Rep. George Miller announces Obama Inauguration Ticket Lottery
Rep. George Miller announces Obama Inauguration Ticket Lottery
All CA-7 District Residents Eligible to Win One of Two Pairs of Tickets to Historic Swearing In Ceremony
Washington, DC – Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) today announced a lottery to randomly distribute two pairs of tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's historic inauguration ceremony, which will be held on January 20th, 2009.
“The enthusiasm for this year’s presidential election and historic inauguration has been overwhelming” said Miller. “It is deeply inspiring to see such interest in attending the inauguration. It speaks to both the historic nature of the Barack Obama presidency, but also the sense of urgency the public has for change in our country.”
The lottery will be open to all 7th district constituents who are able to arrange their own transportation to and lodging in the DC area during the January event.
The deadline to register will be Sunday, Nov. 30th 11:59 PM PST on George Miller’s website. Rep. Miller will announce the drawing winner on Monday, Dec. 1st.
These two pairs of tickets are separate from the small allotment of tickets that Rep. Miller intends to distribute to a portion of the constituents who have already requested them.
“This election turned out to be different than any election before,” said Miller. “I want to be able to give every constituent, including those who just recently engaged in the democratic process, a chance to receive a ticket to view Barack Obama’s inauguration.”
Constituents must visit http://georgemiller.house.gov/inauguration to register for the lottery.
Miller also reminded 7th district residents that portions of the parade route and sections of the National Mall will be available for those without tickets to participate in this historic occasion. More information about the Inaugural ceremony and other events in Washington can be found at http://www.inaugural.senate.gov.
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Congressional Hearings on Financial Crisis
Today I held a hearing on the serious impact on retirement security from the worst financial crisis our country has faced since the Great Depression. The hearing is one step in a series of investigations Congress promised to conduct into the causes and impacts of this crisis and what we should do in response.
You can view the archive webcast on the Education and Labor Committee website.
As you know President Bush asked Congress to approve a “blank check” plan to rescue the economy. We rejected his plan but not the need to act quickly to help people. So we approved a Rescue Plan that has strong taxpayer protections and tough accountability.
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Retirement accounts have lost $2 trillion
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday.
The upheaval that has engulfed the financial industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings, forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office.
As Congress investigates the causes and effects of the financial meltdown, the House Education and Labor Committee was hearing from retirement savings and budget analysts on how the housing, credit and other financial troubles have battered pensions and other retirement funds, which are among the most common forms of savings in the United States.
"Unlike Wall Street executives, America's families don't have a golden parachute to fall back on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the panel chairman. "It's clear that their retirement security may be one of the greatest casualties of this financial crisis."
More than half the people surveyed in an Associated Press-GfK poll taken Sept. 27-30 said they worry they will have to work longer because the value of their retirement savings has declined.
Orszag indicated the fear is well-founded. Public and private pension funds and employees' private retirement savings accounts — like 401(k)'s — have lost some 20 percent overall since mid-2007, he estimated. Private retirement plans may have suffered slightly more because those holdings are more heavily skewed toward stocks, Orszag added.
"Some people will delay their retirement. In particular, those on the verge of retirement may decide they can no longer afford to retire and will continue working," Orszag said.
A new AARP study found that because of the economic downturn, one in five workers 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings account during the past year, and nearly one in four has increased the number of hours he works.
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Statement on Financial Rescue Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today regarding today’s vote on a bill to stabilize the credit and financial markets.
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“I voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act today to head off what could be one of the worst financial crises to face our country. I am disappointed that it did not pass today but I am confident Congress will be taking up this issue again just as quickly as is possible.
“We had an agreement on the bill between the House and Senate and the White House. More than half of the Democratic Caucus was committed to voting for this bill. It was our understanding that half of the House Republicans would support it as well. Democrats lived up to our end of the bargain -- in fact two thirds of our members voted for the bill. House Republicans did not deliver enough votes today – in fact only one third of House Republicans supported the President’s bill.
“The fact remains, however, that the serious problems plaguing our financial sector and our economy have not gone away. I remain fully committed to approving a bi-partisan solution to stabilizing the credit markets. I believe we are still on track to achieve such a bi-partisan solution.
“I supported this bill today because I believe the experts, such as the Treasury Secretary, the Fed Chairman, and many other economists, who have made it clear that we face one of the worst financial crises our country has ever seen; a crisis that will touch every American.
“This bill was an attempt to stabilize the credit markets because that is so important to fuel our economy. I did not support the bill because I wanted to help Wall Street. If this bill were just about Wall Street, given their behavior over the years, I wouldn’t walk across the street to save them. But this is really about our communities and families and people’s access to credit and jobs. And that is why I am fully committed to a solution.
“The ‘blank check’ plan the President presented to Congress over 10 days ago was unacceptable and we rejected it. We worked hard to craft a bi-partisan alternative that provided relief to the credit markets but also protected the taxpayer. I am disappointed that this alternative did not pass but I believe that a strong bill that protects the taxpayer and relieves the credit markets can and must pass soon.
“A collapse of our financial system would cripple the credit markets and prevent the economy from growing, hurting Americans’ ability to borrow at reasonable rates to make payroll at small businesses, invest in new equipment, borrow for college, take out a mortgage, start new businesses, or buy new cars. It would further erode savings in people’s pension accounts, retirement accounts, college accounts and other savings. It would hurt our ability to create new jobs. As we are seeing already in California, schools districts, counties, and cities are losing millions of dollars because of the collapse of Wall Street firms in which they invested.
“Americans are furious with the CEOs of Wall Street, and they have every right to be. Just as they should be furious with eight years of the Bush Administration and 12 years of the Republican-led Congress that did nothing but cut taxes for the rich, help Wall Street with deregulation, and provided no oversight from Washington.
“Clearly we must act to help the economy as well the markets, in order to help create jobs and reduce the decline in home values. That’s why the House passed a bill last week to spend $60 billion quickly on a recovery plan for infrastructure and unemployment insurance. At a time of rising unemployment, it is unfortunate that President Bush opposes us and refuses to support our economic plan.
“We must continue to fight to get Americans working again. The financial bill we voted on today is necessary and we will keep working on it, but much more needs to be done quickly to help create jobs and grow the economy.”
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