"60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl and the show's executive producer, Jeffrey Fager, talk about "What Makes '60 Minutes' Tick?" on the Nov. 16 edition of "The Kalb Report."

Jim Leach, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a former U.S. Congressman, speaks at the National Press Club about his agency's work.

Former National Press Club President Rick Dunham hosts a roundtable discussion of topics ranging from Obama's first year successes and failures, health care, terrorism, the economy and the 2010 midterm elections.  He is joined by Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor, Todd Gillman of The Dallas Morning News and Steve Thomma of McClatchy Newspapers.

Commerce Secretary Announces Details of Obama's Export Initiative

•  A “more robust effort” to expand trade advocacy, especially for small- and medium-sized companies.
•  Impoved access to credit to firms that want to export.
•  Rigorous enforcement on international trade laws to help remove barriers that hinder access to foreign markets.

Former National Press Club President Rick Dunham hosts a political roundtable featuring National Press Club members Sylvia Smith, the Washington editor for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, and Thomas Burr, the Washington correspondent for the Salt Lake Tribune. They discuss the personnel issues facing the Obama administration, the attempts at health care overhaul, the economy, the enthusiasm some Republicans are showing and the mid-term elections.

Former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney addressed the National Press Club at a Press Club Luncheon on March 5, 2010.  Topics of discussion included the first year of the Obama Administration, the economy, health care, the war on terror, and government spending.

One of the major items on the committee agenda is addressing tax cuts approved during the Bush administration that are set to expire this year. As Congress begins those talks, Levin hopes to help Americans that he asserts President George W. Bush left behind.

Levin told a  luncheon April 19 that people in the top 1 percent of earners garnered two-thirds of the increase in national income during the last economic expansion, from 2001 to 2007, while everyone else saw their wages stagnate.

“The divergence of income we have seen in the last decade means that we should keep the middle income tax cuts and let those for the very wealthiest expire,” said Levin, who assumed the chairmanship of the tax-writing committee when Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., stepped down amid ethics investigations on March 3.

Congress also must deal with the estate tax, where a previous reduction expired in January. Levin said the limbo surrounding the levy is “unacceptable and unfair” and is resulting in a situation in which “children may well be left with nothing.”

Levin acknowledged that the politics of tax cuts will be difficult to navigate and will push larger reforms off to 2011.

“It isn’t easy,” Levin said. Expiring tax cuts must be “the first order of business. Comprehensive tax reform is an issue for next year, not this year.”

Levin gave a more hopeful outlook for legislation that extends individual and business tax cuts -- such as a research and development tax credit -- that expired in December. The House and Senate have each passed bills that would continue those reductions.

“These bills are being worked on right now, and with the small business infrastructure jobs bills, need to be passed and sent to the president before Memorial Day,” Levin said. 

Reflecting the wide jurisdiction of his committee, Levin’s speech covered many topics. On trade, he also emphasized benefits to the middle class.

Levin criticized the Bush administration for promoting a “hands off” trade policy that only focused on increasing exports rather than helping people who are hurt by global economic competition.

“We need to both expand trade and spread its benefits more broadly and ensure that American workers and American businesses are competing on a more level playing field,” said Levin, who charged that trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea contain “flaws” pertaining to workers’ rights and foreign market access that “need to be fixed.”

An important step in making the global economy more equitable would be for China to let the value of its currency rise, according to Levin. Such a move would make U.S. exports more competitive.

“China has rigged its currency,” Levin said. “It’s been part of their strategy. It has to change.”

Levin said that the Obama administration is pursuing a multilateral strategy to address the issue.

“If it doesn’t work, then the U.S. -- Congress and administration -- will act,” Levin said. “I have no doubt about it.”

                 -- Mark Schoeff Jr., markschoeff@gmail.com

Donohue unveils an economic impact study entitled "Opening Markets, Creating Jobs," which highlights the number of American jobs created by free trade agreements.  Assessing challenges overseas and at home, Donohue gauges the impact of economic nationalism and the threat that America will be left behind as other nations devise a new architecture for global commerce.

Donohue has led the Chamber since 1997. Under his management, the organization has pushed aggressively for greater economic competitiveness on a wide range of issues, including the creation of a national energy strategy, the protection of intellectual property and the reduction and elimination of global trade barriers. 

Previously, Donohue served for 13 years as president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.

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Ben Feller, White House correspondent for the Associated Press, and Greg Jaffe, military affairs reporter for the Washington Post, received the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Journalism Awards, after which General Brent Skocroft, spoke at a National Press Club Luncheon on June 7th.

AID Administrator Calls Haiti Earthquake Source of Learning, Guide to Reform

Rajiv Shah
Photo: Noel St. John

Rajiv Shah, administrator of the Agency for International Development, cited the earthquake in Haiti as a source of learning and a guide to shaping reform in the agency during a June 18 Luncheon.

The first example from Haiti that he listed was purchasing food locally so it was available immediately. He also said that vaccinating more than a million people prevented a major outbreak of disease.

