Bush Administration Sends 2008 Budget to Congress / President Seeks Billions More for Military Operations in Iraq

On February 5, President Bush sent his 2008 budget request to Capitol Hill.  Overall, the President?s budget calls for large increases in defense spending (including an additional $245 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2007-2008); a $252 billion reduction in Medicare; extension of the Administration's 2001 and 2003 tax policies; and funding cuts for key domestic priorities, including health care, education, clean water, law enforcement, and assistance for low- and fixed-income families to help pay winter heating bills.  At congressional hearings held this week, lawmakers were skeptical of the Bush Administration's claim that the budget would be balanced by 2012 under the President's policies.  Lawmakers also questioned Administration witnesses about the fairness of cutting Medicare, Medicaid, education and other critical programs in order to help pay for billions of dollars of additional tax cuts that chiefly benefit those who least need help.  For a comprehensive summary of the President's budget, click here.

House Approves Bill to Make Alternative Fuels More Available

On February 8, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation [H.R. 547, the Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act] designed to make biofuels, like E85 ethanol, easier to access and use.  The bill initiates a research and development program to make biofuels more compatible with present-day infrastructure.  Many biofuels have different physical and chemical properties that make them incompatible with our nation's existing petroleum-based infrastructure.  As a result, problems with tank and pipeline corrosion and sediment buildup can arise.  The bipartisan bill, which was approved on a vote of 400 to 3, directs the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to research and develop new technologies that would allow retailers to offer biofuels using existing infrastructure. For more information on H.R. 547 from the bill's sponsor [Rep. Gordon], click here.

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Require Voter-Verified Paper Trail for Electronic Voting Machines

On February 5, legislation was introduced in the House [H.R. 811] to mandate a voter-verified paper trail for all votes cast in federal elections.  With the increase in the use of electronic voting technology, voting irregularities have become more common in recent elections.  Unfortunately, with many of these electronic voting machines, there is no way to check whether voters' choices have been properly recorded or resolve questions about reported tallies. [Michigan already uses all optical-scan voting machines, which read each voter's pencil marks on a paper ballot and preserve the original ballot for verification.]  H.R. 811, which was introduced by Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey, would require that every voting system be able to produce a paper record of the vote.  The bill also provides for routine random audits of paper ballots to ensure that election results are tallied correctly.  More than 180 lawmakers in the House, including Rep. Levin, have cosponsored this legislation.  For more information, click here.

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