Presumptuous Politics : Apr 22, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Another Clinton Cartoon

Maine governor opens up ambitious new front in crackdown on welfare abuse

A Republican governor who led one of the boldest welfare reforms at the state level in years is pursuing a new crackdown aimed at curbing abuse of benefits while requiring job searches.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage's tough proposals, unveiled earlier this month, would prohibit using welfare benefits to buy alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets and tattoos. LePage also wants to require applicants to apply for three jobs before being eligible, and ban the use of EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards to withdraw cash outside of Maine.
Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback last week signed similar legislation, banning benefits for everything from booze to concerts to lingerie.
In Maine, state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew told FoxNews.com: "The emphasis is the moment someone applies for benefits, to get them urgently and immediately into the process of getting a job."
Welfare reform has been a central plank of the firebrand governor's platform since taking office in 2011. He said at a 2012 state Republican convention: "To all those able-bodied people out there, get off the couch and get yourself a job!" His first budget, passed in 2011, brought Maine in line with the 1996 federal requirement of a 60-month limit on benefits.
The move was part of a much larger restructuring of the welfare system that the LePage administration says emphasized the "temporary" in the "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" (TANF) program -- a.k.a., "welfare."
In July, Maine started printing photos on EBT cards as part of a move to combat fraud, prompting the Obama administration to threaten to cut Maine's food stamp funding, claiming the policy could have a "chilling effect."
In October, Maine allowed the Obama administration's SNAP work requirement waiver to expire, meaning ABAWDs (able-bodied adults without dependents) have to work 20 hours a week, volunteer, or be part of a work-training program to receive benefits after three months.
The LePage administration claims the reforms contributed to LePage's re-election in November, which also saw Republicans take the state Senate.
In 2015, LePage has shown no signs of slowing down.
In January, as part of a bipartisan agreement, Maine implemented drug-testing among welfare recipients who have been convicted of drug-related felonies.
LePage wants to expand drug-testing to all recipients, which would make Maine -- which hasn't voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988 -- a seemingly unlikely addition to the 12 mostly red states that have passed broader drug-testing legislation for welfare recipients. They include: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A LePage administration spokesperson told FoxNews.com that since implementing the 60-month-cap in 2011, enrollment has dropped to 6,191 cases in March 2015, from 14,804 in 2011.
LePage noted that his new proposals are similar to those rejected last year by Democrats, but thinks this time will be different.
"Our liberal friends said 'no.' They made all sorts of excuses. Well, as you saw in November, the Maine people didn't buy it. They're demanding reform, they expect reform and we're going to give them reform," LePage said recently, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Democratic House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe rejected LePage's narrative, saying Democrats have always sought to work with LePage on welfare reform, often leading the way.
"I think the reality is that he grabs headlines when we're doing the hard work and the bipartisanship of passing good policy," McCabe told FoxNews.com.
Advocates for welfare recipients also question whether the cutbacks are hurting people who genuinely need the help.
"Are we keeping people off who really need assistance? We want to make sure we are finding a way that we are not just keeping people who actually need this assistance off the rolls just to keep the numbers down -- we don't want to penalize them," Democratic strategist Taryn Rosenkranz told FoxNews.com's "Strategy Room." Rosenkranz, founder and CEO of New Blue Interactive, also voiced concern this debate is becoming "about partisanship, instead of trying to find that ... right balance."
McCabe has reintroduced his own proposal from 2014 that would ban the use of benefits for alcohol, tobacco and other purchases, but would reduce some penalties.
"For many people who use certain programs, the way to address infractions is to include an educational component or to explain the benefits and their appropriate use," McCabe said. "Going out and penalizing people in rough situations, people who are trying to escape poverty, because we're trying to get a political headline isn't appropriate."
McCabe also said Democrats and Republicans have been working to create a tiered system that would soften the "welfare cliff" for those returning to work.
Mayhew said the administration welcomes bipartisan interest, and agreed that the tiered system was a source of agreement, but expressed cynicism as to why the Democrats were on board.
"The only reason they are talking about these reforms in a favorable way is because of what happened in November," Mayhew said. "What I have seen from Democrats is a desire to create excuses and exemptions in this legislation that helps people back to work."

