MORNING MESSAGE
In
a close vote last week, a majority in the U.S. House chose to continue glomming
onto the same tired old broken-down trade tactics that have closed American
factories, cost American jobs and caused massive trade deficits ... Maybe these
pro-trade deficit politicians should listen to American steel and paper and tire
workers describe what happened to them and their families and their communities
when fast-tracked trade schemes pitted them against child workers and forced
laborers in foreign factories. Maybe those politicians should hear formerly
middle-class workers tell of unenforced provisions in fast-tracked free trade
schemes that enable foreign manufacturers that violate international trade
regulations to steal market share from American businesses.
Tight Vote Today On Fast Track
Sen.
Ted Cruz threatens “no” vote on fast track in Breitbart oped: “I cannot vote
for TPA unless McConnell and Boehner both commit publicly to allow the Ex-Im
Bank to expire—and stay expired. And, Congress must also pass the Cruz-Sessions
amendments to TPA to ensure that no trade agreement can try to back-door changes
to our immigration laws.”
Without
Cruz, fast track-proponents can only lose two more senators. The Hill:
“Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said Monday they are
still reviewing their options, while Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) insisted he wants
fast-track to remain bundled with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), an aid
program for workers hurt by foreign competition. Democratic Sens. Chris Coons
(Del.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.)
declined to say Monday evening how they would vote.”
Dean
Baker warns of drug provisions in TPP: “The explicit purpose is to make
patent protection stronger and longer. While these provisions are likely to lead
to higher drug prices in the United States, they will have their greatest impact
in the developing world.”
Tense Talks Divide Greece
Greek
left splits over possible bailout deal. Bloomberg: “[Prime Minister] Tsipras
is seeking to assuage the left flank of his party – – some of whom want Greece
to default on its debt altogether — by focusing the revised austerity plan on
tax increases for companies and high-income individuals instead of spending cuts
… Tsipras ‘has to explain to the people why we failed in a negotiation and
arrived at this result,’ deputy parliament speaker and Syriza lawmaker Alexios
Mitropoulos said Tuesday…”
European
finance ministers meet tomorrow. WSJ: “…two or more days of tough
negotiations still lie ahead … Greece needs to secure financing in some form
before June 30 … [The IMF] has said Greece’s economy is already too-heavily
taxed and that too many additional tax increases would hurt economic growth,
making it harder to pay down Greece’s debt.”
Breakfast Sides
Jeb
Bush throws down on education in NY Post oped: “… teachers unions and much
of the education establishment in America continues to fight against parental
control of education. Mayor de Blasio, a protégé of Hillary Rodham Clinton, has
taken up their cause, fighting to undercut school choice at every turn … Will
former Secretary Clinton continue to put the interests of the entrenched
education establishment above the interests of kids in America?”
“White
House climate strategy hits its stride” reports Politico: “The EPA on Friday
proposed new fuel efficiency rules for heavy-duty trucks, the agency recently
took the first step toward cutting airplane emissions, and its planning to curb
methane emissions from new oil and gas operations. That’s on top of the Interior
Department’s plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, EPA’s
proposal to veer the country’s ethanol trajectory away from Congress’ goals, and
new water rules that have enraged agricultural groups. It’s all building to
August, when the EPA is expected to finalize first-ever greenhouse gas rules for
the nation’s massive fleet of power plants…”
Obamacare
still works. NYT: “The share of poor Americans who were uninsured declined
substantially in 2014 [including] a sharp decline in the share of black
Americans who were uninsured, which fell by nearly a third to 13.5 percent …
More than 20 states refused to expand [Medicaid], and many experts said the
gains would have been even larger had they done so.”
RI
bumps up minimum wage. WPRI: “[Gov. Gina] Raimondo says she’s proud to raise
the state’s hourly rate from $9 to $9.60 starting Jan. 1 … Lawmakers initially
considered raising the rate to $10.10. Raimondo supported that increase. But
organizations representing small businesses, the hospitality and food industries
and others said they couldn’t afford it.”
Progressive
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