Obama details plans to boost exports, create jobs

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama sought Thursday to put some detail behind his lofty drive to double U.S. exports over the next five years, calling the effort imperative to putting people back to work. But doubts remain about how many net jobs his trade agenda will create - and how he will get it done.

In a speech to the Export-Import Bank conference, Obama outlined steps to flesh out his trade initiative. Among them: creating a mini-Cabinet of officials to focus on exports, seeking more financing to support trade efforts, beefing up enforcement of existing trade deals and pushing for the completion of stalled ones.

"We shouldn't assume that our leadership is guaranteed," Obama said. "When other markets are growing, and other nations are competing, we've got to get even better. We need to secure our companies a level playing field. We need to guarantee American workers a fair shake. In other words, we need to up our game."

Obama's trade pitch ties directly to the top concerns of Americans - the bleeding of jobs from the U.S. He promised in his State of the Union address that doubling trade over the next five years will support 2 million American jobs, a pledge he repeated Thursday. But that's a complicated matter.

Experts say potential jobs from more exports can be negated by job losses resulting from increased reliance on products from abroad. What's more, it is Obama's own Democratic Party, backed by its union supporters, that has led opposition to stalled trade-expansion pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

When Obama says that doubling exports will "support" 2 million jobs, he means it will create 2 million additional jobs, the White House said. That is based on an assessment of how many jobs are supported by foreign demand for the goods and services that the United States exports.

Obama pushing on health care end game

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is making his closing arguments for a health care overhaul, pushing a new anti-fraud plan as he cranks up the pressure on skittish Democratic lawmakers to act fast.

Obama is to speak Wednesday at St. Charles High School, his second health care address in three days. His speech comes as congressional Democrats stand on the brink of delivering the president a dramatic success with passage of his sweeping overhaul legislation - or a colossal failure if they can't get it done.

Business groups that oppose the legislation are also stepping it up, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announcing a coordinated campaign to spend as much as $10 million on ads, starting Wednesday, saying, "Stop this health care bill we can't afford."

Leaders in the House and Senate are waiting for a final cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office in the next day or so that will allow them to start counting votes - and twisting arms - in earnest. In the House, in particular, getting the needed majority will be touch and go.

The two-step approach now being pursued calls for the House to approve a Senate-passed bill from last year, despite House Democrats' opposition to several of its provisions. Both chambers then would follow by approving a companion measure to make changes in that first bill.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has said he expects the House to act by March 18, the day Obama leaves for an overseas trip. That timetable would be tough to meet, and congressional leaders told White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that they don't need deadlines handed down from the White House, according to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee.

"He was certainly informed that we don't feel that we want any deadline assigned to us," Waxman said.

Republicans are playing on House Democrats' suspicions of their Senate colleagues, arguing that Senate Democrats may not hold up their end of the bargain and the votes will be damaging politically for Democrats in November.

"They will be voting, when they pass the Senate bill, to endorse the Cornhusker kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the Gator-aid, the closed-door deal," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, citing controversial elements of the Senate bill.

An Associated Press-GfK Poll released Tuesday found a widespread hunger for improvements to the health care system, but also found that Americans don't like the way the debate is playing out in Washington.

US to prevent nuclear Iran

US VP meets tells Netanyahu he is certain Israel would take bold steps for peace.

US Vice President Joe Biden expressed America's "absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel' security" at a press conference in Jerusalem following a meeting with Prime Minster Binyamin Netanyahu Monday morning.

As such, Biden said, Washington was "determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and we are working with many countries around the world to convince Iran to meet its international obligations to cease and desist."

The cornerstone of the US-Israel relationship, Biden said, was America's unwavering commitment to Israel's security. "Bibi you heard me say before, progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the US and Israel. There is no space between the US and Israel when it comes to Israel'ssecurity."

President Obama attacks Republicans for ignoring health care for the 8 years they were in power

President Barack Obama accused insurance companies of placing profits over people and said Republicans ignored long-festering problems when they held power as he sought to build support Monday for swift passage of legislation stalled in Congress.

"Let's seize reform, the need is great," Obama said at an appearance that had the feel of a campaign rally.

"How much higher do premiums have to rise before we do something about it?" said Obama, making the first in an expected string of out-of-town trips to pitch his plan to remake the health care system.

The president said dismissively that Republican critics in Congress contend they want to do something about rising health care costs but failed when they held power. "You had 10 years. What happened? What were you doing?" he said to applause from an audience at Arcadia University.

Obama made his appeal as Democratic leaders in Congress worked on a rescue plan for sweeping changes in health care that seemed earlier in the year to be on the brink of passage. The current two-step approach calls for the House to approve a Senate-passed bill despite opposition to several of its provisions, and for both houses to follow immediately with a companion measure that makes a series of changes.

The White House has said it wants the legislation wrapped up by March 18, but that seems unlikely. The companion bill has not yet been made public, and a protracted debate is expected in the Senate, where Republicans vow to resist even though they will not be able to block passage by filibustering.

