PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog
US Sen. McCain working on ‘a la carte’ cable TV bill
Senator John McCain is working on a legislative proposal that would, if enacted, significantly reshape the landscape of the broadcast and cable television markets by pressuring cable providers to allow their subscribers to choose which channels they want to pay for. McCain (R-Ariz.) will reportedly introduce his legislation in the next few days, according to The Hill. The Arizona senator was formerly the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and has pushed similar legislation in the past to little effect. McCain’s bill would, in addition to urging cable providers toward a la carte pricing, ban the bundling of broadcast stations with cable channels owned by the same entities. This would, for example, keep Disney from requiring that cable providers pay for ESPN in order to carry ABC. The bill also puts an end to the sports blackout rule, which keeps companies from carrying a sports event if the game is blocked out locally. Source: Apple Insider Read more: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/05/09/us-sen-mccain-working-on-a-la-carte-cable-tv-bill
State Department: We will not retaliate against diplomat’s Benghazi criticism
The State Department is disputing the testimony of one of its senior diplomats, Gregory Hicks, who electrified a congressional hearing by challenging the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi raid that left four Americans dead. The State Department rejected Hicks’s claim that he had been demoted, and insisted it would not “retaliate” against him for his outspoken criticism since last year’s raid. Source: The Guardian UK Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/09/state-department-benghazi-diplomat-claims?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-3%20Main%20trailblock:Network%20front%20-%20main%20trailblockosition1
Republican Leaders Refuse To Make Appointments To Key Obamacare Panel
The top two Republicans in Congress informed President Obama on Thursday that they will refuse to fulfill their duty under the Affordable Care Act to recommend members of a new board with the power to contain Medicare spending. In a letter to President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) noted their original opposition to Obamacare, reiterated their intent to repeal it entirely, and declared that they would not make any appointments to the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The IPAB is a 15-member panel whose members must be confirmed by the Senate. The President selects three members himself and is required by law to seek three recommendations each from the top Democrat and Republican in each chamber. With Thursday’s letter, Boehner and McConnell refused to make any recommendations. “Because the law will give IPAB’s 15 unelected, unaccountable individuals the ability to deny seniors access to innovative care, we respectfully decline to recommend appointments,” Boehner and McConnell wrote in the letter. Source: Talking Points Memo Read more
Senators defeat border security provision
Bipartisan authors of a sweeping immigration bill agreed to Republican-authored amendments to boost border security, as they tried Thursday to show they’re open to changes to attract more GOP support for their landmark legislation. The bill’s authors also stuck together to defeat a Republican amendment that would have barred anyone from seeking citizenship until the U.S.-Mexico border had been secured for six months. Supporters of the bill charged that the real effect of that provision would have been to delay citizenship indefinitely for the estimated 11 million people living here illegally. The fast-paced action unfolded as the Judiciary Committee convened the first of what’s expected to be two weeks of meetings to plow through some 300 amendments to the legislation backed by President Barack Obama to remake the nation’s immigration laws. The bill would toughen border security, overhaul legal immigration to allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country, require all employers to check their workers’ immigration status and create a 13-year path to citizenship for the millions already here. … The vote on the Grassley amendment requiring six-month control of the border before unauthorized immigrants could begin to legalize their status was likely the [...]
Bill Maher- America’s Craziest Congressman, Round-2
Featuring Loony Goehmert and Tennessee teabagger Desjarlais
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