C M Y K A1
DAILY 03-09-10 MD SU A1 CMYK
ABCDE
Prices may vary in areas outside
metropolitan Washington.
MDDCVASV1V2V3V4
1
Mostly sunny. 63/43 TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010
washingtonpost.com • 75¢• Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy. 61/46 • details, B10
Automotive
Obama
industry,
launches
regulators
‘too cozy’
attack on
insurers
Analysis tracks
dozens who’ve worked
in both capacities
NEW STRATEGY
LATE IN DEBATE
by Kimberly Kindy
Dozens of former federal officials are
playing leading roles in helping carmak-
Tactic aims to gather more
ers handle federal investigations of auto support for health-care bill
defects, including those for Toyota’s run-
away-acceleration problems.
A Washington Post analysis shows that by Amy Goldstein
as many as 33 former National Highway and Scott Wilson
Traffic Safety Administration employees
and Transportation Department appoint- The White House is mounting a sting-
ees left those jobs in recent years and now ing, sustained broadside against health
work for automakers as lawyers, consul- insurance rate increases as President
tants and lobbyists and in other jobs that
JOSHUA PARTLOW/THE WASHINGTON POST
Obama and his aides enter what they
deal with government safety probes, re- Afghans examine a washed-out bridge in Zabul. U.S. troops are deployed elsewhere while Taliban fighters move in. hope will be the final stretch of a year-
calls and regulations. long political war over health-care re-
The reach of these former agency em-
ployees is broad. They are on staff rosters
for every major automaker and every ma-
‘Alone’ in Afghanistan
form.
Obama and his health secretary staged
a two-pronged attack Monday in a stern
jor automotive trade group, and they ap- letter to health insurance chief executives
pear as expert witnesses and legal coun- and a speech in which the president casti-
sel for the industry in major class-action
lawsuits over auto safety.
Officials in Zabul province say Taliban fighters emerged as U.S. troops left
gated insurance companies 22 times.
“How much higher do premiums have to
Several former Cabinet members have rise,” he demanded, “before we do some-
gone on to work for automakers. Last
The recent concentration of NATO troops in the Helmand Valley has required
thing about it?”
week, Toyota hired Rodney E. Slater, the by Joshua Partlow
transportation secretary under President in qalat, afghanistan
some units to be withdrawn from more remote areas. This has left residents in
The messages are part of a strategy that
Obama and those around him have be-
Bill Clinton, to head its North American
places such as the province of Zabul feeling exposed to attacks by insurgents.
gun to employ lately, to ratchet up the
Quality Advisory Panel, which assists the 0 200 pace and the populist appeal of their
company with quality and safety issues.
MILES
UZBEK. TAJIK. In December, the 4-23
rhetoric against the health insurance in-
No law bans these officials from mov- T
o work in Zabul province these days
is to feel forsaken.
The Americans pulled a battalion
TURKM.
Stryker Battalion was
To
RING RD. moved from Zabul to
dustry. The barbed tone moves far be-
ing straight from government into indus- out in December. The Afghan govern-
IRAN
Kabul
Kabul
Helmand . . . yond that of the 2008 presidential cam-
try. But critics of the revolving-door prac- ment promises help but sends little.
R
I
AFGHANISTAN
1
N
paign, when Obama began to say that
tice say that it has contributed to flaws in Meanwhile, Taliban fighters continue to
G
R
medical coverage should be accessible
federal oversight and enforcement, and pour in.
D
Qalat
.
RING RD.
and affordable for more Americans.
Shahjoy
several members of Congress say legisla- “I am alone,” said Abdul Qayoom
Kandahar AFGHANISTAN
ZABUL
Dist. It remains unclear whether the strat-
tion is needed to prevent former employ- Khan, who has watched it all from his
Romanian
Detail egy, coming this late in the debate, will
HELMAND 4-23 Stryker
ees from conducting business with the lonely perch as a district governor. PAKISTAN
troops
1
Battalion
Qalat
mobilize support among the public and
agency for up to two years after leaving This sparsely populated swath of des-
Gereshk
1-508
on Capitol Hill for the legislation that the
government jobs. ert and scrub brush does not feature
Parachute
White House and congressional Demo-
Infantry
“The relationship is too cozy, and it is prominently in the plans of Afghanistan crats favor. Obama has asked Congress to
not an equal playing field,” said Sen. Amy or NATO to combat the insurgency, de- Lashkar Gah conduct final votes on the proposal with-
Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is pushing for spite its 40-mile border with Pakistan
Marja
Kandahar PAKISTAN
KANDAHAR
in 10 days, before lawmakers leave for a
revolving-door reforms. “They need to in- and historical importance for the Tali-
0 40
. . . leaving about 800
two-week break. Democratic congres-
sulate themselves a bit. People of our ban. U.S. commanders acknowledge the MILES
Spin
Romanian troops to
Boldak
watch Highway 1 and
sional leaders, especially those in the
country expect there will be checks and troubles here, but the math is simple:
balances and that someone will be look- The cost of consolidating tens of thou-
= About 1,000
a battalion of dispersed House, are struggling to secure enough
Helmand R.