Officials giving mixed messages on why US aircraft carrier shadowing Iranian convoy

An American aircraft carrier and its warplanes are shadowing an Iranian convoy approaching Yemen, as the U.S. beefs up its presence in the region -- but back in Washington, officials can't seem to agree on why.
Pentagon sources confirmed to Fox News that the USS Theodore Roosevelt is tracking the Iranian convoy, and also launching F/A-18 Hornets to conduct "manned reconnaissance" of the estimated nine Iranian ships.
Those ships are suspected of carrying weapons to rebel fighters in Yemen.
But State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf insisted Tuesday that the U.S. ships were "only" there to "ensure the shipping lanes remain open and safe" -- and "not to do anything in terms of those Iranian ships."
She blasted "misreporting" that asserted U.S. ships were prepared to intercept Iranian vessels.

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Secret Iranian unit fueling Mideast bloodshed with illicit arms shipments

"That is blatantly untrue -- so this discreet movement of U.S. assets is for a discreet purpose," Harf said.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest also said Tuesday that the ships are in the region primarily to "protect the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce."
However, Earnest acknowledged the U.S. is very interested in tracking the movements of any potential arms deliveries to Houthi rebels.
He said "any effort by Iran or anyone else to provide weapons to the Houthis would be a clear violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Earnest said the U.S. and its partners are "serious about the Iranians not providing weapons to the Houthis," and making sure the U.N. arms embargo is taken seriously.
The Pentagon also acknowledged the convoy is a factor.
Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the aircraft carrier is there to assure the waterways are open. But, he added, "they have moved to that area in response to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen. Many have asked me whether or not they are there because of the Iranian ship convoy or flotilla that is also in the area. That is certainly one of the factors."
The mixed messages, though, leave unclear how far the U.S. would go to enforce the embargo. The U.S. Navy generally conducts consensual boardings of ships when needed, including to combat piracy around Africa and the region. So far, however, U.S. naval personnel have not boarded any Iranian vessels since the Yemen conflict began.
A senior defense official at the Pentagon on Tuesday pushed back on reports that the White House has made a decision about boarding the suspected ships.
"The White House is not even close to making a decision," the official with close ties to the administration said.
But the movements nevertheless escalate a standoff in the waters off Yemen, which comes as the U.S. and other world powers are trying to hammer out a diplomatic deal with Iran on its nuclear program.
Navy officials first confirmed Monday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt -- along with her escort ship, the USS Normandy, a guided-missile cruiser -- had been dispatched to the Arabian Sea to help enforce a blockade of any Iranian weapons shipments to Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Iranian convoy consists of a mix of freighters, suspected of carrying those weapons, and warships.
The convoy is about to cross over from waters off the coast of Oman to those off the coast of Yemen, in the Arabian Sea. The Iranian convoy is steaming toward an unknown port in Yemen.
The Iranian Navy ships are characterized as "smaller than destroyers," according to a Pentagon official with knowledge of the convoy. Asked what type of weapons the freighters are carrying, one Pentagon official said, "they are bigger than small arms."
The U.S. Navy has been steadily beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid concerns about the Iranian convoy. There are now nine Navy warships, and three support ships, in the region.
The deployment comes after a U.N. Security Council resolution approved last week imposed an arms embargo on rebel leaders. The resolution passed in a 14-0 vote with Russia abstaining.
With the U.S. Navy's only aircraft carrier now out of the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy's contribution to the air campaign against the Islamic State also has been temporarily halted.
The U.S. Air Force has conducted 70 percent of the airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria to date. A spokesman from the U.S.-led coalition said from its headquarters in Kuwait that, "We have plenty of resources [to strike ISIS], and we are not concerned about a loss of effectiveness." But he admitted, "More is certainly better."

