President Bush spent a fair amount of time this evening talking about the importance of trade to the U.S. economy and jobs, highlighting the value of the pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Prosperity and freedom, especially of our Latin American allies and trading partners, well deserved the attention.

Congressman Jim McCrery (R-LA), ranking member of the Ways & Means Committee, issued a statement in response to the State of the Union.

I commend the President for stating that passage of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is a high priority. Colombia is a vital partner in the region, and the Uribe government has made tremendous progress in reducing the level of violence in that country.

Other countries in the region are watching this debate closely, and if we fail to pass this agreement, those opposed to democracy and free markets will portray the U.S. as an unreliable ally.

Moreover, the United States already provides duty-free access to most imports from Colombia while U.S. exports to Colombia face significant trade barriers. Passage of this Agreement will provide new business opportunities and jobs for U.S. workers, without increasing the competition U.S. firms face from Columbia imports.

McCrery noted that the agreement with Korea would open a market worth nearly $900 billion to U.S. exporters — at a time when exports are keeping U.S. economic growth moving.

McCrery concluded: “The forward-looking speech comes at a defining time. It provides us with an occasion to set a path that will ensure our prosperity for generations to come.”

From the White House summary of policy initiatives:

Keeping America’s Economy Healthy: To help keep our economy growing in the short-term, President Bush will ask Congress to quickly pass the $150 billion economic growth package agreed upon in bipartisan negotiations between the Administration and House leadership. President Bush will also ask Congress to make sure the tax relief that is now in place is made permanent – this is the most important action to ensure the long-term health of our economy.

Exactly right. The intent of the economic stimulus is a short-term boost to the economy and a bit of public uplift. No matter its efficacy, the key to a strong, wealth and jobs-creating economy over the long run is a system that rewards investment — a stable and predictable climate that ensures that companies do not suffer competitive disadvantages because they do business in the United States. Making the tax cuts permanent goes a long way toward creating that climate.

See the NAM’s plan for economic growth.

OK, here’s the White House’s fact sheet on FISA reform prepared for the State of the Union. It includes the arguments for granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies that assisted in foreign surveillance.

There are those for whom any argument made by the President is immediately suspect, the representation of a malign, corrupt man and Administration.

Then how to explain the very similar case made by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which voted out S. 2248 on a 13-2 bipartisan basis. Are the 13 Senators also malign and corrupt? From the Committee report:

In determining whether to provide retroactive immunity, the Committee weighed the incentives such immunity would provide. As described above, electronic communication service providers play an important role in assisting intelligence officials in national security activities. Indeed, the intelligence community cannot obtain the intelligence it needs without assistance from these companies. Given the scope of the civil damages suits, and the current spotlight associated with providing any assistance to the intelligence community, the Committee was concerned that, without retroactive immunity, the private sector might be unwilling to cooperate with lawful Government requests in the future without unnecessary court involvement and protracted litigation. The possible reduction in intelligence that might result from this delay is simply unacceptable for the safety of our Nation.

To the critics of the Administration’s arguments on FISA we say, ignore him if you want. But pay attention to the arguments made by 13 Senators, Democrats and Republicans alike.

The White House guest list for the First Lady’s Box at the State of the Union includes:

James “Jim” Barnard, Chief Financial Officer, Barnard Manufacturing (St. John’s, Michigan)
Jim Barnard is the Chief Financial Officer of Barnard Manufacturing, a production machine shop located in St. John’s, Michigan. Barnard Manufacturing is a family-owned business started out of a garage by Mr. Barnard’s father and his uncle. Today, the company has approximately 125 employees and specializes in the manufacture of heavy equipment pivot pins fabricated from bar stock steel, which are primarily used in heavy earthmoving equipment such as bulldozers. As CFO, Mr. Barnard’s responsibilities include purchasing. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and President Bush has continued to be a strong supporter of them. On March 3, 2002, the President signed into law the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act and on May 28, 2003, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, both of which make it easier for small businesses to grow, expand, and hire new employees. These two important pieces of legislation lowered the tax burdens on companies like Barnard Manufacturing and helped Barnard invest in new equipment and hire approximately 25 new employees. Recently, the President and the Congress have come to a tentative agreement on an economic growth package. As Mr. Barnard’s company continues to expand, it is investing in two new machines and anticipating the business tax provisions of this agreement.

