WASHINGTON — Congressional friends of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman shot in January, are holding a fund-raiser next month for her 2012 election campaign.
Three Democrats — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Representative Adam Smith of Washington, and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida — are chairs of the March 15 reception being held in Washington for the congresswoman.
"We are so proud of her as she continues to make incredible strides in her recovery,'' the lawmakers wrote in a letter included with the invitation. "We look forward to seeing her again soon and to the day that she will rejoin us in the halls of Congress.''
The lawmakers wrote that they were seeking support for the event so that Giffords could focus on the "important work of her recovery.''
Several other lawmakers are hosting the event, including the House's Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, and the Democratic whip, Steny Hoyer.
Giffords was gravely wounded last month when she was shot in the head during a rampage in Tucson that left six dead and 12 injured. After two weeks in intensive care she was moved to Houston, where her family and staff have reported in recent days that she can walk the halls of the hospital while holding onto a cart and can mouth the words to simple songs.
Giffords' most recent campaign committee report showed she had an account balance of $285,501 at the end of last year.
— Associated Press
GOP is seeking to reduce consumer agency's funding WASHINGTON — The Republican budget-cutting bill in the House would shrink spending for the Obama administration's new agency designed to protect consumers who have mortgages or credit cards or use other financial services.
The proposed legislation would limit spending for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to $80 million.
The agency was created by the financial overhaul law written last year by Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Newton, and then-senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut.
Nearly all Republicans opposed the Dodd-Frank legislation, which sought to close regulatory gaps that allowed questionable business practices in the mortgage securities markets. Those problems are blamed for the severe credit crisis of 2008.
Now that they control the House, GOP lawmakers are proposing cuts in the budgets of agencies that would enforce the new regulations.
Without the Republican cuts, the agency would be on track to receive $134 million this year. For next year, Obama has requested $329 million for the agency.
A spokeswoman for the consumer bureau, Jennifer Howard, declined to comment yesterday on the GOP proposal.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who is setting up the new agency, said, "Increasing the risk of financial crisis won't reduce our deficits.''
— Associated Press
New Obama spokesman sees better press relations WASHINGTON — Jay Carney, the new public face of the Obama administration, conducted his first White House briefing yesterday and promised to build a stronger relationship with the press corps. But the former reporter also made it clear that he is now playing for the president's team.
"I work to promote the president and the messages he's trying to convey to the American people,'' Carney said in his first formal exchange with reporters. "But I also work with the press to help you do your jobs.''
Carney, 45, offered few specifics about how he planned to do that, saying there was no rulebook to follow.
Many in the press corps are hoping Carney's background as a journalist will help improve the relationship between the White House and reporters, who have complained about a lack of access to the president and a lack of responsiveness from Carney's predecessor, Robert Gibbs.
"I understand where you come from, literally,'' said Carney, who worked for Time magazine for 20 years as well as for The Miami Herald. "I want to work with you, all of you, to give the access that we can give when we can.''
Carney's first appearance in the briefing room completes a West Wing staff transition that began late last year and saw the departure of the president's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser David Axelrod, and Gibbs — all key members of Obama's inner circle.
William Daley, a business executive and former commerce secretary, replaced Emanuel, and Obama's former campaign director, David Plouffe, now holds the title of senior adviser.
White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton, another longtime Obama aide, said yesterday that he, too, would be leaving, to start a consulting firm.
Burton had long been considered a likely replacement for Gibbs, but he was passed over in favor of Carney.
Carney joined the Obama team shortly after the 2008 election and had been serving as communications director to Vice President Joe Biden.
— Associated Press
