A report by a presidential debt reduction panel commissioned to find ways to pull the United States out its massive debt failed to win the 14 votes required to bring it up for a vote in Congress. The commission’s final report, titled “The Moment of Truth.” won the backing of 11 out of 18 members - three short of the supermajority required under the executive order that Obama signed in February when he created the panel. This final meeting of the panel took place on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Pictured here, commission member Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) talks to reporters after the conclusion. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,  Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen urged the U.S. Senate to approve a new arms control START Treaty with Russia. They testified as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings May 18, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The treaty, which would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, was signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at Prague Castle on April 8. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
Linda C Mathes is Chief Executive Officer for the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen urged the U.S. Senate to approve a new arms control START Treaty with Russia. They testified as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings May 18, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The treaty, which would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, was signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at Prague Castle on April 8. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,  Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen urged the U.S. Senate to approve a new arms control START Treaty with Russia. They testified as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings May 18, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The treaty, which would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, was signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at Prague Castle on April 8. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen urged the U.S. Senate to approve a new arms control START Treaty with Russia. They testified as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings May 18, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The treaty, which would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, was signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at Prague Castle on April 8. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
See photo in original gallery.