Obama's stated goals across more than a year of struggle have been to extend coverage to millions who lack it, ban insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions and cut costs.

Republicans dismissed Obama's argument instantly. "The American people have heard all this rhetoric from the president before, and they continue to say loudly and clearly they do not want a massive government takeover of health care," said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who added the president's plan was "heavy on snake oil."

Obama has long identified the insurance industry as an obstacle to changes along the lines he seeks, but the administration's actions and rhetoric seem to have escalated in recent days.

The president's proposal would give the government the right to limit excessive premiums increases — a provision included after one firm announced a 39 percent increase in the price of individual policies sold in California. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, convened a White House meeting with insurance executives last week, and followed up with a letter released in advance of Obama's speech.

Why 'Armenian genocide' resolution may hurt US interests

Turkey's deep emotional reaction to the 'Armenian genocide' resolution passed by a US congressional committee yesterday could have far-ranging implications for US policy in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

A committee passed a similar resolution in 2007, leading Turkey to recall its ambassador to Washington – something it did again after the resolution passed yesterday – and warn of a serious rupture in relations with the US. A last-minute intervention by the Bush administration kept the bill from going any further.

This year was supposed to be different. The historic accords that Turkey and Armenia signed this past October to restore diplomatic relations and put in motion a process to examine the past were supposed to take the legs out from under any effort to tar Turkey with the “genocide” label.

But the stalling of that reconciliation process, and Turkey’s deep emotional reaction to the genocide issue have, once again, created a potentially damaging situation for Turkish-US relations. It could have far-ranging implications for US policy in the Middle East, where Turkey is one of Washington's most important allies and an increasingly influential powerbroker.

“Turkey will certainly feel impelled to take retaliatory action against the US, which will take the form of noncooperation in terms of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly leading to restrictions on the use of strategic assets like the Incirlik air base – areas where there is important cooperation,” says Sinan Ülgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), an Istanbul think tank.

“This is an area where identity and emotion are in a sense superseding pure interests," he adds. "On a topic like this, the national interest is trumped by a core question loaded with emotions that cuts deep to the issue of identity.”

Greek PM seeks EU debt pledge as protests grow

Obama does personal lobbying of House Democrats, insurance execs

The politics of presidential persuasion are well underway -- President Obama has added a string of meetings to his schedule today featuring key House Democrats in the health care debate.

And there are reports that Obama has invited more Democrats to a White House reception tonight, and the guest list just happens to include 10 members who voted against the House health care bill last year.

It's all part of the administration's efforts to get the House to adopt the Senate health care bill over the next few weeks, the first step toward final passage.

(UPDATE: In other lobbying news, Obama walked into a White House meeting between his health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius and insurance executives. He carried a letter from an Ohio woman "whose insurance will go up 40% next year," tweeted spokesman Robert Gibbs.)

At 1:30 p..m., Obama's guests are members of a House health care task force and chairs of various Democratic caucuses.

They include: Danny Davis, Ill,, of the Congressional Black Caucus; Raul Grijalva, Ariz., of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Mike Honda, Cal., of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; Dennis Kucinich, Ohio, of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Barbara Lee, Cal., of the Congressional Black Caucus; Nydia Velazquez, N.Y., of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; and Lynn Woolsey, Cal., of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Later, at 2:30 p.m., the leaders of the New Democrat Coalition come to the Oval Office.

Those members include Jason Altmire, Pa.; Melissa Bean, Illinois; Lois Capps, Cal.; Joseph Crowley, N.Y.; Ron Kind, Wis.; Allyson Schwartz, Pa.; and Adam Smith, Washington.

Altmire is one of the members who voted against the House bill last year.

Others who have been invited to the White House include Allen Boyd of Florida; Lincoln Davis of Tennessee; Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota; Frank Kratovil of Maryland; Betsey Markey of Colorado; Jim Matheson of Utah; Scott Murphy of New York; Health Shuler of North Carolina; and John Tanner, Tennessee.

Obama to push health-care compromise

President Barack Obama gestures at the Blair House in Washington during a meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders last week to discuss health-care reform. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

U.S. President Barack Obama is unveiling at the White House on Wednesday a revised version of his health-care legislation that may include a number of Republican proposals.

Obama is expected to lay out his final package for long-discussed health-care reform in the U.S. and urge Congress to act swiftly to pass the legislation.

As with bills currently stalled before the House of Representatives and the Senate, the proposal is expected to require most Americans to carry health insurance coverage and bar insurance companies from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more.

It would not include a publicly run insurance plan, however, but would allow the government to cap health insurance premiums "if a rate increase is unreasonable and unjustified."

A version of the proposed legislation posted on the White House website on Monday says it will insure more than 31 million Americans who cannot afford health insurance and reduce the U.S. deficit over the next 10 years by $100 billion.

