AM ET
National Governors Association
State of the States Address http://www.c-span.org/Events/NGA-to-Give-State-of-the-States-Address/10737437053/
10:00 AM ET
The Atlantic
Future of Afghanistan http://www.c-span.org/Events/Discussion-on-Afghanistan-After-2014-US-Troop-Withdrawal/10737437074/
12:30 PM ET
State Department briefing
The State Department holds a briefing with reporters.
1:45 PM ET
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
Center for Strategic and International Studies
6:45 PM ET
Honor cordon for Israeli defense minister
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hosts an honor cordon to welcome his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, to the Pentagon.
The National Governors Association
The National Governors Association (NGA)—the bipartisan organization of the nation’s governors—promotes visionary state leadership, shares best practices and speaks with a collective voice on national policy.
Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation’s governors and one of Washington, D.C.’s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices. NGA also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors.
For more: http://www.nga.org/
National Governors Association Inaugural State of the States Address
National Governors Association leadership will deliver the Association’s Inaugural State of the States Address. The speech is expected to review current conditions and challenges faced by states and highlight the collective vision of governors priorities for 2013.
This is the first State of the State address that NGA leadership will be delivering. The governors will talk about issues of importance to all governors, including the economy, health care, education and homeland security. There will also be an opportunity for questions following the speech before the governors leave the stage.
January 9, 2013
10:00 AM ET
Speakers:
NGA Chair Delaware Gov. Jack Markell
NGA Vice Chair Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin
Biden, NRA to meet on guns
1/08/13 11:58 AM ET By Daniel Strauss – TheHill
Vice President Biden will meet this week with the National Rifle Association and a variety of other groups as his task force on guns intensifies its efforts.
Biden will meet Wednesday with gun-safety organizations and shooting victims groups and on Thursday will meet with gun ownership organizations and sportsmen who use guns recreationally, according to the White House.
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the organization accepted an invitation received from the White House late Friday.
“We are sending a rep to hear what they have to say,” Arulanandam said.
Biden will also meet with members of the video game and entertainment industry, which have come under scrutiny in the debate over gun violence.
Biden is leading a task force charged with making recommendations to President Obama to prevent shooting massacres, and it increasingly looks like the task force is taking a broad look at how to limit gun violence.
Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/276077-biden-holding-meetings-with-gun-groups-
In addition to Vice President Biden’s meetings with victims groups, gun safety organizations, advocates for sportsmen and women, gun ownership groups and representatives of the entertainment and video game industries.
Secretary Duncan will meet with representatives from parent, teacher, and education groups. Secretary Sebelius will meet with mental health and disability advocates. And senior White House staff have also held and will continue to hold meetings with a variety of stakeholders, including medical groups, community organizations, child and family advocates, business owners, faith leaders, and others.
Anti-Gun Group Declares Victory After Brushback Pitch At Heitkamp
JANUARY 8, 2013, 3:11 PM EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO – tpm
Chalk one up for the gun control crowd? A spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence said Tuesday that his group had scared freshman Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) off of her tough criticism of the White House gun violence task force.
The group ran newspaper ads on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. and North Dakota, two days after Heitkamp went on television to express serious concerns about gun control ideas the White House was reportedly considering in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school massacre. A spokesman for the group said the ads worked.
“She got the message,” Ladd Everitt, spokesperson for the CSGV, told TPM. He said the 48 hours since Heitkamp went on TV showcase a new, more aggressive tactic by gun control advocates to push politicians to back its agenda.
Heitkamp appeared Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” and responded to a weekend report in the Washington Post about the White House gun violence task force led by Vice President Biden. The story said the administration was “seriously considering” certain proposals, including a national gun owner’s database and the closure of the so-called “gun show loophole.” (Nothing has been finalized from the Biden task force yet, and the White House has long said it favors a holistic approach to curbing gun violence that includes mental health and even the discussion of violence in culture.)
Heitkamp, who has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, told This Week the article concerned her.
“I think you need to put everything on the table, but what I hear from the administration — and if the Washington Post is to be believed — that’s way, way in extreme of what I think is necessary or even should be talked about,” she said. “And it’s not going to pass.”
That perked up ears at the CSGV, which wants new gun laws passed in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting. The group ran a series of ads Tuesday calling Heitkamp out for criticizing the president’s plan.
“Shame on you, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) for telling the country on Sunday that the Obama Administration’s response to Newtown — which may include universal background checks and a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines — is ‘extreme,’” the ads read.
For more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/coalition-gun-violence-ads-heitkamp.php?ref=fpb
Gun Control Advocates Say ATF’s Hands Have Been Tied
January 08, 2013 4:52 PM by BRIAN NAYLOR – NPR
After the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., President Obama asked Vice President Biden to lead a group tasked with drafting policies to reduce gun violence. One of the issues sure to come up in the Biden group’s discussions is the role of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The ATF is the primary enforcer of the nation’s gun laws, but advocates and former ATF officials say the agency has been underfunded, understaffed and handcuffed in its abilities to go after gun crimes.
