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WH: No deal yet on stimulus, but "progress"

This is on all the wires, but I was standing there when Dana Perino told reporters outside her office, so this is the official White House line on economic stimulus as of now, in response to reports from the Hill that a deal has been reached."Our understanding is there is no final deal yet, but they are making progress," Mrs. Perino said.— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Pressers on stimulus deal postponed

The White House just postponed the 12:15 p.m. press briefing to give themselves time as negotiators hammer out the final details of a financial stimulus package.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, also postponed her noon presser a little while ago.— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Bush's final SOTU

In anticipation of President Bush's final State of the Union address Monday, I've reviewed each of his seven previous speeches.I've written a summary below of broad themes and trends leading up to the current speech, but first, here are very short summaries of all of Mr. Bush's previous SOTU speeches.2001 - The Case for Tax Cuts - The president outlined budget and need for cuts because of recession, laid groundwork for attempts to reform social security, education and other issues, and did mention the threat of "terrorists...with bombs."2002 - Responding to 9/11 - Mr. Bush said the "nation is at war" and outlined actions in Afghanistan as well as further possible domestic targets of terror, called for an economic stimulus packaged, named the "axis of evil," and described needs for homeland security and for "a new culture of responsibility."2003 - The Case for Invading Iraq - The president made his first mention of "energy independence" in a SOTU, announced Africa HIV/AIDS initiative, but spent most of the speech making the case that allowing Saddam Hussein to stay in power could "bring a day of horror like none we have ever known."2004 - Defending the Invasion - Mr. Bush justified the invasion as the removal of a brutal tyrant and a bolstering of diplomacy ("words must be credible"), pointed to Libya's disarmarment, and sought to persuade that the US was still under threat of attack and still "at war," also called for a temporary worker program, social security personal retirement accounts, and bashed professional athletes for using steroids.2005 - The Freedom Agenda - Feeling his oats after reelection, Mr. Bush crowed about the growing economy, repeated calls for reform of social security and immigration, and said he supported a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, then launched into freedom agenda speech: called for $350 million for Palestinian government, called on Saudi Arabia and Egypt to reform, and threatened Syria and Iran, while praising Iraq for holding elections and saying that US forces in Iraq were transitioning into a "supporting role."2006 - Anti-Isolationism - After another year in Iraq, Mr. Bush said the US was in "a long war" and railed against isolationism in foreign policy and protectionism in trade, saying "we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders," he also called on a newly elected Hamas to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism, admitted the existence of the warrantless domestic spying program and defended its legality and usefulness, said America is "addicted to oil" and called for more alternative sources of fuel and energy, and made brief mention of aid to Katrina victims.2007 - Stay with Me - Mr. Bush recognized the Democratic takeover of Congress, criticized the use of earmarks in Congress, talked healthcare reform, teed up his immigration reform plan, called for a reduction of gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years and for increased domestic oil production, asked for $1.2 billion for malaria aid in Africa, and addressed the slips backward in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that "every one of us wishes this war were over and won," but that "nothing is more important at this point in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East" and asked Congress to bear with his recently announced surge.That leads us to this year's speech. Mr. Bush, in his final State of the Union address Monday, will inevitably run up against questions of his legacy, whether he references it or not, but he will also circle back to themes he has not made central in his annual speech since the beginning of his first term.For the first time since his inaugural SOTU in 2001, the central focus of Mr. Bush's speech will probably not be terrorism or Iraq. Or at least, those topics will have to share the spotlight with domestic concerns over the economy.One year after Mr. Bush said the economy was "on the move," the country is facing a recession, and the Bush administration has scrambled to reach an economic stimulus deal with Congress.In 2001, the central plank of Mr. Bush's first SOTU was an argument for his tax cuts, which were passed that year.But in 2002, the president understandably focused on responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in 2003 he made the case for invading Iraq, and every speech since then has in some way revolved around the need to stay the course in Iraq and the broader Middle East.Violence in Iraq has decreased over the last year, in large part due to the president's surge of 30,000 troops. And while Mr. Bush may strut a tiny bit over that fact, he'll still be acknowledge that the situation there is "fragile."White House press secretary Dana Perino this morning said that the speech will be "forward-looking, not retrospective in any way," and said Mr. Bush is spending "an hour here or there" this week running through the speech.Mrs. Perino also pointed out that presidents do have the ability to call Congress together for an additional SOTU at the end of their presidency. Presidents Johnson and Ford are the only two US presidents to do this.Mrs. Perino said that next week's speech "will likely be the last" for Mr. Bush. That's not closing the door.— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Bush Africa trip details announced

