July 30th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, the vote to invoke cloture on the Small Business bill failed yesterday afternoon by a 58-42 vote, with Republicans voting against the measure as a block and Reid voting against it for procedural reasons (so he could call another vote later) when he saw it would fail. This represents a significant blow to Reid as the Leader and jeopardizes Reid’s busy schedule for the remainder of the session before the long August recess. While the Kagan nomination vote is still slated for early next week and energy is also on the agenda, it is unclear what other measure Reid may move to next.

Bottom Line: For Republicans, confusion in the Senate and delay of Reid’s agenda is only a good thing, in that it hinders liberal policy and shows Reid for the inept and duplicitous majority leader that he is. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Kagan will get confirmed, but nothing else will be accomplished in the remaining days of session in the Senate that will do Democrats any good going into the Fall campaign season. Read the rest of this entry »

By Don Todd

According to public documents obtained by Americans for Limited Government (ALG), Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), is as fiscally irresponsible in his personal life as he has been in the management of the RNC. A rough estimate indicates that Steele is obligated to pay 117% of his take-home pay in mortgages and taxes on his $1.7 million home in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

This is no ordinary home, but is a 6,440 square foot mansion with 6.5 bathrooms set on an almost four-acre lot.

On January 23, 2008 when Steele purchased the property, there was a mortgage recorded in the amount of $1,909,000. This was later converted to another mortgage on November 5, 2008. There is a first mortgage of $1,537,500 at 6.75% (5/1 ARM) and a second mortgage of $195,000 as of that date. This comes to a total of $1,732,500.

The monthly payment on the first mortgage is $9,972.20. The payment on the second would be around $1,200 for a total of around $11,236.20. The current property tax assessment for this home is $17,468.76 per year, which comes to $1,455.73 a month. Adding the mortgage payments and tax payments suggests that the monthly liability for the house comes to around $12,691.93 (not to mention homeowner’s insurance and utilities.) So how much money would you need to make to pay for an estate of this magnitude? The short answer is a lot. The general rule for mortgage qualification is that your house payment plus property tax and insurance shouldn’t exceed 28% of your gross income. Using the 28% figure, a person would need a gross annual income of approximately $544,000 to qualify for this type of loan ($544,000* .28 /12 = $12,693.33)

As of 2009, Steele’s salary at the RNC was $223,500 a year.

Get full story here.

July 29th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, the Small Business bill is once again front and center. Reid indicated he was amenable to accepting Republican amendment on Tuesday, then reversed course the same day. Reid and McConnell had dueling unanimous consent agreements for a list of various amendments on the floor yesterday, and both UC agreements were rejected by the other, so there still is no agreement or plan forward on amendments to the Small Business bill. Reid is expected to call a vote on the latest cloture motion to proceed on the latest version of the bill today.

A floor vote on the Elena Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court is scheduled for early next week as well, along with possible action on a somewhat scaled-down energy bill and the FAA reauthorization bill potentially containing a $2 billion tax hike on air travel.

Bottom Line: Reid’s odds in his ongoing Senate race haven’t looked as bleak recently, thanks to lots of cash-on-hand and a few missteps by Angle, though there’s still plenty of time for Reid to be Reid again before November. The fee/tax issue in the FAA bill will likely prove to be a big issue, particularly given how much his state relies on tourism travel. Every bad bill that moves through the Senate is ultimately the doing of the Majority Leader. In case you’re curious, there are no good bills moving through the Senate. Read the rest of this entry »