Because research has shown that chlorine tablets distributed with water were more likely to be used, truck drivers delivering water also distributed tablets, he said. As a result, he said, more Haitians had safe drinking water after the earthquake than before.

He added that AID helped local construction firms learn how to build safely and cheaply. In combination with the Gates Foundation, he said, introducing banking through mobile phones allowed secure withdrawals and deposits.

These examples show that AID staff "can succeed by becoming development entrepreneurs," he said.

He thanked the media for "unstinting reporting" that led  to more than half of U.S. households contributing to Haitian relief.

Shah described the general principles that the Haitian examples illustrate as working with recipient countries and communities to build local capacity and using evidence-based strategies. He also emphasized the need for transparency and  accountability.

He said AID worked with the military and local communities in Afghanistan.  Shah pointed out that the process of working with the Afghan local communities is as important as providing buildings or roads because it creates real governance.

He said infant mortality in Afghanistan had declined 22 percent since 2002.

Development strategies need to focus on women, he said, because money they receive is more likely to support children's nutrition and education. An example of the need, he said, is that 47 percent of children under 5 in Bangladesh are stunted, which will affect their physical and mental development.

Women are critical to nutrition and food security, he said, because they are the majority of agricultural workers.

With respect to the issue of corruption in aid receiving countries he said, "There is no tolerance of corruption in any of our programs."

                    -- Lorna Aldrich, Lorna2@verizon.net

Commedia del Media is an opportunity for journalists to show their comedic talents.  The event supported the National Press Club, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders.

Featuring emcee Matt Cooper, along with Doug Hecox, Rich Edson, Jamilla Bay, Walter Shapiro, Melissa Bell, Jamie McIntyre and Nancy Youssef.

Recorded April 8, 2010 at the National Press Club

As leader of the UN World Food Program since 2007, Josette Sheeran oversees the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. At a time of increasing weather-related disasters combined with economic pressures, WFP is feeding more than 100 million people in more than 70 countries, reaching out to hungry people who cannot help themselves, with a special emphasis on women and girls who suffer disproportionately from hunger and malnutrition. Believing that food security is much more than just a humanitarian concern, Ms. Sheeran advocates for both urgent responses and long-term, comprehensive solutions to hunger in support of both agricultural development and national, regional and global stability.

Who are the major players in the new Congress and which lawmakers are rising national stars? And what do the midterm election results mean for President Obama? These are just some of the issues that Thomas Burr of the Salt Lake Tribune, Gail Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor and Stewart Powell of the Houston Chronicle discuss in the latest political roundtable hosted by former National Press Club President Rick Dunham.

Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, talks about accelerating innovation to help meet our energy and climate goals at a National Press Club luncheon on Monday, November 29.  As US Secretary of Energy, Chu is charged with helping implement President Obama’s agenda to invest in clean and renewable energy, end the nation’s addiction to foreign oil and address the global climate crisis.  Chu was co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997. Prior to his appointment, Chu was director of DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories.

What have been the biggest accomplishments of this year's lame duck session on Capitol Hill? And who are this year's biggest political winners and losers? These are just some of the issues discussed during a political roundtable hosted by former National Press Club President Rick Dunham, the Washington bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers. His guests are Chicago Sun Times Washington bureau chief and Politics Daily columnist Lynn Sweet and veteran political reporter and nationally syndicated columnist Bob Franken.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty Pawlenty launched his book tour for his memoir, Courage to Stand.  In his book, Pawlenty tells his story of going from blue-collar South St. Paul to the governor's mansion, about his time as governor, and shares his ideas for the direction of the country and how some of the things he's done in Minnesota might translate nationally.

Swearing in by Hon. Hilda Solis, US Secretary of Labor; Hollywood Producer/Director Chuck Bowman; CBS News veteran Bill Kurtis, Mark Hamrick and more, from the National Press Club.

January 29. 2011

Pickens, the legendary Texas oil man elaborated on the need for cleaner fuel to save our country.  Sharing the dais, his fellow billionaire and largest US land owner Ted Turner agreed with Pickens and added his own concern.   April 19, 2011

Political commentator and Fox News Contributor Juan Williams, who was fired by NPR in October after making controversial comments about Muslims, addresses a National Press Club luncheon on Thursday, May 26.  Williams has voiced support for current GOP efforts to strip his former employer of its federal funding.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. says human space exploration is not ending following the planned July 8 final mission of space shuttle Atlantis and astronaut Mark Kelly downplays rumors he'll follow his wounded iwfe into politics. Both spoke during a luncheon July 1, 2011 at the National Press Club.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko speaks at a National Press Club luncheon, July 18th, 2011.  Jaczko told the National Press Club luncheon audience that his agency should act within 90 days on regulatory changes recommended in response to Japan's nuclear power disaster.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, discusses his views for cutting the federal budget, including his plan to cut the military, during a National Press Club luncheon on Oct. 5.