The White House this morning announced that President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush will travel to five African countries from Feb. 15th to Feb. 21st.The countries are, in order: Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia."This trip will be an opportunity for the President to review firsthand the significant progress since his last visit in 2003 in efforts to increase economic development and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other treatable diseases, as a result of the United States robust programs in these areas," said White House press secretary Dana Perino, in a statement.Mr. Bush, in Monday's State of the Union address, will renew his call from Dec. 1 for Congress to double their current aid package to Africa, from $15 billion over five years to $30 billion over the next five years.

Top Dem opposes free trade without reforms

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee today said that he will oppose any new free trade agreements until "robust" reforms are passed to take care of US workers who lose their jobs as a result of globalization.Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, told a lunchtime audience at the Peterson Institute for International Economics that Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) must be "our nation's trade policy priority.""Until we accomplish it, other issues on today's trade agenda must take the back seat," he said. "Without TAA it's impossible to get these free trade agreements passed," Mr. Baucus said. "Frankly, I'm not going to bring them up until I see very significant progress on trade adjustment assistance."President Bush, while expressing gratitude to Congress for passing an FTA with Peru in the fall, has made forceful calls for the Democratic-controlled body to approve pending FTA's with Columbia, Panama and South Korea.In his final State of the Union address Monday night, Mr. Bush said that if Congress fails to approve an FTA with Columbia, they will "embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere," referring to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez."We must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life," Mr. Bush said.But Mr. Baucus today was unmoved. "Trade policy is not just about economics," he said. "It is as much about the workers that drive our economy."Mr. Bush has been the first Republican president to support TAA reform, drawing praise from Democrats. But it is not likely he will support all the reforms listed by Mr. Baucus.Mr. Baucus listed four key reforms that should take place.The Democratic senator wants to double the amount of federal funding for training displaced workers for new jobs from $220 million per year to $440 million a year. He also wants TAA to cover service workers and workers whose companies have moved their operations to countries that are not free trade partners.And Mr. Baucus wants to expand the TAA health care tax credit from 65 percent to 85 percent of a healthcare premium.Mr. Baucus said he is "open" to the idea of passing TAA reform in conjunction with approval of FTA's, but also said he wants more than "vague false promises.""I'm also not a sucker," he said. - Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Bush hits back on free trade