U.S. troops to guard the
ing out for them.” Some former agency sands of troops for major operations in
NATO troops
votes within their party; Republicans are
PAKISTAN
rest of the province.
calling for the proposal to be abandoned,
and department officials say the revolv- neighboring Helmand and Kandahar is saying that most Americans oppose it.
ing-door practice is common in every in- that other volatile parts of Afghanistan
SOURCE: Institute for the Study of War GENE THORP/THE WASHINGTON POST
The near-daily demonization of the in-
must do without. surance industry is an attempt by the
analysis continued on A15 “You can’t spread yourself completely cisions be made.” 40,000 coalition and Afghan troops just White House to play to Americans’ anxi-
thin everywhere,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Though an additional 30,000 U.S. in one 60-mile stretch of the Helmand eties about the health-care system — and
Andy Veres, commander of the Provincial troops are to arrive in Afghanistan this River valley, according to a senior U.S. about the prospect of changing it.
a71 Toyota demonstrates test
Reconstruction Team in Zabul. “This op- year, their geographic focus is narrow. By
countering defect claim. A13 eration requires some really difficult de- the end of the buildup, there will be afghanistan continued on A11 insurance continued on A4
Web of diversions evicts
Unemployment benefits: In it for the long term?
laptops from lecture halls
Lydia Nuñez
As payments are extended,
searches
some critics fear program
databases for
employment at
At many D.C. area colleges, students are pencil pushers again
may no longer be temporary
the Arlington
County
home computer beamed into the class- Employment
by Daniel de Vise room to compete with the professor for by Michael A. Fletcher Center.
the student’s attention. and Dana Hedgpeth Americans
On a windy morning in downtown “This is like putting on every student’s are collecting
Washington, a hundred Georgetown Law desk, when you walk into class, five differ- Millions of Americans have been about
students gathered in a hall for David ent magazines, several television shows, forced to rely on unemployment pay- $10 billion a
Cole’s lecture on democracy and coercion. some shopping opportunities and a ments for extended periods as the nation month in
The desks were cluttered with books, phone, and saying, ‘Look, if your mind struggles through its longest period of unemployment
Thermoses and half-eaten muffins. wanders, feel free to pick any of these up high joblessness in a generation, and benefits.
Another item was noticeable in its ab- and go with it,’ ” Cole said. critics are taking aim, saying that the De-
JAHI CHIKWENDIU/
sence: laptop computers. They were Professors have banned laptops from pression-era program created as a tem- THE WASHINGTON POST
packed away under chairs, tucked into their classrooms at George Washington porary bridge for laid-off workers is
backpacks, powered down and forgotten. University, American University, the Col- turning into an expensive entitlement. The unemployed say extensions help seeking have begun to bubble into the
Cole has banned laptops from his class- lege of William and Mary and the Univer- About 11.4 million out-of-work people to tide them over in unusually difficult political debate. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-
es, compelling students to take notes the sity of Virginia, among many others. Last now collect unemployment compensa- times when jobs are hard to come by. Al- Ky.) recently single-handedly held up the
way their parents did: on paper. month, a physics professor at the Univer- tion, at a cost of $10 billion a month. Half though unemployment held steady at 9.7 latest extension, a bill to keep unemploy-
A generation ago, academia embraced sity of Oklahoma poured liquid nitrogen of them have been receiving payments percent in February, millions of jobs ment benefits in place for 30 more days,
the laptop as the most welcome class- onto a laptop and then shattered it on the for more than six months, the usual in- have been lost in the downturn, partic- saying Congress should find other cuts
room innovation since the ballpoint pen. floor, a warning to the digitally dis- surance limit. But under multiple exten- ularly in the hardest-hit sectors includ- to cover its $10 billion price tag.
But during the past decade, it has evolved tracted. A student — of course — man- sions enacted by the federal government ing real estate, construction, manufac- Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) did not join Bun-
into a powerful distraction. Wireless aged to capture the staged theatrics on in response to the downturn, workers turing and financial services. Those jobs ning’s effort, but he defended his col-
Internet connections tempt students video and drew a million hits on YouTube. can collect the payments for as long as are unlikely to return even when the league’s point of view. Kyl told the Senate
away from note-typing to e-mail, blogs, Cole was among the first professors in 99 weeks in states with the highest un- economy recovers, many experts say. he questioned why anyone would see un-
YouTube videos, sports scores, even on- employment rates — the longest period But complaints that extending un-
line gaming — all the diversions of a laptops continued on A11 since the program’s inception. employment payments discourages job- unemployment continued on A11
INSIDE
BUSINESS POLITICS HOCKEY
Victory for Boeing?
The right’s unlikely hero
STARS CAPITALS
Rival Northrop Grumman
pulls out of the competition
Conservatives trumpet ex-Rep. Eric Massa’s claim that he was 43
to build the Air Force’s
“set up” by fellow Democrats over health-care reform. A3 Alex Ovechkin scores two
refueling tanker jets. A12
METRO
goals in shootout loss. D1
HEALTH & SCIENCE 1
Reassurances at Churchill High 2 BASEBALL
For want of a doctor
Parents at the Montgomery County school are told the grade- Acta’s fresh start
She’s young. She’s healthy.
changing scandal won’t hurt students’ college prospects. B1 The former Nationals
She’s insured. So why can’t
OPINIONS
manager is hoping his
she get a primary-care
Eugene Robinson: Liz Cheney, smearing the Constitution. A19
philosophy will be a winning
physician? E1
Marc Thiessen: Justifiable questions for “the al-Qaeda 7.” A19
one for Cleveland. D1
CONTENTS © 2010
BUSINESS NEWS.......A12-16 EDITORIALS/LETTERS...A18 LOTTERIES.........................B4 STOCKS............................A16
Online at
washingtonpost.com
DAILY CODE 7313
The Washington Post
1
CLASSIFIEDS..................F1-8 FED PAGE.........................A17 MOVIES ..............................C4 TELEVISION .......................C6 Year 133, No. 94
COMICS ..........................C7-8 GOING OUT GUIDE............C9 OBITUARIES ...................B7-9 WORLD NEWS .............A5-10
Printed using recycled fiber
Details, B2
C M Y K A1
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52