1. November 23, 2012
DOMESTIC POLICY MATTERS
Budget, Sequestration & the Economy. Congressional staff members are working this week to prepare the
legislative framework for an agreement to avert the “fiscal cliff,” and some proposals have been sent to the
Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office for review and cost scoring.
Congressional Democrats continued to stress that revenues from increased taxes on high-income earners
need to be part of any agreement. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke encouraged
Congress Tuesday to make a deal and again raise the federal debt ceiling to prevent the government from
defaulting on the Treasury’s debt. On Monday, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of
previously occupied homes rose 2.1 percent in October. On Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported
that construction on new homes and apartments in October reached its highest levels since July 2008. While
the seasonally adjusted annual rate for new home starts reached 894,000, that number remains short of the
1.5 million benchmark for a healthy economy.
Hurricane Sandy Recovery. On Monday, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) called on the Federal
Communications Commission to improve wireless communications infrastructure after cell phone outages
occurred along the East Coast after Hurricane Sandy. Meanwhile, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Democrats called for a hearing to investigate the outages and review the reliability of wireless networks.
Late last Friday, a fire erupted on an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana, injuring more than 10 people,
while leaving one person dead and another still missing. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force issued a
draft recommendation late Monday that everyone between the ages of 15 and 65 routinely be screened for
HIV. On Tuesday, the Obama Administration released proposed rules overhauling individual and small-group
coverage in the health insurance market, pursuant to the Affordable Care Act.
Political & Election News. Former New Hampshire Senator and deficit hawk Warren Rudman (R) passed
away Monday evening. On Tuesday, Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D) announced he will not run for
Governor in 2013. On Wednesday, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Illinois) notified House Speaker John
Boehner he is resigning his seat in Congress, triggering a special election for the heavily Democratic
Chicago-area House seat. On Saturday, Representative Ron Barber (D-Arizona) was announced the official
winner of his November 6th contest against Republican Martha McSally. On Tuesday, Representative Allen
West (R-Florida) conceded the race for Florida’s 18th Congressional District to Democratic challenger Patrick
Murphy. The Democrats have picked up a total of seven House seats thus far, and Representative Mike
McIntyre (D-North Carolina) retains a lead over Republican challenger David Rouzer in the one pending
contest. The recount in that race is scheduled to begin after Thanksgiving.
FOREIGN POLICY MATTERS
Israel-Gaza Conflict. Late Monday, President Obama called Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to discuss
ways to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, with President Obama underscoring the necessity of Hamas
ending rocket fire into Israel. On Tuesday, President Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to
the Middle East. Secretary Clinton spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem late Tuesday
evening, reaffirming U.S. support for Israel’s security, and she met in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas. A bomb ripped through a bus in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, injuring 27 Israelis, and
was immediately condemned as a terrorist act by Secretary Clinton. Wednesday marked day eight of the
conflict, with approximately 142 Palestinians and five Israelis reported as killed. In Cairo Wednesday,
Secretary Clinton met with President Morsi to continue the ongoing truce negotiation efforts. By Wednesday
evening, Secretary Clinton confirmed a truce had been brokered by Egypt, with reports indicating the
Secretary had played an active role in the final negotiations. President Obama spoke with Prime Minister
Netanyahu, commending Israel for agreeing to the ceasefire and saying the United States will help Israel
further address its security needs. President Obama also thanked President Morsi for his leadership in
negotiating the truce. Last Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) warned Egypt “You’re
teetering with the Congress on having your aid cut off if you keep inciting violence between the Israelis and
the Palestinians.” After the ceasefire was announced, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) said “the
events of the past week offer hopeful signs that Egypt's new government is prepared to be the responsible
regional leader that the Middle East needs.”
Egypt. On Thursday, President Morsi issued a set of presidential decrees that effectively consolidates power
in the presidency by exempting the president's decisions from all judicial review and barring the courts from

2. dissolving a constitutional-drafting committee – a committee that increasingly is under the influence of the
Muslim Brotherhood. Friday, thousands protested the decrees in several Egyptian cities, and the State
Department issued a statement of concern about the power consolidation.
