Free Republic

Former Vice President Al Gore called on Thursday for a broad public health act to mobilize defenses against a possible biological attack, saying the existing threat will grow with a U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the latest in a string of policy speeches as he ponders another White House run in 2004, Gore cited intelligence estimates that the threat of a bioterror attack from Iraq would jump to "pretty high" after a U.S. strike on Baghdad. "We need a national defense public health act to respond to the immediate threat in the wake of an attack against Iraq," Gore said...

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Al Gore, who launched a broad attack on President George W. Bush's Iraq policy last week, will give a "major" policy speech on the U.S. economy in Washington on Wednesday.Stepping up his political profile as he prepares to make a decision on another run for the presidency, Gore will give the address at Washington's Brookings Institution, spokesman Jano Cabrera said.Gore's Iraq speech in San Francisco last week galvanized Democratic concerns over Bush's plans for a military move against Baghdad and helped slow down what was expected to be quick congressional approval of a resolution on...

Bonds and the BudgetAN OVERVIEW OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S BORROWING PROPOSALS The 2002-03 Governor's Budget reflects 11 separate borrowing proposals, including one that is already on the March 2002 Ballot (Proposition 40, Clean Water Bonds). As shown in Table 1, eight of these borrowing proposals are intended to provide resources for the budget in 2002-03, while the other four address ongoing infrastructure or energy crisis issues. The total amount of the borrowing proposals is approximately $58 billion, although not all of this amount would be borrowed during 2002-03.For each of the borrowing proposals, the table shows three figures. First, the table...