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Congressman says president hit right notes

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St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan has heard what he wanted to hear from President Obama in his address to Congress on health care.

"I thought it was strong. I thought he laid out the details probably better than he has to date," Carnahan says about the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress. "I thought it was very timely that he did that as Congress had fanned out across the country and had literally thousands of town hall forums, large and small. But also, I think it was important that he called out those who had been peddling disinformation about the plan."

Carnahan held one of those town hall meetings that turned raucous early on. Opponents of health care legislation loudly proclaimed their objections during the meeting in St. Louis. A couple of people left the meeting battered and bruised on both sides, with charges and counter-charges leveled in the ensuing days.

Opposition seemed to build from there, dominating many of the town hall meetings held during the Congressional recess in August. Carnahan says the president needed to assert himself into the debate.

"Early on, I think (President Obama) made the strategic and correct decision not to be overly prescriptive to Congress; to let Congress go through its process," Carnahan says. "And we’ve done that, through five different committees, through engaging with constituents and experts, but I think now is the time to really weigh in and try to pull those consensus ideas together."

Carnahan acknowledges there is much work ahead. He says there are significant differences between the House and Senate, though he agrees with the president that all sides seem to be in agreement on 80% of the legislation. He says the sticking points that remain center on the coverage guidelines that will be imposed on private health insurers and the shape any public option might take. Carnahan says the end result needs to drive health care costs down and drive quality up while remaining deficit neutral.

Download/listen Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-St. Louis) on health care legislation. (2:30 MP3)

Missouri Congressional delegation splits along party lines on stimulus

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Missouri’s Congressional delegation reflected the national political split on the federal stimulus bill before Congress.

The $787 billion bill passed the United States House in Washington on a 246-to-183 vote. No Republicans voted for the measure, a compromise hammered out between Democratic leaders in the Senate and House. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to back the bill, saying it is needed to stimulate an economy being dragged down by a slumping housing market and tight credit.

Missouri Democrats Emanuel Cleaver, Lacy Clay, Russ Carnahan and Ike Skelton voted in favor of the bill. Republicans Roy Blunt, Jo Ann Emerson, Sam Graves, Todd Akin and Blaine Luetkemeyer voted against.

Justice Department to Appeal Ruling on Suit Against Carnahan

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The Justice Department will appeal the dismissal of the lawsuit it filed against Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. A federal district judge has thrown out the suit, which charged Carnahan had not done a good enough job getting unqualified voters off the registration lists.

The lawsuit has become part of the investigation in Washington into allegations the Bush administration Justice Department has politicized some federal prosecutor offices.

Carnahan calls the continued pursuit of the lawsuit "unnecessary."

Missouri Delegation Splits on Resolution

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Missouri’s delegation in the United States House split along party lines in the vote on the resolution opposing President Bush’s planned troop surge for Iraq.  Democrats Skelton, Cleaver, Carnahan, and Clay were among 246 Representatives voting "yes.,"   Republicans Akin, Hulshoff, Emerson, Graves, and Blunt were among 182 members of the House voting "no."

Seventeen Republicans from other states joined 229 Democrats voting for the resolution.  Skelton was one of three co-sponsors.  Included with this story are the five-minute speeches given as part of the debate from eight of Missour’s nine members of the House.  We thank C-SPAN for making this material available.

Listeners will hear the voices of Congressman Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and Missouri’s senior member of Congress; Roy Blunt of Strafford, who is the Minority Whip; Todd Aiken, also a member of the House Armed Services committee; along with William Lacy Clay, Jo Ann Emerson, Kenny Hulshoff, and Emanuel Cleaver.

Download/Listen to floor speeches on the resolution (45 min MP3)

Republicans Call on AG to Investigate Secretary of State’s Office

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The Missouri Republican Party is calling on Attorney General Jay Nixon to investigate whether the Secretary of State’s Office has been using taxpayer dollars to conduct partisan political activities – a violation of Missouri law. Republican Party Spokesman Paul Sloca says e-mails, obtained through a Sunshine Law request, indicate Stacie Temple – a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office – used state resources on state time to provide political advice to Democratic Congressman Russ Carnahan. He also claims former President Jimmy Carter’s criticism of Missouri’s Voter Protection Act was solicited by the Secretary of State’s Office. Sloca claims this is, at the very least, a violation of ethics. Temple claims any contact with Congressman Carnahan or any other elected official was and is completely proper. As for contact with the Carter family over the Voter Protection Act, Temple acknowledges there was communication with the former President’s grandson, but insists any letter sent by former President Carter was done because he believes it to be entirely factual.

Democrats Protest Mandatory Spending Cuts

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The House of Representatives, in Washington, could take up mandatory spending cuts this week. Democrats are trying to rally opposition, especially from the higher education community. Republicans pulled the bill from the table last week in the face of oppostion from Democrats and some Republicans. It’s a response to the President’s request for $50-billion across-the-board in cuts. St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan is one of the Democrats who has joined in the opposition. Democrats complain about cuts in student loan subsidies to private lenders and a hike in interest rates. Carnahan says the proposal is “backward” and short-sighted. It’s personal for student Andrea Mclain at Meramec Community Collge in St. Louis. She says she and other students have generated 10,000 phone calls to members of Congress. House floor leader, Republican Roy Blunt of Strafford says the bill probably will come to a vote this week.