Obama's afternoon speech will come a day after he sent letter to congressional leaders saying he was open to incorporating four Republican ideas into his proposal.

Charles Rangel to quit key tax post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The embattled chairman of the tax-writing House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Charles Rangel, said on Wednesday he will step aside temporarily as chairman after being admonished by a House ethic panel.

"I have this morning sent a letter to Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi asking her to grant me a leave of absence until such time as the ethics committee completes its work," Rangel told a news conference at which he took no questions.

The House ethics committee publicly admonished the New York Democrat last week for taking corporate-paid trips to the Caribbean in violation of the chamber's gift rules.

The panel, composed of three Democrats and three Republicans, is still looking into other matters involving Rangel, including his use of a rent-controlled apartment and his fund-raising for the Charles Rangel Center for Public Service in New York.

U.S. media, citing unnamed sources, said Rangel was encouraged to step aside before the House could vote on a Republican measure to strip him of his chairmanship, which could have happened as early as on Wednesday.

Democratic Representatives Sander Levin of Michigan or Pete Stark of California may temporarily take over as chairman, according to media reports.

Desserts to blame for Obama's elevated cholesterol

WASHINGTON - Poll results, congressional head counts and US government deficits are not the only numbers President Barack Obama has to worry about. Now, he's trying to walk off a marginally high cholesterol count.

Although Obama took the presidential motorcade to a speech yesterday morning, he decided to walk back to the White House through a park. A day earlier, his doctor recommended that he lower his cholesterol.

The president told reporters he needed to "make sure that I'm walking off some of that cholesterol. That's a year of campaigning right there".

Obama had a physical exam on Sunday morning and learned that his total cholesterol and so-called bad, or LDL, cholesterol had both spiked into the borderline high range since his last reported exam in 2007.

The culprit, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, is too many cheeseburgers and desserts, a surprising revelation given Obama's reputation as a health nut.

"You guys thought he carried arugula in his pocket to snack on," Gibbs joked with reporters yesterday.

Gibbs chalked up the president's sweet tooth to easy access now that Obama has a kitchen staff and a pastry chef at his disposal.

"If it's more available, you're more likely to eat it," Gibbs said, adding that the president remains a big fan of the pastry chef and hasn't ordered a menu change at the White House.

Sunday's physical, Obama's first as commander-in-chief, also revealed that the president hasn't kicked his smoking habit.

Obama has talked about his struggles to quit smoking in the past, and Gibbs said the president does occasionally fall off the wagon. Still, Gibbs said Obama is aware of the example he sets for America's youth.

"He understands that what he struggles with is not a good thing for his children to see or anybody's children to see," Gibbs said.

Pelosi Confident on Health Vote

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday expressed confidence she will have enough votes to pass a health overhaul, but acknowledged it could come at a political cost to lawmakers who back the measure.

Monday kicks off a critical week for Democrats to push ahead with their overhaul. President Barack Obama is expected to announce his preferred way forward for the bill. The White House has already laid the groundwork for Congress to complete the legislation using a process known as budget reconciliation that requires a simple majority in the Senate.

That process would start in the House. Ms. Pelosi said Sunday the House could unveil specific legislative language for the measure in a matter of days. Those would give more detail to the president's proposed changes to the Senate bill designed to appeal to House lawmakers.

Democrats seem poised to move forward without any support from Republicans, who say they see no way to work from the existing bill. That leaves Democrats with two critical challenges: figuring out how to maneuver through the reconciliation over Republican objections, and how to rebuild sliding public support for the bill.

Asked on ABC's "This Week" whether Democrats would have the votes to pass the bill in the House, Ms. Pelosi (D., Calif.) offered a one-word "Yes." She said Democrats in both chambers were working out details.

The health-care bill stalled in Congress after Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts race to replace the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy. It cost the Democrats their 60-vote supermajority and their ability to block Republican filibusters.

Republicans warned Sunday that Democrats were trying to force an unpopular measure that would hurt them in the midterm elections.

"If Speaker Pelosi rams through this bill through the House using the reconciliation process, they will lose their majority in Congress in November," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Democrats said that while certain polls show opposition to the legislation, the public supports individual components of it. "I think when you talk to the American people about whether it's fair for them to get knocked off their coverage when they get sick, I think they agree that no, we need some common-sense rules to help regulate that market," White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Ms. Pelosi acknowledged the political risks on ABC. Democrats "know that this will take courage," she said. "Why are we here? We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress. We're here to do the job for the American people."

Democrats control the House by a 255-178 margin with two vacancies. On CNN, Ms. Pelosi predicted Democrats will retain their majority in November.

The math for passing the health bill is tight. With the vacancies, Democrats need 217 votes to pass a bill in the House. The House passed an earlier version of the health overhaul by a 220-215 margin in November.

Some "yes" voters have indicated they will vote "no" this time. The main obstacles are the Senate bill's more-lenient rules about insurance coverage of abortion and a general unease among centrist Democrats with the scope of the legislation.