EXECUTIVE WATCH

Wednesday, July 8

• The Office of Management and Budget released a Statement of Administration Policy regarding the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. According to the Statement, “the Administration strongly objects to section 321, which would replace the current ‘Gang of 8′ notification procedures on covert activities.” Unless section 321 is removed, “the President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto” of the bill.
• The White House announced that the President will nominate Dr. Francis Collins to be head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Collins was the head of the Human Genome Project, the thirteen-year effort to map the human genetic code. He is also the author of The Language of God, in which he argues that “belief in a transcendent, personal God—and even the possibility of an occasional miracle—can and should coexist with a scientific picture of the world that includes evolution.”
• President Obama discussed climate change at the summit of G-8 leaders in Italy. In a declaration, the leaders of the countries attending the summit agreed to drastically reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses by 2050 with the goal of limiting global climate change to less than two degrees Celsius.

Thursday, July 9

• House Intelligence Committee members have revealed that CIA Director Leon Panetta told the Committee that the CIA concealed “significant actions” from Congress from 2001 until 2009. The chairman of the committee concludes that the CIA gave misleading testimony on a number of occasions, and in one case “affirmatively lied” to the Committee. In light of this evidence, seven Democratic members of the Committee have issued a letter asking Mr. Panetta to correct his statement, made on May 15, that “it is not [the CIA's] policy or practice to mislead Congress.”
• The Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Education attended a swine flu preparedness summit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The summit focused on coordinating state efforts to prevent an increase in H1N1 flu cases this fall. President Obama participated by phone from the G-8 meeting in Italy. The Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring a public service announcement contest, seeking to “tap into the nation’s creativity to help educate Americans about how to plan for and prevent the spread of the flu and the H1N1 virus.”
• The White House announced that the President has nominated Philip Murphy to be ambassador to Germany. Mr. Murphy is a former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was also an executive at Goldman Sachs, and was head of that company’s Frankfurt office from 1993 to 1997.

Friday, July 10

• Several Obama administration officials indicated that the government would not investigate the 2001 deaths of Taliban prisoners of war. A story in the New York Times accused the Bush administration of failing to investigate the deaths, which the article alleges were the result of mistreatment of the prisoners by Afghan forces allied with the United States. Officials working for the FBI and Department of Defense said that they could not investigate the incident because no American forces were involved.
• The inspectors general of several government agencies released a report on the “President’s Surveillance Program.” The program included the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) as well as “other intelligence activities,” the nature of which are not revealed in the unclassified version of the report. The report reveals that only three individuals at the Justice Department knew of the program’s existence during its early years, and that the Bush administration inappropriately relied on the legal opinions of John Yoo regarding the legality of the program.
• The President met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. The two discussed a wide range of issues including immigration and the Middle East. The Pope emphasized the Catholic Church’s position on abortion, and gave President Obama a booklet on bioethics that condemns embryonic stem cell research. According to the Vatican press secretary, during the meeting President Obama reiterated his commitment to reducing the incidence of abortion.

Saturday, July 11

• The New York Times reported that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold from Congress information about a classified program. CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated the program when he learned of its existence on June 23, and informed Congress the next day. The nature of the program is unknown, but the Times reports that it was not related to the interrogation of terrorism suspects or domestic surveillance.
• In his weekly address, President Obama defended the Recovery Act as a necessary step to end the economic free fall that the country faced when he took office. The President said that the pace of the program will increase in the second half of the year, and begin to have a greater effect on unemployment as time goes on.
• President Obama delivered an address to the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra, Ghana. He emphasized his administration’s commitment to supporting African reform and development, but insisted that “Africa’s future is up to Africans.” After returning to the United States, the President answered questions submitted to him by Africans.

Sunday, July 12

• In an interview with CNN, President Obama said that he will order a review of the deaths of Taliban prisoners of war in 2001. This reverses statements made on Friday by officials with the FBI and Department of Defense, who said that no investigation could take place because American forces were not involved.
• Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a special prosecutor to determine whether the CIA tortured terrorism suspects following the September 11 attacks. The investigation would determine whether the interrogations violated U.S. criminal law or the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Monday July 13

• In a letter sent to Senators John McCain and Carl Levin, President Obama threatened to veto the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Act unless Congress removes funding for the F-22 fighter. The bill currently includes $1.75 billion to purchase an additional seven F-22 fighters. Both the President and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates believe that the 187 F-22s that the Air Force has already purchased are sufficient. Senators McCain and Levin have introduced an amendment that would remove F-22 funding from the Defense Authorization Act.
• President Obama announced that he will nominate Dr. Regina Benjamin to the office of Surgeon General of the United States. Dr. Benjamin is a family practice physician who operates the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama. She also served on the board of trustees of the American Medical Association from 1995 to 1998.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee held its first day of hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The day began with opening statements by the committee members, and ended with an opening statement from Judge Sotomayor.

Tuesday, July 14

• The White House released a statement by the President supporting the health care legislation introduced today in the House of Representatives. President Obama said that the bill would begin fixing what’s wrong with the system, ultimately insuring health care coverage for ninety-seven percent of Americans. The bill would impose a surcharge on households with incomes over $350,000 per year, designed to raise $500 billion over the next decade to help pay for the cost of health care.
• President Obama announced his intention to nominate Aaron Williams as director of the Peace Corps. Mr. Williams has an extensive background in international assistance programs, and is currently a vice president at RTI International. He was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1967 to 1970.