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| SEIU Boss Open to Serving on Obama Deficit Reduction Commission, Supports More Deficit Spending |
| 2010-02-26 |
| (CNSNews.com) -- Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern said he was open to serving on President Barack Obama's proposed deficit reduction commission, after it was reported that the White House was considering him for the post. He was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday advocating for additional deficit spending to stimulate job creation. "I'd be honored, if I was asked," Stern told CNSNews.com, "but I don't know anything more than you've been able to read." Stern, who runs one of the largest unions in the nation, has come under scrutiny for being a close ally of the Obama White House. When the White House released its visitor logs last October, Stern was found to be the most frequent guest, stopping by 22 times--more than advisor John Podesta or former Majority Leader Tom Daschle--to visit Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, budget chief Pete Orszag, and seven times, President Obama. As CNSNews.com previously reported, the group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has requested that the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Channing D. Phillips, investigate Stern for the visits. ATR President Grover Norquist said in a letter that he was concerned the visits could constitute lobbying, in violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, since Stern is not registered as a lobbyist. (The key question here would be whether Stern spent 20 percent of his work time in a quarterly period lobbying lawmakers. The SEIU has rejected an allegation of impropriety.) Stern said Tuesday he expected he would be able to remain in charge of the SEIU while serving on the commission. "Yeah," he said, "I think it's--the members of Congress are serving. I assume they're not giving up their positions. I have no intentions of giving up mine." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Welcome to the Henhouse, Mr. Fox. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-02-26 12:15 |