Progressive Breakfast: Honoring Lily Eskelsen García: Because The Teachers Were Right

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MORNING MESSAGE

Jeff Bryant: Honoring Lily Eskelsen García: Because The Teachers Were Right
In 2004, Democrats were enraged when Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education under George W. Bush, called teachers unions “terrorist organizations.” ... CAF stood by the NEA then and is standing by it now in honoring NEA President Lily Eskelsen García as a progressive champion at tonight's 2015 Awards Gala Celebrating America's Future in Washington ... Honoring a teachers’ union leader – especially one as dynamic and outspoken as Eskelsen García – comes at a time when many prominent Democrats have become prone to criticize teacher organizations and question their progressive values ...

Two-Year Bipartisan Budget Deal Struck

Budget deal linked to debt limit hike. AP: “The deal would also take budget showdowns and government shutdown fights off the table until after the 2016 presidential election … The measure under discussion would suspend the current $18.1 trillion debt limit through March 2017.”
Deal increases spending $80 billion, loosening sequester caps. NYT: “It would give a little breathing room for more spending on politically popular domestic programs like health care research, federal law enforcement and the Coast Guard, while defusing tension between Republican hawks itching for more military spending and budget hawks demanding strict adherence to statutory spending limits. And it would avert premium increases of as much as 50 percent for millions of older people on Medicare, a potent political force.”
Spending offsets include changes to Medicare, SSDI. HuffPost: “The deal would extend the sequester’s cuts to mandatory spending through 2025, which mostly involves a 2 percent cut in reimbursements to Medicare doctors … It was [previously] extended to 2023 under Murray-Ryan deal … The new agreement also would prevent a 20 percent cut in benefits next year to the 11 million Americans enrolled in the Social Security Disability Insurance program … the disability changes would save roughly $4 billion to $5 billion over 10 years by requiring all states to have doctors review initial disability applications … the deal would also set up demonstration projects in which some people who receive disability benefits could earn money from working with less fear of triggering a review that can result in benefits being cut off…”
House conservatives complain. Roll Call: “‘To me it’s business as usual for Speaker Boehner,’ Rep. John Fleming, R-La., a House Freedom Caucus founding member … Despite the consternation, there appeared to be a pathway with a combination of Democratic votes and national security hawks in both chambers.”
But Senate Republicans embrace. The Hill: “Farm-state Republicans are protesting cuts to a popular crop insurance program but otherwise GOP senators are giving the green light…”

Sanders Sharpens Clinton Critique

Sanders intensifies argument against Clinton on MSNBC. W. Post quotes: “It’s great that people evolve and change their minds, and I respect that. … But it is important to stand up when the going is tough. … What the American people and Democrats have to know [is] which candidate historically has had the guts to stand up to powerful people and take difficult decisions.”
Bush eyes contrast with Rubio. W. Post: “In a closed-door strategy briefing, Bush campaign officials detailed numerous contrasts they are seeking to draw with Rubio (R-Fla.) and branded him disparagingly as a ‘GOP Obama.'”
Charles Koch unhappy with lack of substance in Republican primary. WSJ: “…he said he is frustrated by the dearth of discussion about other issues he cares about, from ending subsidies and tax breaks for corporations to overhauling the criminal-justice system and making it easier for low-income Americans to start businesses. He plans to wait until year-end to determine how much he will spend on 2016 elections, including the White House contest.”
There are bankers for Bernie. Politico: “…a dive into Sanders’ donor rolls from the second and third quarters reveals that of the tens of thousands of Americans listed as contributors on Sanders’ campaign finance reports, well over a hundred work in the financial services sector … having seen the American economic system from the inside, they’ve come to agree with Sanders’ conclusion that the game is rigged…”

Breakfast Sides

House votes to accept discharge petition on Ex-Im Bank. USA Today: “…62 Republicans joined 184 Democrats to exceed the 218 votes needed to force the bill to the House floor over the objections of 177 GOP lawmakers. A final vote to extend the bank’s charter through 2019 will likely come Tuesday. It is not clear what the future of the bill will be in the Senate.”
Indonesia will join TPP reports USA Today.

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