Research Briefing

Obama Appoints Budget Busters To Commission That’s Supposed To Reduce Deficit

OBAMA CLAIMS MEMBERS OF HIS “FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND REFORM” COMMISSION WILL WORK TO REDUCE DEFICIT

David Cote And Andy Stern Named To Obama’s Deficit Commission. “Honeywell International Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Cote … will be named today by President Barack Obama to a commission on cutting the federal deficit, an administration official said. The president also is picking Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union …” (Hans Nichols and Roger Runningen, “Cote, Rivlin Said Among Picks for Deficit Commission,” Bloomberg, 2/26/10)

Obama Claims Appointments To This Commission Will “Put America On The Path Toward Fiscal Reform And Responsibility.” (The White House, “President Obama Names Members Of Bipartisan National Commission On Fiscal Responsibility And Reform,” Press Release, 2/2/610)

UNION BOSS ANDY STERN ALREADY CALLS WHITE HOUSE HOME, WILL JUST PUSH MORE FOR BINGE SPENDING

SEIU President Andy Stern: “We Spent A Fortune To Elect Barack Obama — $60.7 Million To Be Exact — And We’re Proud Of It.” (Michael Mishak, “Unplugged: The SEIU Chief On The Labor Movement And The Card Check,” The Las Vegas Sun, 5/10/09)

• That’s Why “Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern Holds Sway At The White House, Where He’s Listed For 22 Visits--The Top Number On The Logs.” (Susan Davis, “SEIU’s Stern Tops White House Visitor List,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/30/2009)

Stern Supported Obama’s $862 Billion In 2009 That Only Temporarily Bailed Out State And Local Governments. “SEIU President Andy Stern and Burger have called on Congress and the administration to include in the economic recovery plan: significant relief to state and local governments to preserve and rebuild crucial services and good jobs, including the FMAP increase, state stabilization and education funding contained in the House bill …” (SEIU, “SEIU To Conferees On Recovery Bill: Don’t Shortchange Working People,” Press Release, 2/10/09)

• Afterwards, Stern’s SEIU Lobbied Against Cuts Needed To Balance California’s Budget. “Officials in the governor’s office say a politically powerful union may have had inappropriate influence over the Obama administration’s decision to withhold billions of dollars in federal stimulus money from California if the state does not reverse a scheduled wage cut for the labor group’s workers. The officials say they are particularly troubled that the Service Employees International Union, which lobbied the federal government to step in, was included in a conference call in which state and federal officials reviewed the wage cut and the terms of the stimulus package…The California officials on the call, who requested anonymity for fear of antagonizing the Obama administration, said they needed the savings to help balance the state budget.” (Evan Halper, “SEIU May Be Linked To Ultimatum On Withholding Stimulus Funds,” The Los Angeles Times, 5/11/09)

Admitting That State And Local Governments Budgets Still “Deteriorating,” Stern Lobbying For A Repeat Of Obama’s Stimulus In 2010. “The magnitude of this jobs crisis and the deteriorating budgets of state and local governments demand serious action to create jobs. This means that the federal government should continue the most successful aspects of the ARRA – providing immediate fiscal relief for states and local governments …” (Andy Stern, Testimony Before House Committee On Financial Services, 2/23/10)

Stern Worked With Senate Finance Committee Dems To Shape $2.5 Trillion Government-Run Health Care Bill. “Steps away from the Finance Committee markup, SEIU Chief Andy Stern ducked into a private meeting Thursday with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Stern told Pulse colleague Manu Raju that he was working with the senators and ‘trying to improve [the bill] as we speak.’ On Sen. Tom Carper’s proposal to allow states to opt into a government plan, Stern said states should be allowed to opt out of the government plan.” (Carrie Budoff Brown, “Steps From Markup, Stern Strategizes With Dems,” Politico’s “Live Pulse” Blog, 10/1/09)