Congratulations Jim and everyone at Barnard Manufacturing.

The American Alliance Association for Justice, the former Association of Trial Lawyers of America, is holding its winter conference at the El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa in Puerto Rico. (Average room rates, $399 to $499.)

Want to see whom the next wave of litigation is going to hit? Or continue to hit, as the case may be? Check out the breakfast sessions for Tuesday, “Litigation at Sunrise,” in Atlantic Salon 2, moderated by Howard S. Richman.

6:30 am Opening Remarks
6:40 am Gadolinium Contrast Dye
Barry M. Hill, WV
6:50 am Pain Pumps
Robert K. Jenner, MD
7:00 am Tasers
Robert Haslam, TX
7:10 am Pharmacy Liability
James E. Girards, TX
7:20 am SSRIs
Daniel N. Gallucci, PA
7:30 am Duragesic Patches Litigation Packet and
Other Resources from the AAJ Exchange
Angel L. Reyes, III, TX

Etc. Quite a meal. But that’s hardly the full fare at the conference. For a full list of “litigation groups,” see this page. Ninety minutes to discuss suing over sexual dysfunction drugs? Oh, boy. And then there’s this: “Resort Tort.”

Does the El Conquistador know?

UPDATE/CORRECTION (11:10 a.m. Tuesday): Got ATLA’s new title wrong. The Alliance for Justice is a different group. The American Trial Lawyers Association was an easier, more descriptive title to remember, but it was still our mistake.

The Senate just failed to invoke cloture on the pending Intelligence Committee version of S. 2248, the FISA Amendments, by a vote of 48-45, not achieving the 60 votes necessary to end debate. (Lots of missing Senators, eh?)

As noted below, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) held a conference call with bloggers today. He responded to an assertion we’ve seen made many times, including from a commenter below and on the Senate floor — that the Administration had engaged in massive, reckless communications surveillance, spying on millions of Americans, and that the telecommunications companies went along with little regard to the legality of the monitoring.

Bond:

Obviously they don’t understand that these companies responded to lawful and appropriate orders from the U.S. government to assist them in the vital effort to keep our country safe. I can’t believe even the most rabid partisan populace would say that telecommunications companies or carriers who might have participated did anything that wasn’t in the national interest, wasn’t required by law, and wasn’t certainly designed for any minimal impact on legitimate rights, privacy rights of American citizens.

The only communications intercepted, the only time we listened in and read communications, was when they were to or from a terrorist abroad ….if it wasn’t under a domestic FISA court or FISC court order. If there were any incidental communications with ordinary American citizens, those were suppressed, they were not kept.

They only occurred in the context in targeting somebody like Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, or one of their leaders somewhere in the field. To say there were millions of innocent conversations intercepted is absolutely beyond the pale, without basis, and totally irresponsible.

The audio of Sen. Bond’s call is available here.

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): The Senate has also failed invoke cloture on a 30-day extension of the FISA authority by a vote of 48-45.

UPDATE (5:55 p.m.): Senator McConnell issues a statement, walking though the many delays that brought us to this point — four days before the law expires.

The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer as Secretary of Agriculture this afternoon.

The former North Dakota governor was confirmed by unanimous consent after members of the North Dakota delegation asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to move his confirmation quickly so Schafer can attend the State of the Union Monday evening as a member of President Bush’s cabinet.

Commendable that Senators Conrad and Dorgan helped the confirmation move forward, considering the many political disagreements they’ve had with Schafer over the years. Sure, North Dakotans expected the courtesy, but the Senators really made an effort.