In an ad campaign launched Tuesday by the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Roxanna Green, whose child was killed two years ago, appeals directly to the camera: “My 9-year-old daughter was murdered in the Tucson shooting. I have one question for our political leaders: When will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby?”
Standing up to the gun lobby is seen by gun control advocates to mean not only banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, but restoring some teeth to the ATF.
“The restrictions on ATF are absurd,” says Jon Lowy of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “They’re not allowed to use computers in doing their trace work. They’re not allowed to do more than one spot inspection on a gun dealer.”
When looking at the problems facing the ATF, it’s instructive to start at the top. The current acting director of the Washington agency is B. Todd Jones, who is juggling the ATF post with his other job, that of U.S. attorney in Minneapolis.
There hasn’t been a permanent ATF director for six years, since back in the Bush administration.
Michael Bouchard, a former ATF assistant director, says that lack of leadership has handicapped the agency.
“You need somebody there who has ownership and is going to be there for the long haul and can start projecting a couple years out, versus people who are just brought in for a temporary fix,” Bouchard says.
Obama has nominated a permanent director, but there hasn’t even been a hearing on the nomination because of opposition from the gun lobby.
There are other administrative issues: Funding has been relatively flat, and the agency has roughly the same number of agents today as it did a decade ago.
Then there are the issues ATF agents face with gun laws. Congress refuses to allow a centralized gun database, so tracing a weapon used in a crime means a lot of legwork, says former ATF agent William Vizzard.
“They have to contact the manufacturer or importer, who tells them, ‘Oh, on July 14, 2009, we shipped that gun to Buckeye Sporting Goods, a wholesaler.’ Then you contact Buckeye Sporting Goods, and they say, ‘Oh, yeah, we received that gun four days later and we shipped it out to Billy Bob’s Bait and Tackle Shop.’ Then you go to Billy Bob and you say, ‘OK, what do your records say?’ ”
For the entire article and audio interview: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/08/168889491/gun-control-advocates-say-atfs-hands-have-been-tied
MBA Purchase Applications
Released On 1/9/2013 7:00:00 AM For wk1/4, 2013
Prior Actual
Composite Index – W/W Change -21.6 % 11.7 %
Purchase Index – W/W Change -14.8 % 10.0 %
Refinance Index – W/W Change -23.3 % 12.0 %
Highlights
The special factors and shortened weeks surrounding holidays can make for huge swings in weekly data, evidenced by MBA data for the January 4 week that reverse wide declines in the prior week. The purchase index rose 10 percent vs a nearly 15 percent fall in the prior week while the refinance index rose 12 percent following the prior week’s more than 20 percent plunge. These movements are too volatile to make assessments on underlying trends. Rates moved a bit higher in the week with 30-year mortgages for conforming loans ($417,500 or less) rising three basis points to 3.78 percent.
Source: http://bloomberg.econoday.com/byshoweventfull.asp?fid=455665&cust=bloomberg-us&year=2013&lid=0&prev=/byweek.asp#top
10:00 AM ET
National Governors Association
State of the States Address
CSPAN http://www.c-span.org/Events/NGA-to-Give-State-of-the-States-Address/10737437053/
National Governors Association Leadership Deliver State of the States Address
Speech Highlights Economy, Education, Health Care and Homeland Security
January 09, 2013
WASHINGTON—National Governors Association (NGA) Chair Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and Vice Chair Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin delivered the association’s first-ever State of the States address today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The governors focused on the current conditions and challenges faced by states and discussed the governors’ collective vision for 2013. Markell also highlighted several gubernatorial successes from the past year.
“We cannot afford to wait when it comes to moving the needle on jobs and business growth. In this economy, governors are keenly aware of the obstacles job seekers face every day,” Markell said. “Much of our effort is focused on removing these obstacles. For example, forty separate federal programs are providing workforce services that focus on employment and occupational skills. We want these critical programs to continue, but we want the federal government to give states more flexibility to implement innovative state-based workforce systems – programs that would be better able to respond to job seekers’ and businesses’ needs.”
Markell noted that while each governor has his or her own unique circumstances, each must facilitate job growth, improve schools and be financially responsible. He pointed out that uncertainty from Washington and the reality of shrinking federal support hurts both state economies and state budgets.
“As much as we do in our states, our economies are tightly linked to the national economy. As a result, our states’ prosperity depends, in no small measure, on the ability of our public servants in Washington to come to terms on a path forward,” said Markell.
He continued by saying that one of the largest uncertainties concerns elements of the “fiscal cliff” that were postponed or left out of the recently enacted American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
Markell also highlighted job creation, noting his NGA Chair’s initiative, A Better Bottom Line: Employing Individuals with Disabilities, in addition to infrastructure, the nation’s tax code and education as priority issues for governors.