DEA chief Leonhart to retire amid fallout from scathing inspector general report

Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart has decided to retire and will leave the agency in mid-May, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday.
The move follows a scathing federal watchdog report about sexual misconduct within the agency and a growing lack of confidence in her ability to lead and make changes.
Leonhart served 35 years in the DEA and has led the agency since 2007.She is the second woman to hold the job of DEA administrator.
“Michele has led this distinguished agency with honor,” Holder said. “And I have been proud to call her my partner in the work of safeguarding our national security and protecting our citizens from crime, exploitation and abuse.”
Her decision follows the recent release of an inspector general’s report detailing sexual misconduct within several Justice Department agencies and Leonhart’s response last week to Congress about the findings.
Lawmakers have been pushing for Leonhart's ouster since her appearance last Tuesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, when she attempted to respond to the scathing government watchdog report.
A majority of committee members later said in a letter they had lost confidence in her and that she "lacks the authority and will to make the tough decisions required to hold those accountable who compromise national security and bring disgrace to their positions."
The IG report recounted allegations that drug agents attended sex parties with prostitutes, some funded by local drug cartels, in a foreign country. The DEA said the incidents happened in Colombia.
The no-confidence statement was signed by 13 House Democrats and nine Republicans, including committee’s chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and its top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings, of Maryland.
Chaffetz went a step further, calling for Leonhart to resign or be fired.
“In light of the DOJ inspector general’s report and the testimony we heard before our committee, Ms. Leonhart’s retirement is appropriate,” Chaffetz and Cummings said in a joint statement. “With the opportunity now for fresh leadership, we are hopeful that the DEA can restore itself to an agency of distinction and excellence.”
On Tuesday before Holder’s announcement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest decline to comment on at least one administration source telling reporters that Leonhart was set to leave the agency.
He instead reiterated that the Obama administration has concerns about the material in the inspector general report “that raised legitimate and serious questions about the conduct of some DEA officers.”
Leonhart has previously been the target of online petitions calling for her ouster after she distanced herself from the administration's stance on legalized marijuana, seen as a hands-off approach that lets states legalize marijuana so long as it is state regulated.
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and is classified by the DEA as a Schedule 1 drug, along with drugs such as heroin and peyote.
Leonhart also declined to fully endorse sentencing reform efforts supported by the Justice Department.

General Dempsey tells mom of fallen SEAL he's sorry for Ramadi remark

Gen. Martin Dempsey is used to giving orders, but it was an apology he issued Monday to Debbie Lee, after the Gold Star mom complained that the joint chiefs chairman trivialized the Iraqi town where her son became the first Navy SEAL to die in the Iraq War.
Lee, whose son Marc was killed in Ramadi in 2006 after a fierce firefight with insurgents, told FoxNews.com she was "in tears" Friday after listening to comments by Dempsey in which he said the imminent fall of Ramadi to ISIS militants was "not symbolic in any way."

“I've read your letter, and I do apologize if I've added to your grief.”- Gen. Martin Dempsey

Lee, who was watching her TV, said she sat there stunned.
"I kept saying to myself, 'No symbolism? Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed.
The Arizona mother and founder of the group, America's Mighty Warriors, promptly penned an open letter to Dempsey, roundly criticizing him for the "insensitive, pain-inflicting comments" about Ramadi – which became the epicenter for insurgency groups after the fall of Fallujah in 2004.
“The city itself is not symbolic in any way”? Oh, really? Are you willing to meet with me and with the families who have lost a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandson, or teammate?” Lee wrote to Dempsey.
“You, sir, owe an apology to the families whose loved ones' blood was shed in Ramadi,” she wrote. “You and this administration have minimized that Ramadi could fall, now you are minimizing that it is falling, but you Sir WILL NOT minimize the sacrifice my son Marc Lee made or any of our brave warriors!”
Lee got an apology in the form of a letter on Monday.
“I've read your letter, and I do apologize if I've added to your grief,” Dempsey wrote.
“Marc and so many others died fighting to provide a better future for Iraq. He and those with whom he served did all that their nation asked. They won their fight, and nothing will ever diminish their accomplishments nor the honor in which we hold their service,” he said.
But, Dempsey noted, “We are in a different fight now, with a different enemy, and with a different relationship with the Government of Iraq.”
“They must determine the path and pace of this fight. That's what I intended to convey,” he wrote.
Lee, who said Dempsey is expected to call her by phone later Tuesday, described the letter as a “soft apology” but said, “it’s still an apology and that’s huge.”
“I accept it,” she told FoxNews.com, “Though I’m going to be watching and I won’t hesitate to call him out again if I hear something that’s not right.”
Lee was 28 when he was killed in Ramadi on Aug. 2, 2006, after fellow SEAL Team 3 member Ryan "Biggles" Job was seriously injured by sniper fire. While other SEALs tended to Job, Lee single-handedly provided cover fire and was mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.