Congress battles over tax changes as Tax Day nears
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This week, the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-led House are voting on bills designed to serve as examples of their party's respective economic philosophies.
The Senate today votes on a version of President Obama's "Buffett Rule," which would require income above $2 million to be taxed at least at a 30 percent rate. The minimum tax rates for income between $1 million and $2 million would also increase at graduated levels. Republicans are likely to kill the bill, but Democrats see a potent message in the issue of economic fairness, particularly when the president's presumptive GOP opponent, Mitt Romney, has in recent years paid a relatively low tax rate on his personal fortune.
Continue »Lawmakers call for Secret Service investigation
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"My committee is going to be investigating exactly how this happened, why it happened, how to prevent it from happening in the future," Rep. Peter King, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CBS News.
The Secret Service said 11 personnel have been placed on administrative leave because of the "nature of the allegations, coupled with a zero tolerance policy," according to Secret Service Assistant Director Paul S. Morrissey of the Office of Government and Public Affairs.
The Secret Service has not released details, but CBS News confirmed that at least one prostitute was involved with a member of the Secret Service. Two of the personnel involved are supervisors and after the U.S. Embassy was notified of the situation, the personnel were ordered from the country.
Although he hasn't announced a Congressional hearing, on CBS New's "Face the Nation," Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the Secret Service might need to make changes.
Continue »DOD may be part of alleged prostitute scandal
Updated Sunday, 3:05 p.m. ET
(CBS News) Five Department of Defense service members may have been involved in an incident of "misconduct" allegedly involving at least one prostitute that led to the removal 11 Secret Service agents from Cartagena, Colombia working for the president's visit for the Summit of the Americas.
White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, "To be clear, it is our understanding that it is part of the same incident."
The five service members with the Southern Command were working to support the Secret Service and are still in Colombia "because of the expertise and the knowledge that these guys have," according to Colonel Scott Malcom, Chief of Public Affairs US Southern Command.
A statement released by the U.S. Southern Command said the service members "violated the curfew established by the United States Senior Defense Official in Colombia and may have been involved in inappropriate conduct."
However, eleven Secret Service agents involved have been sent back to the United States because of the incident involving at least one prostitute and have been placed on administrative leave.
Cash-strapped Gingrich selling fundraising lists
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Updated 2:15 p.m. ET
(CBS News) Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has put his donor lists on the market, a sign that the cash-strapped campaign has had to put its bread-and-butter on the line to try to pay its bills.
Saddled with $4.5 million in debt, the former House Speaker's campaign put its lists of donors and activists for sale with a broker called TMA Direct, which touted on its website "exclusive management of the Newt for President 2012 files."
The campaign set a rate of $50 per 1,000 small-donor names, and $135 per 1,000 larger donor names.
"That's not unusual for lists of that size and quality, and they're good quality lists. ... It's not an outrageous amount of money," said a fundraiser of the major donor list, which has 193,963 names. The small donor list has 388,210 names.
Continue »Obama: "Buffett Rule" would grow the economy
(CBS News) Expanding on his reasons to support the "Buffett Rule," President Obama said it is "not just about fairness" but economic "growth" as well. (Watch in video above.)
"Now, this is not just about fairness. This is also about growth," the president said in his weekly address. "It's about being able to make the investments we need to strengthen our economy and create jobs. And it's about whether we as a country are willing to pay for those investments."
Just days before the tax filing deadline, the president continued to promote his plan to raise taxes on those earning more than $1 million per year to pay at least a 30-percent tax rate, which the White House says would raise $47 billion over ten years.
"It's simple: If you make more than $1 million every year, you should pay at least the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle-class families do," the president said.
Continue »Issa to GSA official: Attend my hearing
Rep. Darrell Issa
(Credit: U.S. House of Representatives)(CBS News) Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Jeff Neely, the General Services Administration (GSA) official allegedly involved in a costly Las Vegas conference, must appear before the committee on Monday.
Neely's attorney, Preston Burton, sent a letter to Issa saying Neely planned not to attend because he would "assert his constitutional privilege to remain silent."
In a responding letter, Issa wrote, "I write to advise that the subpoena you accepted on Mr. Neely's behalf remains in effect."
Issa initially issued a subpoena to Neely to appear at Monday's hearing with five other witnesses, including the GSA's Inspector General and the agency's former administrator, Martha Johnson, who resigned after the scandal was made public.
Continue »Can a new program get more women on the ballot in 2012?
Former Republican Congresswoman Connie Morella and Maryland Secretary of Aging Gloria Lawlah are trying to get more women elected into public office by promoting a new program called The 2012 Project. Add link here in the text - the2012project.us
"The year of the women was 1992 and during that year 24 new women were elected and everybody got very excited," Morella told Hotsheet's Christine Delargy this week. "Countries like Cambodia and Rwanda have like 30 percent women in their legislature. It plateaued for a long time after that and in 2010 we actually lost in terms of the number. We are hoping there will be a difference in 2012."
According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, which is sponsoring The 2012 Project, women represent only 17 percent of members in Congress and 25 percent of state legislators. The U.S. ranks 71st in the world for percentage of women in office. The 2012 Project aims to change that by a public education campaign and also by direct outreach to potential women candidates for both state and federal office.
"Women are more issue driven than the concept that they want the power and the influence, and so they tend to be more independent when they are in office," said Morella.
Continue »Obama goals at odds with summit leaders
In a clear signal that the president is, in effect, bringing his reelection campaign to the Summit of the America's, he made a quick stop in politically important Florida before traveling to Colombia. In an 11-minute speech, he told an audience at the Port of Tampa, "We want them (Latin American countries) spending money on American -made goods, so that American businesses can put more Americans back to work."
The port is a major shipping point for exports to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other trading partners. It is the latest backdrop in the president's election-year effort to remind voters that increased trade generates more jobs. The White House notes 40 percent of U.S. exports go to Latin America. (The president faces a political balancing challenge on the trade issue. Unions, a major Democratic power base, have often criticized trade deals with Latin America countries, fearing lower wages south of the border reduce job opportunities at home.)
Continue »Romney files tax extension
Updated 6:55 p.m. Eastern
(CBS News) Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has filed for a six-month extension to file his 2011 taxes.
The deadline to file this year is on April 17th, but the IRS grants six-month extensions for those who request it. According to the IRS, 10.5 million people filed for an extension last year.
Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul said Romney will file and publicly release his 2011 return "when there is sufficient information to provide an accurate return." She said it would be before the November election.
Romney, who's net worth is in hundreds of millions of dollars due to his time as CEO of Bain Capital, released his 2010 returns and projected 2011 rates after repeated calls from his rivals during the Republican primary process.
According to the extension filed, the Romneys have paid $3,434,441 in estimated taxes for 2011.
Democrats have seized on Romney's taxes, pressing him to release more years of his tax returns.
President Obama and Vice President Biden released their returns today. Mr. and Mrs. Obama paid a 20.5 percent tax rate. They paid $162,074 in taxes on $789,674 of income. The Bidens paid $87,900 in total federal tax for 2011 for $379,035 of income, which puts them at a 23 percent tax rate.
Obama talks politics on his way to Colombia
President Obama in Tampa on April 13, 2012
(Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
At the Port of Tampa, Mr. Obama sought to cast a spotlight on the importance of the trade talks he is expected to have this weekend with leaders of North, South and Central America.
He told the crowd that the economy was on track to meet his goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014, and that sales of "Made in America" products to the Western Hemisphere have been increasing since 2009.
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