Fallin focused her remarks on the importance of a strong state-federal partnership, noting that governors are “committed to a vibrant and strong collaboration with Congress and the administration to maintain and promote a balanced federal system.”
She highlighted four points governors have asked the president and Congress to keep in mind when addressing sequestration and deficit reduction:
* Federal reforms should produce savings for both the federal government and states;
* Deficit reduction should not be accomplished by merely shifting costs to states or imposing unfunded mandates;
* States should be given increased flexibility to create efficiencies and achieve results; and
* Congress should not impose maintenance of effort provisions on states as a condition of funding.
“Essentially, all of these points can be boiled down to two words: flexibility and partnership,” said Fallin. “We need the flexibility to take care of the unique needs of our citizens and the unique challenges facing our states…and states need to be treated as partners, not underlings, as we work to implement good public policy. As we told the president, reducing the deficit simply by shifting costs to states is not indicative of a good partnership.”
Fallin also highlighted health care and its costs as a critical challenge for the country. She noted NGA’s new virtual resource center as a tool to help navigate the various complexities of health care policy.
“This website will provide policymakers with expert analysis and best practices already adopted in states that are working to improve health care access, affordability and quality,” Fallin said.
For more: http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/2013-news-releases/col2-content/national-governors-association-l.html
11:00 AM ET
Vice President Biden meets with the National Rifle Association, gun-safety organizations and shooting victims groups as part of the Administration’s effort to develop policy proposals in response to the tragedy in Newtown. Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder also attends.
Eisenhowed Executive Office Building
Gun Violence Reduction Task Force
In addition to Vice President Biden’s meetings with victims groups, gun safety organizations, advocates for sportsmen and women, gun ownership groups and representatives of the entertainment and video game industries on how to prevent shooting massacres, and limit gun violence.
Other White House representatives will hold meetings:
* Secretary Duncan will meet with representatives from parent, teacher, and education groups.
* Secretary Sebelius will meet with mental health and disability advocates.
* Senior White House staff have also held and will continue to hold meetings with a variety of stakeholders, including medical groups, community organizations, child and family advocates, business owners, faith leaders, and others.
Biden Says Obama Considering Executive Orders on Gun Violence
Jan 9, 2013 8:44 AM PT By Lisa Lerer – bloomberg
Vice President Joe Biden said the White House is considering possible executive orders to curb gun violence, saying President Barack Obama is “determined to take action.”
Speaking today at a meeting with gun-control advocates and groups representing victims, Biden promised that the administration would move to address issues from mental health to gun safety to culture.
“We are reaching out to all parties,” he said.
Representatives from the National Rifle Association, which opposes new restrictions on firearms, and retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) are among those who’ll meet with Biden and other administration officials tomorrow.
Biden is leading an effort to come up with recommendations intended to curb gun violence, following the mass shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school that killed 20 children and six adults.
Obama picks Jack Lew to replace Tim Geithner as Treasury secretary
1/9/13 10:57 AM EST By JOSEPH J. SCHATZ and KELSEY SNELL
White House chief of staff Jack Lew spent most of the bitter fiscal cliff debate out of the public eye.
That ends now.
President Barack Obama will nominate White House chief of staff Jack Lew for Treasury secretary as soon as Thursday, according to a person briefed on the matter. In doing so, Obama is throwing Lew straight into the middle of an increasingly nasty budget war, the likes of which Washington hasn’t seen since the mid-1990s.
Lew should be prepared for this type of fiscal and political environment, though — he helped President Bill Clinton strike the 1997 balanced budget accord as a top official at the Office of Management and Budget, the agency he has since run for both presidents. And Lew played an important role in the contentious 2011 debt ceiling debate.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/obama-picks-jack-lew-to-replace-tim-geithner-as-treasury-secretary-85952.html?hp=bn
Please join me in lighting a candle for our President, First Family and our Nation.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
Holder, Sebelius, Shinseki to stay on
1/9/13 4:29 PM EST By DONOVAN SLACK – POLITICO44
Amidst a major reshuffling of President Obama’s cabinet for the second term, at least three cabinet members are staying on.
Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebeluis and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki all have committed to staying in their posts, according to a source briefed on the commitments.
It’s unclear if they have signed on for a full four years. Reports in November suggested Holder plans to leave after one more year.
The news that Obama will retain them comes as another cabinet official, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, announced her plans to leave the administration.
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January 09, 2013
Statement by the President on Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
Over her long career in public service – as an advocate for environmental justice in California, state legislator, member of Congress and Secretary of Labor – Hilda Solis has been a tireless champion for working families. Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class. Her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of the future, protect workers’ health and safety and put millions of Americans back to work. I am grateful to Secretary Solis for her steadfast commitment and service not only to the Administration, but on behalf of the American people. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
4:45 PM ET
President Obama hosts cast and crew members of the television show 1600 Penn for a screening at the White House.
Remarks to follow
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THIS POST IS NOW CLOSED NBLB
Come on over to my newest post titled: “Reducing Gun Violence”
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