Agenda: Focusing on terrorism & WMD
Posted: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 9:09 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Per the Obama transition office, Biden will be in DC today for a briefing by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, which is led by former Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Jim Talent of Missouri. Biden will be joined at the meeting by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who is Obama’s choice to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Obama “plans to appoint a new White House official to coordinate efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear or biological weapons, advisers say, giving the highest priority to thwarting a catastrophic attack that a bipartisan panel warns could come in the next five years," the Boston Globe reports. "Naming a top deputy whose sole mission is to oversee the government's wide-ranging programs to stop such an attack would mark a significant break with the Bush administration, which in resisting such a post has maintained that US efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles and safeguard deadly pathogens are adequate."
Per the Los Angeles Times, “After convening almost a complete set of state chief executives Tuesday, Obama pledged "action, and action now" to address the budget shortfalls expected in no less than 41 states in the coming year. ‘As president, I will not simply ask our nation's governors to help implement our economic recovery plan,’ Obama told an assembly of 48 governors gathered in historic Congress Hall. ‘I will ask you to help design that plan. Because, if we're listening to our governors, we'll not only be doing what's right for our states, we'll be doing what's right for our country.’ The pledge is easier said than done. Twenty states have together cut $7.6 billion from their fiscal 2009 budgets, the National Governors Assn. reports. Thirty states say they are expecting additional shortfalls totaling more than $30 billion.”
But the Washington Post adds that “some state officials are warning that public works projects will fail to effectively lift the country out of recession unless they are chosen carefully and implemented rapidly… a recession that lasts only a few months, economists say spending on infrastructure would do little to revive the economy; public works projects typically take years to get underway. Even with projects that are ready to go -- meaning they have been designed, engineered and have cleared environmental and other bureaucratic hurdles -- only about a quarter of the overall cost is spent within the first year, according to the Transportation Department.”
Tax and budget experts are saying Obama will have to scale back some of his popular -- and pricey -- policy promises from the campaign in light of the nation's shaky financial situation.
"Powerful special interest groups that helped torpedo healthcare reform 16 years ago are now advocating significant changes in the nation's health insurance and delivery system. They are participating in regular discussions about how to expand health coverage and lower costs, key commitments that President-elect Barack Obama made in his campaign."
