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Monday, April 16, 2012

Tax Plans, GSA Spending and Secret Service Scandal To Dominate Congress This Week

Fresh off a two week break, lawmakers are taking advantage of Tuesday’s tax deadline to hold dueling votes this week on tax plans.

President Obama wants to raise the tax rate for millionaires and Republicans want to cut taxes for businesses.

Lawmakers will also hold four congressional hearings into lavish conference spending by the General Services Administration, which has become the latest symbol of wasteful Washington spending.

And California Republican Darrell Issa wants to know if more than 11 Secret Service agents were involved in soliciting prostitutes in Colombia before the President’s weekend summit there.

Guest:

  • Michael Shear, chief political correspondent for The Caucus, the New York Times political blog
Other stories from Monday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Tom_long2

    Tell the president what you think; visit the White House website for petitions.

    We petition the Obama administration to: require federal agencies use public facilities for agency conferences.

    Federal agencies should be required to use public facilities
    (federal, state, or local government buildings/sites) for agency
    conferences.

    Across the United States there are some 629 public
    4-year institutions and 1,047 public community colleges. These
    institutions of higher education are located in every state and many
    times in major cities. Some even have adequate dorm or hotel
    accommodations as well as catering services.

    Or consider military
    academies, other military installations, or law enforcement campuses.
    “The FBI is not called the “West Point of Law Enforcement” for
    nothing.” The FBI has more than two dozen classrooms, eight conference
    rooms, twin seven-story dormitories, a 1,000-seat auditorium, a dining
    hall, a full-sized gym, and swimming pool on a 385-acre campus.
     

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Morehouse College President Talks Controversies, Challenges
Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr. is president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Morehouse College)

President Obama delivers the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the all-male historically black college. The school’s president discusses recent controversies and challenges.

1 Comment | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Jails Become De Facto Psychiatric Wards
Mark with Houston at Houston's high school graduation in 2009. (Courtesy of Mac McClelland)

Failures in mental health care mean that often the only way to get help for a loved one is to call the police. We speak with a journalist about the tragic consequences for her family.

19 Comments | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
‘Here & Now’ Interview Inspires Hit Country Song
"I Drive Your Truck" screenshot.

In 2011, a Nashville songwriter heard Alex Ashlock’s interview with Paul Monti, who lost his son in Afghanistan. It inspired her to write “I Drive Your Truck.”

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