Southeast Asia Trip. President Obama and Secretary Clinton met in Thailand Sunday with Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra, discussing the close bilateral relationship and welcoming plans to convene the Trade
and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Joint Council. President Obama also welcomed Thailand’s
interest in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. President Obama travelled Monday to
Rangoon (Yangon), becoming the first sitting U.S. President to visit Burma (Myanmar). The President met
with President Thein Sein, where he acknowledged President Sein’s landmark reform agenda. In an address
to the nation from the University of Yangon, President Obama encouraged the Government to continue its
democratic reforms and said, “America will support you every step of the way – by using our assistance to
empower civil society; by engaging your military to promote professionalism and human rights; and by
partnering with you as you connect your progress towards democracy with economic development.” The
President also announced the reestablishment of the USAID mission, and the State Department released a
joint U.S.-Burma plan to combat trafficking in persons. President Obama also met with Parliamentarian Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and reaffirmed “our goal is to sustain the momentum for democratization. That includes
building credible government institutions, establishing rule of law, ending ethnic conflicts, and ensuring that
the people of this country have access to greater education, health care, and economic opportunity.” In
Cambodia, President Obama met with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to
deepen diplomatic, economic, security, and people-to-people ties. The United States and ASEAN welcomed
the launch of the U.S.-ASEAN Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) Initiative. The joint U.S.-ASEAN
Statement also endorsed the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on “Six-Point Principles on the South
China Sea” and called for early conclusion of a Regional Code of Conduct. The United States also
announced its intention to join the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed
Robbery against ships in Asia. On the margins of the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit, President
Obama met with Premier Wen Jiabao of China and said it is “important that our two countries cooperate to
build a more secure and prosperous future for the Asia Pacific region and for the world.” President Obama
also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan, discussing Japan’s TPP
preliminary negotiations, the South China Seas disputes, and U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
Syria. On Wednesday, the Turkish Government requested that NATO deploy Patriot surface-to-air missiles
to bolster its defenses along the Syrian border. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the
North Atlantic Council will immediately consider the request, which "would contribute to the de-escalation of
the crisis along NATO's southeastern border." Meanwhile, Italy and the United Kingdom joined seven other
nations in recognizing the Syrian National Coalition this week.
Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) unanimously voted to sanction the leaders of the Democratic
Republic of Congo’s M23 rebel force, which hours earlier occupied the eastern Congolese city of Goma.
The UNSC demanded the M23 rebels withdraw, disarm, and disband. The office of E.U. High Representative
Lady Catherine Ashton said Wednesday the P5+1 is "committed to having another round of talks with Iran as
soon as possible.” Senator Lieberman said Monday he hopes Congress will complete work on the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before year’s end but cautioned partisan gridlock could make that goal
unattainable. Senator Lieberman also said Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), Senator Mark Kirk (R-
Illinois), and he are drafting additional Iran sanctions legislation, which could be introduced as an
amendment to the NDAA. Meanwhile, U.S. diplomats increased their efforts “to alleviate current tensions”
between the Iraqi national government and the Kurdish regional government, following Baghdad’s dispatch of
thousands of Iraqi troops to disputed areas in northern Iraq. In Georgia this week, Assistant Secretary of
State for European Affairs Philip Gordon met with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Foreign Minister Grigol
Vashadze, and President Mikheil Saakashvili. The Prime Minister confirmed his desire for Georgia to
continue to pursue NATO membership and build a free market economy. Monday, 97 Republican Members
of Congress called on President Obama to refrain from nominating U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as
Secretary Clinton’s successor. The Republicans said Ambassador Rice’s account of the September 11 attack
on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya “caused irreparable damage to her credibility both at home and
around the world.” This week, it was revealed the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper approved
the removal of the words "terrorism" and "al Qaeda" from the unclassified talking points on which Ambassador
Rice based her comments. Next Tuesday, President Obama will host President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto of
Mexico at the White House. Also next week, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs
Jose Fernandez and Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic will host the annual Kimberley Process Plenary.
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