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Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Quote of the Day
“And that’s one of the best parts about teaching, being surprised by the effect you have on your students. Sometimes, the child everyone in town has pegged as a lifelong jokester goes on to do something great thanks to his teachers. He might even become president of the United States,” Laura Bush during White House ceremony for National Teacher of the Year Kim Oliver of Maryland.
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SMALL BUSINESS PAL
A week after Rep. Katherine Harris slammed Sen. Bill Nelson as being no friend to small businesses, the non-profit Florida Small Business Development Center Network bestowed its 2006 Small Business Dividend$ Award on Nelson.
The presentation, scheduled for this evening in the Rayburn House Office Building, is to recognize Nelson’s “many accomplishments relative to the success and future of entrepreneurs and small businesses,” according to a letter from Jerry Cartwright, the organization’s state director.
The network, which bills itself as “The Premier Source for Business Assistance in Florida,” cited Nelson’s support for the Small Business Administration, business loan programs, veterans issues and tax credits for small businesses that offer employee health care and that employ national guardsmen. It also mentioned Nelson’s support for eliminating the estate tax on small businesses and family farms.
The organization includes an advisory board of prominent Florida business leaders and has two state lawmakers — both Republicans — as advisors: state Sen. Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach and state Rep. David Mealor of Lake Mary.
Former award winners include former Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat, and Rep. Bill Young, a Republican.
Harris repeatedly criticized Nelson’s business support record last week and cited his low ratings by the National Federation of Independent Business as evidence.
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Cornyn’s not feeling snubbed
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, says not being invited to the White House for an exclusive meeting between several key lawmakers and President Bush on immigration reform wasn’t a snub. “I don’t really see it that way,” Cornyn said. “I’ve been invited a number of times.” A dozen senators, including at least three Democrats, spent the afternoon with President Bush on Tuesday hashing out details of a sweeping immigration reform bill making its way through Congress. But conservative lawmakers like Cornyn and Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., who are pushing their own more stringent guest worker proposal, weren’t at the meeting. “I interpret it as the President realizing he can’t get a bill, unless he gets a bill out of the Senate.” Later, Cornyn dismissed widespread reports of a breakthrough on the deadlocked immigration legislation after the Bush meeting. “Really this is just a prelude … everyone knows the bill will be written in conference committee.”
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EPA nominee approved by committee
WASHINGTON – A Senate committee voted 10-8 on party lines Wednesday to recommend full Senate confirmation of a controversial Environmental Protection Agency official as head of the agency’s air pollution control division. William Wehrum’s appointment as assistant EPA administrator for air and radiation had been opposed by environmentalists because of his role in pushing through rules easing pollution requirements on electric power plants. The vote in favor of confirmation hinged on Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., who has sided with Democrats and independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont on previous air pollution issues. Chafee, who has been endorsed for reelection this year by the Sierra Club, did not attend the committee meeting and his affirmative proxy vote was cast by committee chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla.
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Snow Answers Cox Newspapers’ Questions
In his first comments since accepting the post as White House press secretary, Tony Snow today fielded a few questions from Cox Newspapers. Here’s what he said:
Q. What were the last things you had to get tied up before you agreed to take the job?
A. Figuring out if I had cancer. You can’t say, “A little thing. I still have cancer.” I do CAT scans every three months. I had a routine scheduled one last Thursday and the results didn’t come back in until late yesterday afternoon. So that was the deal. (Snow is recovering from colon cancer)
Q. What kind of things did you have to talk to (administration officials) about concerning the job?
A. Basically you talk about what you’re going to do and the most important thing is to make sure that we’re going to have a good working relationship with you guys.
Q. Did they talk about the job description being any different than it has been with Scott (McClellan) or did you want it to be any different?
A. Well, I didn’t play a comparison game. Rather than get too much into the nuts and bolts just watch and see. I hate to be coy about it but I’m going to be coy. At least I won’t pretend. In any event we will be seeing you a lot and I will be talking to I hope a lot of you guys. We will do some sessions to figure out what you think we can do better.
Q. Your criticism of him in the past, are you free to keep telling him that kind of stuff now that you are on the payroll?
A. Probably not in those exact words.
Q. But the same message? They want to hear it?
A. Yeah. They want people to express their opinions. You’re not coming here to drink the Kool-Aid. You’re coming here to serve the president. And at this particular juncture I think what you want is as much honest counsel as you can get. So when I agree I’m going to agree but when I disagree I disagree. But on any opinion his vote is the tie-breaker.
Q. On Iraq, you’re still fully on board with what’s going on over there?
A. The president is the guy who runs the place. I’ll speak for him and some other point I’ll speak for myself. How’s that?
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Snow Lands in White House
President Bush this morning introduced Tony Snow of Fox News as the new White House press secretary. Snow will replace Scott McClellan, who announced his resignation last week.
“My job is to make decisions and his job is to help explain those decisions to the press corps and the American people,” Bush said in the White House Briefing Room, flanked by Snow and McClellan. “He understands, like I understand, that the press is vital to our democracy.”
Snow, a White House speechwriter when the current president’s dad was in office, told reporters, “One of the things I want to do is just make it clear that one of the reason I took the job is not only because I believe in the president, because, believe it or not, I want to work with you. These are times that are going to be very challenging.”
Bush noted that Snow, as a commentator, “sometimes has disagreed with me.” Earlier this year, after Bush’s State of the Union Address, Snow wrote that the speech “distilled the essence of his presidency … brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy.”
Bush today joked about Snow’s criticism, saying “I asked him about those comments, and he said, ‘You should have heard what I said about the other guy.’”
After the brief announcement, Bush, Snow and McClellan left the room while ignoring reporters’ questions.
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Snow today
Tony Snow’s current employer says the White House will be his next employer. Fox News reported today that Snow, host of the network’s “The Tony Snow Show,” has accepted the job as White House press secretary, replacing Scott McClellan, who announced his resignation next week. The White House is expected to announce the selection today.
Fox News reported that Snow, who is recovering from colon cancer, got a clean bill of health on Tuesday from his oncologist.
Snow was a White House speechwriter for the current president’s dad.
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