Political Scene

HOUSE

Lawmakers pressure Japan on custody

Two members of Congress are seeking a resolution they hope will pressure Japan into closing a loophole they say allows American children to be abducted.

Dozens of American fathers say they have been unable to see their children for years because the mothers have fled to Japan with their children.

Japan has refused to sign an international treaty on child abduction and allows only one parent to have custody in cases of divorce.

Reps. James P. Moran, Virginia Democrat, and Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican, introduced a resolution on Wednesday calling on Japan to revamp its child-custody laws.

The Japanese Embassy issued a statement saying it is aware of the issue and that Tokyo is considering joining the treaty.

MINNESOTA

Journalists sue over convention arrests

MINNEAPOLIS | Syndicated journalist Amy Goodman and two of her producers are suing St. Paul and Minneapolis over their arrests while covering protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Miss Goodman and the producers of her radio and TV news show “Democracy Now!” were among 40 to 50 journalists arrested at the St. Paul, Minn., convention, along with about 800 demonstrators and bystanders.

The lawsuit being filed Wednesday in federal court in Minnesota alleges that authorities violated First Amendment freedoms by interfering with Ms. Goodman and other journalists’ right to gather news.

They’re seeking court orders to prevent similar actions in the future, plus unspecified monetary damages.

St. Paul’s interim city attorney, Gerald Hendrickson, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

ARMS REDUCTION

Panel faults Obama on weapons treaty

A panel of arms specialists critical of the Obama administration claimed Wednesday that Russia bested the United States in a new treaty designed to reduce the two countries’ arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons.

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last month signed the historic “New START” treaty, the first major nuclear weapons reduction accord in nearly two decades.

The agreement aims to reduce the number of strategic nuclear warheads in each arsenal to 1,500 over seven years, about one-third less than the 2,200 currently permitted.

Mr. Obama and his advisers consider the treaty a major step toward the president’s goal of a nuclear-free world. The pact, which Mr. Obama has not yet submitted to the Senate for ratification, would help reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy.

Speaking at the Nixon Center, James R. Schlesinger, secretary of defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations, said the United States made substantial concessions to the Russians to seal the deal.

He said he would support ratification only if the Senate provides for new U.S. weapons not prohibited by the treaty.

Stephen Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control in President George W. Bush’s administration, said it was likely the treaty would be approved. But he said he hoped senators would “ask questions” first about Russian development of new weapons.

WHITE HOUSE

Support expanded to vets’ caregivers

Extra help is on the way for family members who give up their jobs to become caregivers for severely wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, courtesy of a bill signed Wednesday by President Obama.

The bill, estimated to cost $3.7 billion over five years, also expands veterans care for women, the homeless and those who live in rural areas.

Standing behind Mr. Obama at the White House signing was Ted Wade, 32, who lost his right arm and sustained a traumatic brain injury in a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2004 while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. Mr. Wade smiled and grasped the hand of his wife, Sarah, as she wiped away a tear.

“These caregivers put their own lives on hold, their own careers and dreams aside, to care for a loved one. They do it every day around the clock,” Mr. Obama said. “As Sarah can tell you, it’s hard physically, and it’s hard emotionally. It’s certainly hard financially.”

The Wades lobbied for the legislation on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project, one of several veterans service organizations that pushed for more support for caregivers out of concern that the wounded were going to institutions because parents, spouses and other family members couldn’t afford to take care of them.

HOUSE

Vote gives Haiti textiles a boost

The House is trying to rejuvenate Haiti’s earthquake-crippled economy by significantly expanding the kinds of textile products and apparel it can export to the United States duty-free.

The legislation also extends through 2020 a trade program that had contributed to Haiti’s economic growth before the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 230,000.

Textiles and apparel are Haiti’s most important export to the United States, with apparel exports reaching $513 million last year.

The measure passed by voice vote in the House and could move quickly through the Senate, where it has the support of the Democratic and Republican heads of the Finance Committee.

SENATE

Vote: If firm fails, no taxpayer loss

The Senate has specified that taxpayers would sustain no losses as a result of future failures by large financial firms.

The Senate on Wednesday voted 96-1 to assert that taxpayer money would not be used to prevent a company from failing.

The overall financial regulation bill could still require taxpayers to provide money upfront to liquidate a firm. But the legislation also requires the government to recoup those costs through the sale of assets and by forcing shareholders and creditors to take losses.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California offered the amendment as a means of defending the bill against critics who cast it as a perpetuation of government bailouts of Wall Street.

WHITE HOUSE

Axelrod: Stevens’ legacy influencing Obama’s pick

A top adviser says President Obama wants a Supreme Court nominee who can provide the “spark and leadership” of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, a liberal force on the court for decades.

In an interview with the Associated Press, adviser David Axelrod said Mr. Obama senses the responsibility of replacing Justice Stevens, given the role he played on the court. Mr. Axelrod said the president wants to nominate someone who can provide the same level of leadership on a divided court - if not immediately, then over time.

Mr. Axelrod says Justice Stevens’ 34-plus years on the court cannot be replaced, but that “you want someone who can provide that kind of spark and leadership.”

Mr. Axelrod says Mr. Obama has not yet made up his mind about whom he will nominate.

SENATE

Committee will hold hearing on oil spill

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans to hold a hearing on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Tuesday, adding to a crowded calendar of oil hearings.

Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, says the hearing will examine the spill’s impact on the economy and environment. Officials from BP, Halliburton and Transocean are expected to testify.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee also plan hearings on the spill next week. And the Senate Commerce Committee will also hold a hearing, but no date has been set yet.

From wire dispatches and staff reports