MORNING MESSAGE
Rep.
Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, is running
for the Senate seat currently occupied by Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski. He is
also running from his record – as a supporter of the “Simpson-Bowles” plan to
cut Social Security and top tax rates, a once-favored economic agenda among
Washington insiders and some wealthy private interests. That’s a smart move –
but Rep. Van Hollen has more ground to cover...
Republicans Move Towards Unity On Budget
Senate
Budget Committee advances budget in party-line vote. The Hill. “Before final
approval, the panel accepted an amendment from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and
Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) that increases the Pentagon’s war funding account from $58
billion to $96 billion … The Senate vote suggests Republicans are unifying
around the idea of providing the Pentagon with additional flexibility in its
spending through the war funding account … The House and Senate are expected to
hold floor votes on their separate budget resolutions by the end of next week.
If they both pass each chamber, [Budget Chair Sen. Mike] Enzi has already said
he hopes to reach a conference agreement by April 15.”
Boehner
aims to sideline Tea Party on budget votes. Politico: “…Republican leaders
intend to employ a parliamentary maneuver to boost defense spending by $20
billion without any corresponding spending cuts … [Then] will try to pass a
permanent fix to the ‘Sustainable Growth Rate,’ a formula by which the federal
government reimburses doctors who serve Medicare patients … If they’re able to
clear the two measures, a battered leadership will go into the Easter recess
with some pep in its step, as it tries to extend highway funding, begin work on
annual appropriations bills and raise the debt ceiling.”
Republican
budgets would transfer wealth upward, says NYT’s Paul Krugman: “Think about
what these budgets would do if you ignore the mysterious trillions in
unspecified spending cuts and revenue enhancements. What you’re left with is
huge transfers of income from the poor and the working class, who would see
severe benefit cuts, to the rich, who would see big tax cuts.”
McConnell Presses States To Resist Climate Regs
Sen.
McConnell gives states guide to skirt EPA implementation of Clean Air Act to
protect climate. NYT: “Since Mr. McConnell is limited in how he can use his
role in the Senate to block regulations, he has taken the unusual step of
reaching out to governors with a legal blueprint for them to follow to stop the
rules in their states. Mr. McConnell’s Senate staff, led by his longtime senior
energy adviser, Neil Chatterjee, is coordinating with lawyers and lobbying firms
to try to ensure that the state plans are tangled up in legal delays.”
Obama
to propose fracking regs, aims for middle ground. Politico: “The Interior
Department’s rules — expected to be released as soon as Friday — are the federal
government’s most comprehensive foray to date toward regulating the technology
at the heart of the U.S. oil and gas boom, addressing worries such as potential
dangers to drinking water. They will also offer oil and gas supporters new room
to accuse President Barack Obama of seeking to throttle fossil-fuel production,
despite his repeated boasts about the nation’s booming energy supplies. At the
same time, the rules fall short of environmentalists’ biggest demands for
oversight of fracking operations — let alone some groups’ calls for an all-out
ban.”
Wages Are Key To Growth
Wages
more critical than ever to economic recovery. Bloomberg: “Wages have become
even more critical as households, still shaken after being caught with too much
debt when the recession hit, remain unwilling or unable to tap home equity or
let credit-card balances balloon to buy that new television or dishwasher. By
not overextending themselves again, Americans are only spending as much as their
incomes will allow, meaning that 70 percent of the economy is riding on how fast
pay rises.”
Pension
cutting trend leaves out police and firefighters. NYT: “…Gov. Bruce Rauner
of Illinois has traveled the state promoting his proposal for more than $2
billion in cuts to pensions for public employees. All public employees, that is,
except police officers and firefighters … [He] was following the lead of other
Republican governors in the Midwest … While no one would dismiss the risks that
police officers and firefighters face daily, they are not the only public
employees whose work is dangerous. Statistically, at least, there are far more
dangerous public sector jobs.”
Escalating
rhetoric between House Dems and WH over TPP. The Hill: “[The U.S. Trade
Representative] held a classified briefing this week for members … ‘It was a
process of baffling them with bullshit rather than providing us with the truth,’
[Rep. Mark Pocan] said at a Thursday press conference … ‘The press conference
today was part of an increasingly desperate set of attacks that hard-core trade
opponents are trotting out because they’ve realized the facts are not on their
side,’ the U.S. official told The Hill.”
Push For Gas Tax Hike
Credit
rating agency backs gas tax hike for highway fund. McClatchy: “Other
proposals to shore up the federalHighway Trust Fund – using one-time changes in
corporate taxes or continuing to bail it out with general funds – are too
subject to political whims, Fitch Ratings said.”
China
winning support from other nations for its infrastructure bank. NYT: “…with
Britain, France, Germany and Italy signing up to join the new bank, despite
direct pleas from Washington to steer clear, the question is whether the Obama
administration mishandled a significant challenge from China, and what it might
have done differently …”
Progressive
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