• And Stern’s SEIU Packed Health Care Town Hall Meetings With Supporters. “[A]s high-decibel opponents have crowded into town hall meetings to denounce Mr. Obama’s reform effort, Mr. Rivera, working with other unions, has sent hundreds of labor activists to such meetings to counter opponents. ‘We’re running this campaign like this was a presidential campaign, and our candidate is health care reform ...’” (Steven Greenhouse, “Dennis Rivera Leads Labor Charge For Health Reform,” The New York Times, 8/26/09)

Stern’s SEIU Lawyer, Craig Becker, Confirms Union’s “Employee Free Choice Act” A Way To Increase Government Spending. “We can envision a meeting of employers and unions in the industry in which they agree that they should act cooperatively to increase government funding and to avoid the waste of scarce resources on bitter election campaigns by permitting employees to decide whether to be represented by a union through a card check, knowing exactly what it will mean if they do, and without employer opposition. We can envision a no-strike guarantee that goes into effect immediately upon the majority choosing to be represented when the terms of the pre-negotiated, but conditional contract becomes effective ...” (Jonathan Hiatt & Craig Becker, “At Age 70, Should The Wagner Act Be Retired? A Response To Professor Dannin,” Berkley Journal of Employment & Labor Law, 2005)

HONEYWELL CEO DAN COTE A WHITE HOUSE “FAVORITE” BECAUSE HE SUPPORTED OBAMA’S $862 BILLION STIMULUS AND NATIONAL ENERGY TAX

White House Says Cote One Of Obama’s Favorite CEOs. “Obama even had a staffer send a follow-up e-mail to a question about CEOs he admires with additional names, including Cote, Verizon's (VZ) Ivan Seidenberg, and John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers.” (“Obama's Corporate Messaging,” Business Week, 2/10/10)

Cote Was “Supportive” Of Obama’s Stimulus “David M. Cote, the chairman and CEO of Honeywell, countered by saying that companies are looking for swift action, and he urged lawmakers to not be timid in their efforts to rescue the economy. Calling the situation ‘dire,’ Cote said that ‘we’re very supportive of the reinvestment act.’” (Michael D. Shear, “Obama Makes Stimulus Pitch With CEOs,” The Washington Post’s “44 Politics and Policy In Obama’s Washington,” 1/28/09)

• And Honeywell Received $11.4 Million In Stimulus Funds To “Help Upgrade California’s Energy Infrastructure.” “In November, the Honeywell was awarded an $11.4 million contract from the Energy Department to help upgrade California’s energy infrastructure with a peak-pricing response program. The program helps commercial and industrial facilities implement and automate power-management strategies to improve efficiency. It installs wireless technology at the facilities that communicate energy-use data to the utility company to better balance supply with demand, and controls facility-power use based on its owner’s needs.” (Christopher Hinton, “Honeywell Set To Benefit From More Fed Stimulus Money,” MarketWatch, 1/29/10)  

Cote Supports Obama’s “Cap-And-Trade” National Energy Tax. COTE: “This legislation would stimulate the demand for energy efficiency products and services and low carbon sources of energy. China and India are stimulating their domestic demand for these products and technologies much more aggressively than we are and will take the global competitiveness lead unless we act. Cap-and-trade enables businesses to use the market to most effectively and efficiently develop that 21st century global competitiveness.” (“Bipartisan Senate ‘Framework’ For Climate Bill Pushes Jobs And ‘Energy Independence,’ While ‘Cap-And-Refund’ Would Avoid Trading Through Auction Of ‘Carbon Shares,’’ Foster Natural Gas Report, No. 2776, 12/18/09)

• At White House Middle Class Task Force Meeting Cote Pushed For Cap And Trade And Green Jobs. “David Cote, CEO of Honeywell, expressed the need for cap and trade to drive demand for green products and create green jobs. The U.S. needs to drive demand to stay competitive in light of China’s aggressive push for energy efficient products and services.” (Middle Class Task Force, The Vice President Of The United States, “Meeting Report: Middle Class Task Force Meeting: Manufacturing,” Washington, DC, 12/16/09)