MORNING MESSAGE
After
a narrow and suspenseful 217-212 approval Thursday on a procedural vote, the
House is scheduled today to have a series of debates and votes that could lead
to passage of “fast track” trade promotion authority (TPA) ... Votes on two more
bills today will lead up to the big vote on fast track, which essentially
preapproves the TPP ... A bill on customs and trade law enforcement is being
“loaded up” with amendments ... to “buy votes” for fast-track ... Before the
fast-track TPA vote there will be a vote on trade adjustment assistance (TAA).
If TAA does not pass, many Democrats who have declared support for fast track
could vote against it after all.
Final Fast Track Showdown Today
House
Dems might thwart fast track today by killing Trade Adjustment Assistance first.
NYT: “The trade assistance measure, long opposed by Republicans as
ineffective and unnecessary, was devised to attract support for the trade
promotion bill from Democrats … [But] Democrats who oppose ‘fast track’ … know
that by voting down the trade assistance bill, they can kill the whole package.
Republican leaders [would then] not even bring the trade promotion bill to a
vote.”
Though
Republicans could save TAA: “Because of possible Democratic defections, Rep.
Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said the GOP whip team may have to approach some anti-TAA
Republicans and ask them to vote in favor.”
Neither
side has the numbers in hand. Politico: “…top lawmakers and aides say the
fate of the trade deal is anyone’s guess … Pelosi has not said how she‘ll vote
on either TAA or fast track … The lack of guidance from their leaders has left
the House Democratic Caucus rudderless, and created a big opening for opponents
to work their will.”
President
Obama conducts last-minute lobbying at congressional charity baseball game last
night. USA Today: “Upon arriving, he first sought out House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi … Obama visited both the Democratic and Republican dugouts, but
spent only about an inning at the game … As Obama left the field, Republicans
chanted, ‘T-P-A! T-P-A!'”
And
meets with House Dems on Capitol Hill this morning at 9:30 AM reports
Politico.
Hillary Kickoff Rally Tomorrow
Don’t
expect policy specifics at Hillary Clinton’s kickoff rally tomorrow. W.
Post: ” Instead, her advisers said Thursday, she will speak about her
upbringing as the daughter of a woman who was abandoned as a child and why she
sees herself as an advocate for those left behind in a fast-changing economy.
She also intends to draw contrasts with Republicans, portraying them as
champions of corporations and the super-rich.”
But
Politico says the policies will come: “…she’s building her strategy around a
series of domestic policy rollouts … What’s emerging—and her staff maintains
she’s made no big decisions on the stickiest subjects, such as whether to
propose tax increases and Wall Street regulation—are classic Clinton
thread-the-needle proposals, albeit with a slightly sharper needle, pointing
unmistakably to the left.”
While Bernie Rolls Out Agenda
Bernie
Sanders pushes paid vacation. The Hill: “…he is introducing a bill, the
Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act, that would give 10 days of paid vacation to every
employee that had worked for an employer for at least one year. The legislation
would apply to employers with at least 15 employees.”
And
working on tax code revamp. Bloomberg: “Sanders said he is ‘working right
now on a comprehensive tax package, which I suspect will, for the top marginal
rates, go over 50 percent,’ though he wouldn’t endorse a specific rate yet …
while the White House and many Republicans want to lower the corporate tax rate,
Sanders said he wants to raise it.”
Breakfast Sides
Scott
Walker used “divide-and-conquer” to fight unions in Wisconsin. NYT: “…each
time [Walker won in Wisconsin] he took more than a third of the votes from union
households. He was able to do this by making ‘labor’ seem like someone else —
even to union members — and pitting one faction against another …”
Republican
divide in Kansas sinks tax plan. AP: “Kansas faced the prospect of deep
funding cuts to schools, prisons and other programs after the
Republican-controlled House on Thursday rejected a plan supported by Gov. Sam
Brownback that would have raised sales and cigarette taxes … In past years,
legislators had backed Mr. Brownback, a Republican, by slashing personal income
taxes … a possible downgrade of the state’s bond ratings [may happen] if the
budget is not balanced by Monday.”
Progressive
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