The Daily Collegian isan Walsh/Associated Press President Barack Obama speaks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Obama hopes the economy can profit from increased federal spending in the future. Obama urges government to spend, improve economy By Tom Raum ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER ; WASHINGTON, DC. President Barack Obama called for a major new burst of federal spending Tuesday, perhaps $l5O billion or more, aiming to jolt the wobbly economy into a stronger recovery and reduce painfully persistent double-digit unem ployment. Despite Republican criticism concerning record federal deficits, Obama said the U.S. has had to “spend our way out of this recession” with so many people out of work but insisted he was still mindful of a need to confront soaring deficits. More than 7 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began two years ago, and the jobless rate stands at 10 percent, statistics Obama called “staggering.’’Congressional approval would be required for the new spending. “We avoided the depression many feared,” Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think Wave of coordinated attacks, car bombs in Iraq kills 127 By Brian Murphy ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER BAGHDAD A suicide car bomb flattened a court building and an explosives-rigged ambu lance blew down walls like domi nos near the Finance Ministry during a wave of coordinated attacks Tuesday that targeted high-profile symbols of Iraqi authority. At least 127 people were killed. The blasts at least five in total marked the third major strike on government sites since August and brought uncomfortable ques tions for Iraqi leaders. These include signs al-Qaida in Iraq is regrouping and concerns over the readiness of Iraqi forces to handle Discover Your Leadership Potential Earn 19 credits in outdoor leadership and environmental education by enrolling in our seven-course Discovery Semester, which includes a ten-day trip through New England. For more information or to enroll, contact Doug Wentzel at djwlos@psu.edu or 863-2000, ext. 7515. w -t* ' i <» tank. But, he added, “Our work is far from done.” It was the third time in a week the president had presided over a high-profile event on jobs, responding to rising pleas in Congress that he spend more time discussing unemployment as midterm election season draws near. Obama proposed new spend ing for highway and bridge con struction, for small business tax cuts and for retrofitting millions of homes to make them more energy-efficient. He said he wanted to extend economic stimulus programs to keep unemployment insurance from expiring for millions of out of-work Americans and to help laid-off workers keep their health insurance. He proposed an addi tional $250 apiece in stimulus spending for seniors and veter ans and aid to state and local gov ernments to discourage them from laying off teachers, police officers and firefighters. He did not give a price tag for the new package but said he would work with Congress security alone as U.S. forces depart. The bombings also brought swift accusations about the motives behind the attacks. Officials claimed a Sunni insur gent alliance, including members of Saddam Hussein’s banned Baath Party, seeks to undermine the pro-Western government ahead of elections set for March 7 and the later withdrawal of U.S. combat forces. Authorities also faced angry questions about how bombers again found holes in Iraqi security. “If security falls apart, then everything will collapse,” said Abbas al-Bayati, head of parlia ment’s defense committee and an ally of the Shiite government, as INFORMATION SESSION: Thursday, December 10 4:00-6:00 p.m. 815 Ford Building www.ShaversCreek.org ;j Cl 2 74jms.'bjm NATION & WO “Our work is far from done.” Barack Obama President of the United States on deciding how to pay for it. On Capitol Hill, estimates of a potential jobs bill range from $75 to $l5O billion, said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. “100 billion, 150 billion, 75 bil lion those are all figures that are being talked about,” Hoyer told reporters. Those billions would be on top of money for separate legislation for safety-net initiatives such as extending unemployment bene fits for the long-term jobless and providing them with health insur ance subsidies. Some lawmakers put the total cost of the new proposals at $2OO billion or more. White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said the White House is considering spending $5O bil lion on infrastructure projects alone. lawmakers convened an emer gency session. Another lawmaker, Saadi al- Barazanji, shouted: “If I were the interior minister, I would resign!” The attacks began with a sui cide strike on a police patrol. An hour later, four more explosions rumbled across Baghdad in the span of a few minutes. Suicide car bombings hit three sites: the main Appeals Court, an area outside the Finance Ministry and a government compound that includes the Labor Ministry. A roadside bomb also went off near a university. Iraq’s Health Ministry reported at least 513 people were wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. R I , D Ex-FBI director to look into case WASHINGTON, D.C. Ex- FBI director William Webster will conduct an independent review of the bureau’s handling of informa tion gathered about the Port Hood shooting suspect before the dead ly rampage, officials said Tuesday. FBI Director Robert Mueller has asked Webster to take a look at how the bureau handled infor mation about Mai. Nidal Hasan in the months before the shooting at the Texas military base that killed 13 people. Mueller had already ordered an internal review of the matter, and that review led to a secret report to the White House in late November. The new assignment for Webster takes the internal review a step further, and likely means a more prolonged, in depth inquiry. Webster is a former judge who also served as CIA director. In a statement, Mueller called Senate denies effort for tight restrictions WASHINGTON The Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort by abortion opponents to tighten restrictions in the health care overhaul bill on taxpayer dollars for the procedure, but it was unlikely to be the last word on the divisive issue. By a vote of 54-45, the Senate sidetracked an amendment by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah that would ban any insurance plan getting taxpayer dollars from offering abortion coverage. The restrictions mirrored pro visions in the House-passed health care bill. The Senate bill currently allows insurance plans to cover abor- Firefighters and rescuers search for survivors at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday. A series of coordinated attacks took place, including three car bombs that blew up near government sites. By Devlin Barrett ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER By Ricardo Alsonso-Zaldivar ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER Wednesday, Dec. 9,2009 I 7 Webster “uniquely qualified” for the job because he “has led inde pendent reviews of various FBI systems and broader policies and provided valuable recommenda tions. In this case, Judge Webster will have complete access and whatever resources necessary to complete the task.” Webster now works for a pri vate law firm, and his office referred all questions Tuesday to the FBI. The U.S. military is also review ing its handling of information about Hasan before the shooting spree, and has also sent a report to the White House on the matter. In the FBl’s case, members of two anti-terrorism task forces saw e mails between the Army psychia trist and a radical imam overseas beginning in December 2008. Those task forces reviewed the communications and decided they were in keeping with Hasan’s research at the time. As a result, no formal investigation of Hasan was opened. tions, but requires that they can only be paid for with private money. The legislation calls for insurance plans that would receive federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace to strictly separate public fimds from pri vate dollars that would be used to pay for abortion. “As our bill currently reads, no insurance plan in the new mar ketplace, whether private or pub lic, would be allowed to use public funds for abortion,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev. The Senate vote hailed as a victory by abortion rights sup porters could complicate prospects for President Barack Obama’s health overhaul. It’s unclear whether Reid can pass his bill without the votes of Democratic abortion opponents.
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