EXECUTIVE WATCH

• On Wednesday, June 17, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee began the lengthy public drafting process of an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. President Obama’s administration supports these efforts and hopes for comprehensive health care legislation within his first year in office. However, on the same day, the Finance Committee’s drafting session of health care legislation was postponed until after the July Fourth recess.
• On Wednesday, June 17, Senator John Ensign of Nevada resigned his position as the fourth highest-ranking Republican leader after admiting an extra-marital affair with a former staffer. Ensign had been the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and had served as chairman of the 2008 Senate Republican campaign efforts.
• On Wednesday, June 17, following the Obama administration’s renewal of efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the European Union followed suit, promising $100 million in aid for persons displaced by the fighting in the Swat Valley at the first ever Europen Union – Pakistan summit meeting. Further, the European Union has plans to help Pakistan with its counter-terrorism, law enforcement and criminal justice efforts in the future.
• On Wednesday, June 17, President Obama disbanded the President’s Council on Bioethics, which had been created by former President Bush  in 2001. Obama will be creating a new panel that will focus on “practical policy options” rather than philosophical discussions.
• On Wednesday, June 17, President Obama signed an administrative memorandum granting domestic partnership rights to federal workers. These benefits allow access to long-term insurance benefits and sick leave. Many view this effort by Obama as an attempt to win back gay and lesbian voters who have largely been unhappy with his administration’s record on the issue, however the memorandum still was highly criticized for not going far enough as to grant surivivorship rights or healthcare.
• On Thursday, June 18, the Senate passed an emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through September 30^th. Having already passed the House, this bill will be presented to President Obama for his signature, despite controversy over a provision devoting funds to a “cash for clunkers” program to give vouchers to those who trade in their cars for more fuel-efficient models.
• On Thursday, June 18, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against an inmate’s attempt to obtain a new post-conviction DNA test that might have proved his innocence.  The Obama administration, in suit with the Bush administration’s position, had lobbied against providing a constitutional right to such testing. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, emphasized the burden and doubt testing would cast on the criminal justice system.
• On Friday, June 19, House Democracts unveiled a wide-sweeping draft bill to overhaul the healthcare system, including provisions to require all Americans to obtain coverage, forcing employers to provide or aid in providing benefits and the creation of a public insurance program. Considered a starting point for discussion, there are no estimates of cost included.
• On Friday, June 19, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, resigned from an all-women’s club called Belizean Grove, following controversy over its membership. Although insisting the organization does not practice “invidious discrimination,” Sotomayor wished to prevent it from becoming an issue during her confirmation hearings.
• On Friday, June 19, President Obama delivered a speech on fatherhood, emphasizing the importance of mentors and father figures for young children. Continuing a theme from previous speeches on the issue, Obama discussed responsibility and related personal stories of his own absent father.
• On Saturday, June 20, violence continued to erupt on the streets of Iran following disputed election results. Opposition leader Moussavi remained adament in demanding the election results to be annuled, and called for a general strike if he were to be arrested.
• On Saturday, June 20, President Medvedev of Russia stated that Russia was preparing a significant decrease in nuclear arms, as part of its negotiations with the United States over arms control, which will include a summit meeting between the two nations next month.
• On Monday, June 22, Iran’s Guardian Council admitted that the number of votes recorded in 50 cities exceeded, by three million, the number of eligible voters. Despite this inconsistency, the council continued to assert the validity of the results, amid ongoing protests.
• On Monday, June 22, President Obama signed landmark legislation into law, bringing tobacco products under federal control for the first time. This legislation is aimed at preventing under-age children from beginning to smoke, as President Obama emphasized that he was included in those numbers, and such a bill may have helped him at that age. The law will ban certain flavors of tobacco products and advertising of products at sporting and athletics events.
• On Tuesday, June 23, President Obama announced an envoy will be sent to Syria, marking a renewal of relations between the two countries after President’s Bush removal of diplomats four years ago. A person has not yet been chosen for the position.
• On Tuesday, June 23, Former Vice-President Richard Cheney revealed he has finished negotiations to publish a memoir covering his decades in government service, stretching back to the Nixon and Ford administrations.
• On Tuesday, June 23, the Obama administration scrapped previous plans to create a spy satellite program under the Department of Homeland Security, amid growing concerns of domestic spying. The program was intended to be used to aid local officials in domestic disaster relief efforts, border security and security for major events, such as the Super Bowl.

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