MORNING MESSAGE
Bank Reform Five Years Later: Still Incomplete
Today
marks the fifth anniversary of Dodd-Frank ... Five years later, the debate still
rages. Republicans denounce the reforms as a failure ... The administration
hails the reform as a grand success ... On the campaign trail, curbing Wall
Street has been a centerpiece of the debate among Democratic contenders. All
agree that Dodd-Frank must be defended; all agree it doesn’t do enough. Bernie
Sanders and Martin O’Malley call for breaking up the big banks and support
passing a modern version of the Glass-Steagall law ... Hillary Clinton hasn’t
gone there, but argues she’ll appoint regulators who know that Too Big to Fail
is still a problem ... How can citizens make sense of this? Here’s a short field
guide on where we are...
McConnell May Unveil Transportation Bill Today
Senate
Majority expresses confidence in bipartisan deal. The Hill: “…the Kentucky
Republican is keeping the details close to his chest … An initial list of
offsets circulated among lawmakers and lobbyists included a proposal to index
customs fees to inflation, which one transportation expert said could be
described as a tax increase. Another option proposed would lower the dividend
that the Federal Reserve pays to big banks to park their funds at the bank … One
Senate GOP aide said the plan would likely span three years.”
Presidential
candidates in the Senate eye transportation bill for grandstanding
opportunities. National Journal: “Cruz promised last week to use ‘any and
all procedural tools’ to block any move reauthorizing the Export-Import bank …
Paul, meanwhile, is planning to use ‘all legislative vehicles at his disposal in
order to ensure there is immediate action to eliminate taxpayer funding to
Planned Parenthood,’ … [Cruz] intends to file amendments to fully repeal
[Obamacare.]”
Hillary Readies Wall Street Reform Package
Hillary
Clinton previews Wall Street reform agenda in Facebook Q&A. Bloomberg:
“…the Democratic presidential front-runner has plans to unveil proposals later
this week … Clinton again vowed to protect and expand upon [Dodd-Frank] by
boosting the financial rewards for whistleblowers and by creating a mechanism to
cut into executives’ compensation when their companies are fined …”
“Hillary
Clinton bashes Wall Street, but only a little” says W. Post: “She is trying
to place herself as a watchdog against corporate wrongdoing [while] distancing
herself from the Wall Street bashing [by] Sen. Bernie Sanders … None of the
proposals she has put forward so far appear close to the major crackdown on
banking practices, financial loopholes and astronomical salaries favored by many
liberals.”
Conservatives Level New Smear On Bernie
RIght-wing
National Review smears Bernie Sanders as promoting “national socialism”: “He
is, in fact, leading a national-socialist movement, which is a queasy and
uncomfortable thing to write about a man who is the son of Jewish immigrants
from Poland and whose family was murdered in the Holocaust. But there is no
other way to characterize his views and his politics.”
Sanders
may get sidelined in budget talks to avoid September shutdown, despite top
position on Senate Budget Committee. Politico: “…lawmakers and aides said it
would be hard for the self-identified socialist to hash out a spending deal with
Republicans … [And House] Budget Chairman Tom Price … has a less-than-stellar
rapport with Democrats … Absent an anointed pair, lawmakers and staff are left
to speculate: Will leadership take a bigger role in talks this time? Could the
appropriators — perhaps the group most desperate for a deal — take charge? Or
will the White House take charge for the Democrats?”
Gov.
John Kasich joins GOP field. W. Post: “He has spent the past two years
separating himself from some of the harder edges of the conservative movement …
In Ohio, he engineered an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act …
He has said he is open to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In
his first term, he signed a bill that restricted collective bargain rights for
public employee unions … When Ohio voters rejected the plan in a later ballot
initiative, Kasich accepted defeat…”
Progressive
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