And congratulations, Mr. Secretary.

P.S. President Bush’s statement:

I appreciate that the Senate today unanimously confirmed Ed Schafer to be our next Secretary of Agriculture. As a two-term governor and business leader, Ed has distinguished himself as an executive with a proven record of results.

Ed will lead a Department that oversees our food, agriculture, natural resources, food safety, and health and nutrition programs. He will be an advocate for farmers, ranchers, and consumers as he works to open new markets for their products. And he will work with the Congress to pass a responsible farm bill that will provide a safety net for farmers and protect our lands and the environment, while at the same time ensuring federal tax dollars are spent wisely.

From the conference call Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) of the Intelligence Committee had with bloggers this afternoon, with the question coming from Shopfloor.org:

Question: Is there a broader issue here, as well? We can talk about the specific telecom companies, but I wonder whether there isn’t a broader issue of being a good corporate citizen, being a citizen of America with certain obligations and responsibilities, as well, if you’re a telecom company or another company all together.

Bond: I think you’ll find regrettably a few in the Congress and some on the outside who are vocal who think there is no such thing as a good corporate citizen. They view any business that creates jobs and provides goods or services to be inherently evil. But I think the point of the matter is, that the carriers – telecommunications companies – are a vital link in our national security, both working with us when ordered to listen in on communication from terrorists abroad, and for the longer term, in working with us to ensure cyber-security – protect not only our government but private institutions and individuals from hackers.

So, we have many areas of cooperation with carriers and others. And if anybody who cooperates with the government can be sued by the radical fringe, so-called public interest groups that contend we shouldn’t have any secret intelligence, we ought not to do anything that isn’t totally disclosed – thus, in my view, (will) leave us totally vulnerable to the kind of attacks like the disaster of 9/11.

Debate just resumed on S. 2248, the FISA Amendments, with Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blistering the Administration for “scaring the public” and “gambling with the safety of Americans and the continued cooperation of companies that we rely upon for aid to protect our country.” He’s referring to the President’s demand for quick action without debate on Democratic amendments, including laguage providing legal immunity for telecommunications companies.

The authority expires Friday. Despite the deadline, cloture will fail, debate will continue, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gets closer to achieving his demand for a 30-day extension. Rockefeller says debate could involve 12 to 15 amendments.

Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), the committee’s co-chairman, was on a conference call with bloggers earlier in the afternoon, and he’s repeating the arguments on the floor right now. There’s been more than enough time to pass a bill, Bond says, since the issue arose last April. He warns against the “myth” that a short-term extension is acceptable:

What the liberals who oppose us will fail to point out is that without a long-term fix our intelligence community will lack any certainty about their ability to use legally the tools they need to protect us.

Also, without our longer-term legislation, there is no civil liability protection for those providers who allegedly assisted the government with the terrorist surveillance program and those who might assist us with future requests. Without this protection our intelligence sources and methods could be compromised resulting in the loss of intelligence that could be vital to our intelligence operations and our troops on the battlefield as well as our homeland security forces in America.

President Bush is expected to reinforce his demand for action in the State of the Union address this evening.

More in a bit…

UPDATE (3:50 p.m.) Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) insists the intelligence gathering was illegal and says he wants to pass an amendment eliminating retroactive immunity for telecom companies. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) reminds the audience that the Senate rejected the Judiciary Committee alternative last week (which did not provide immunity), leaving the bipartisan Intelligence Committee as acceptable legislation. Why delay, “why kick the can down the road down another month, only to find ourselves in the same posture we find ourselves today?” Why postpone the tough choices?

“I believe politics and special interest groups have no business in the courtroom.”

Judy Cates, judicial candidate for the 5th District Appellate Court, Illinois.

A Swansea attorney, Cates is the former president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. She and her firm have loaned her campaign $670,000.