August 2, 2011

In this edition of the Washington Beat, Rep. Paul Ryan shows us how Washington D.C. saves money.


WE HAVE A DEAL

After a long weekend of negotiations, non-negotiations, waiting and waiting some more, Democrats, Republicans and President Obama have come to an agreement in order to avoid default. However, America has a long road ahead of her in order to get the federal budget under control. The deal passed by the House, Senate and signed by President Obama Tuesday, increases the debt ceiling by $2 trillion, putting it up to over $17 trillion while cutting $2 trillion over the next decade and doesn’t touch entitlement reform. Some lawmakers have described the deal as a spit in the ocean, and it is. The next step in the process will come when the Senate forms a “super-committee,” where members will determine further spending cuts and tax hikes will be on the table. In a statement given by Obama before he signed the deal, he once again called for compromise and shared sacrifice moving forward.



GABRIELLE GIFFORDS RETURNS TO HOUSE FLOOR

Representative Gabrielle Giffords returned to the House Floor Monday night to cast her first vote since surviving a shooting spree in January. She was welcomed by standing applause from politicians on both sides of the aisle. Her House colleagues also took to Twitter to welcome her back.


TSA TO FINALLY MONITOR BEHAVIOR

In a small improvement for TSA, the agency will be implementing new behavioral screening techniques in addition to naked body scans and uncomfortable full body pat downs. The agency has adopted some techniques similar to those used in Israel, including monitoring of responses given to agents and determining if passengers pose a threat based on answers given. Now if we could just move away from the scanners and pat downs to targeting terrorists, we’ll be making some progress.


OBAMA DOJ SUES ALABAMA

Another day, another Obama Justice Department lawsuit against a state trying to control their illegal immigration problem. The latest victim of the Eric Holder assault? Alabama. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit this week against the state for its new illegal immigration law. The new law allows police to inquire about legal status after an individual has committed a previous crime. The legislation also requires employers in the state to use the federal E-Verify system to determine if new employees are in the country legally.



JOE BIDEN SAYS TEA PARTIERS ACTED LIKE TERRORISTS

In the latest installment of the “new tone,” the Vice President of the United States said the tea party “acted like terrorists,” during the course of the debt ceiling debate. The comments came during a Democratic Caucus meeting where Rep. Moyer referred to tea party influence as “we have negotiated with terrorists,” adding, “this small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.” Biden denied making the comment when questioned by reporters, however, White House Press Secretary defended the terrorist comments from Moyer and Biden Tuesday, saying the slur was simply a result of emotional and passionate debate.



QUOTE OF THE WEEK

John McCain speaking on the Senate Floor about finding an end to the debt debate and comparing the tea party to Lord of the Rings:

"The tea party hobbits could return to Middle Earth having Mordor.”



-Katie Pavlich is the News Editor for Townhall.com



Be sure to check Townhall.com and our blog frequently for other updates