MORNING MESSAGE
Twenty
years ago Pope John Paul II delivered an encyclical, an authoritative letter to
all Catholic bishops, that urged them to champion a “culture of life,” ...
Today, Pope Francis delivers another encyclical, urging bishops to speak out on
the moral imperative to stop climate change ... Republicans may have a harder
time with this one ... Our politicians, practicing democracy under a system
separating church and state, should not take a position just because a religious
leader commands it. But the encyclical will make Republican resistance to the
climate science even harder to maintain.
House Vote On Fast Track Today
Second
fast-track House expected today. The Hill: “Under the plan, the House and
Senate would vote for a second time on passing fast-track … The problem for
Obama and Republicans is that they must first convince Senate Democrats to vote
for fast-track on the promise the TAA bill would be finished later … In the
Senate, it’s not as clear that pro-trade Democrats are ready to endorse the new
strategy.”
More
from The Hill: “Pro-trade Democrats are looking for other sweeteners, such
as a vote to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which is set to expire at the
end of June.”
“They
Are Trying To Sneak Fast Track Past Us Again” says OurFuture.org’s Dave
Johnson.
Go
to ClickToCallCongress.org to contact your House representative.
Paul Goes Flat
Sen.
Rand Paul proposes flat tax in WSJ oped: “[I] would repeal the entire IRS
tax code … and replace it with a low, broad-based tax of 14.5% on individuals
and businesses. I would eliminate nearly every special-interest loophole. The
plan also eliminates the payroll tax on workers and several federal taxes
outright, including gift and estate taxes, telephone taxes, and all duties and
tariffs
Paul
assures Social Security would be fine without payroll tax. WSJ: “Mr. Paul
said his plan would ‘fully fund’ Social Security and Medicare because it
specifies that incoming business-tax revenues go first to fund those programs …
he wasn’t specific about which programs would be cut to keep the budget deficit
from ballooning…”
Scott
Walker targets college tenure. Politico: “…Walker and his critics see
parallels between his new effort to cut back on tenure and the 2011 initiative
to strip away the protections of public union workers…”
Trump
goes after Walker. The Hill quotes: ” Wisconsin has got tremendous problems.
The debt and the difficult problems that they have going on in Wisconsin that a
lot of people don’t understand and know about. Tremendous borrowings.”
“Hillary
Clinton Strikes Bipartisan Theme in South Carolina” reports NYT: “Mrs.
Clinton proposed a $1,500 tax credit for businesses hiring apprentices who
register with programs that meet state or federal standards … [She said,] ‘You
know what is great about this idea is that it is not a partisan idea.'”
Hillary
eyes Bernie rise warily. Politico: “Clinton faces a growing threat from
Bernie Sanders in the once-safe haven of New Hampshire, but her campaign has no
intention of attacking or even name-checking the white-tufted democratic
socialist — yet.”
Breakfast Sides
Fed
holds off rate increase, but one could be coming. Bloomberg: “Projections
from the Federal Open Market Committee published Wednesday showed that five
officials foresee one increase in the federal funds rate this year, up from just
a single policy maker who said so in March. And while policy makers said the
economy has picked up after a first-quarter slump, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said
she still wants to see more ‘decisive’ evidence of a lasting turnaround.”
House
and Senate GOPers divided over highway trust fund plan. Politico: “In the
House, Republicans have basically given up on finding the tens of billions of
dollars they’d need for a long-term fix … they’re mulling how to pay for the
latest punt … Senate Republicans refuse to admit defeat, even though they have
yet to come up with the huge sums of money they’d need … Democrats have been
needling Republicans for weeks about the highway bill and are preparing to make
it their primary messaging plank of the summer…”
Progressive
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