President Bush today pushed back against Democratic objections to three pending free trade agreements, arguing that the deals would create jobs and raise wages for American workers."Free trade means jobs for Americans. Free trade means good paying jobs for Americans. And so Congress needs to pass these agreements for the sake of economic vitality," Mr. Bush said after touring a helicopter-manufacturing company in Torrance, Calif., with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.Mr. Bush's remarks came just hours after the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said that he would oppose any of the pending FTAs until "robust" reforms are passed to help US workers who lose their jobs as a result of globalization.Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, told a lunchtime audience at the Peterson Institute for International Economics that Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) must be "our nation's trade policy priority.""Until we accomplish it, other issues on today's trade agenda must take the back seat," he said. Mr. Bush did not indicate whether he was responding to Mr. Baucus' comments, but his remarks were some of the most extensive he has given on the matter of free trade."You got people in this country saying, 'Oh, trade doesn't matter.' I'm telling you it matters: It matters to our economy," Mr. Bush said. "As a matter of fact, it is estimated that our growth last year, a third of that growth was caused by exports. When people are selling something overseas, it means somebody is working. And there's a lot of customers overseas," he said.Mr. Bush, while expressing gratitude to Congress for passing an FTA with Peru in the fall, has made forceful calls for the Democrat-controlled body to approve pending FTAs with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.You can read more about the reforms Mr. Baucus wants passed in an earlier post.Mr. Bush cited the Robinson Helicopter Co. to illustrate his point."People are working, and 70 percent of what you make gets sold overseas," Mr. Bush said.But the president said that currently, there is a 15 percent tax on items sold into Panama."A free trade agreement will reduce that tax, which means it's more likely you're going to sell a helicopter into Panama," Mr. Bush said. "And when you're more likely to sell a helicopter to Panama, it means you're more likely to keep work, that's what that means."Mr. Bush did touch on the issue of Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers who lose their jobs because of FTAs, but did not make any specific commitments on reforms or changes.Mr. Bush said TAA is a "vital" program and outlined two possible approaches to the problem of workers losing jobs."One response is, 'OK, let's just don't trade at all,' which would be bad in my judgment," Mr. Bush said. "The other response is, 'Let's have job training to help somebody get the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.' "— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

$$$ increased for Bush's faith-based initiatives, decreased for secular

These numbers didn't get in to my story today on President Bush's faith-based initiative, but I thought they were important.Mr. Bush, during a visit to a prisoner re-entry program yesterday, said that his faith-based program has made it easier for religiously based groups "to compete for billions of dollars in federal grants."The White House provided numbers that said funding for faith-based programs slowly has increased from 2003, when those groups received $1.2 billion in federal funds, to 2006, when faith-based programs received $2.2 billion.Funding for secular nonprofits is much higher but fell from $12.8 billion to $12.4 billion from 2005 to 2006, according to the White House, which only began tracking federal funding for secular nonprofits in 2005. - Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Strip search welcome by some German travelers

Just when the Air Marshal Service got its act together on an appropriate dress code to blend in with the traveling public comes this news from Germany: "German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm. "Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom Â… The 55 passengers will have to remain clothed until they board, and dress before disembarking."There is only one way an air marshal can blend with this crowd. Which begs the question: Where will he hide his gun? - Audrey Hudson, Homeland Security reporter, The Washington Times

First Lady still pushing reform on Burma

First Lady Laura Bush is still lobbying world leaders to pressure the military junta in Burma into reforming their government.Mrs. Bush yesterday met in New York with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos Espino. Panama will assume the presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month.Mrs. Bush was in New York for an event on heart disease (she is also delivering the president's weekly radio address on that topic tomorrow), and Mr. Torrijos was there because the event was sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund.Mrs. Bush spoke with Mr. Torrijos of "the importance for the U.N. Security Council to keep pressure on the military junta in Burma," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto."And of course President Torrijos said that he would of course want to keep the pressure on Burma to make the democratic changes that we all have been calling for," Mr. Fratto said. - Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Jobs quickly becomes political football in stimulus debate

The news that job growth ceased last month was immediately seized upon by congressional leaders who used the numbers to justify competing positions on the economic stimulus package.Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who chairs the Joint Economic Committee, pushed for the addition of unemployment insurance to the package approved earlier this week by the House, which gives tax rebates to about 116 million Americans."Every economist will tell you that stimulus spending will get into the economy much quicker than a tax rebate, which we're all for," Mr. Schumer said.Mr. Schumer also offered this grim assessment: "Any doubts that we are heading into a recession should be erased with today’s employment report."Meanwhile, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Democrat, said that the jobs report "highlights why Senate Democrats should approve the House-passed economic growth package without any further delay."Mr. Boehner also said the numbers are "a fresh reminder that in order to spur future jobs gains, this Congress needs to work together to cut taxes, reduce wasteful spending, and end heavy-handed, jobs-killing regulations and mandates on employers." - Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times