GOP Poised To Sacrifice Keystone So It Can Filibuster Energy-Efficiency
Reid rejects GOP amendments to energy-efficiency bill. The Hill: "Reid refused to allow Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to call up five GOP amendments, saying Republicans couldn’t be 'pinned down' on what they wanted ... Reid said Republicans originally agreed to pass S. 2262 from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in exchange for a binding vote on the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, but the GOP reneged on the agreement ... This is the second time Republican insistence on amendment votes has doomed this bipartisan bill..."
Sen. Mary Landrieu slams Republicans for scuttling Keystone vote. Reuters: "[She] urged Republican leaders to reverse themselves and accept a deal offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [who] said that if Republicans allow passage of a bipartisan energy bill, he would permit a separate vote on Keystone ... 'My question to my Republican friends is: 'Do you want to build the Keystone pipeline or do you want an issue to talk about'' heading into the November election. 'I think they want an issue to talk about,' she said."
Obama administration soon will announce new climate regs to cap carbon from power plants. AP: "Within weeks, President Barack Obama's administration is set to unveil unprecedented emissions limits on power plants across the U.S., much to the dismay of many Democratic candidates who are running for election in energy-producing states ... But Obama can't wait that long ... Unless he starts now, the rules won't be in place before he leaves office, making it easier for his successor to stop them ... But Democrats are fighting most of their toughest races this year in conservative-leaning states that rely heavily on the energy industry..."
Obama admin awards big offshore wind grants. NYT: "The long-promised potential of offshore wind development along American coastlines took a step toward fruition on Wednesday as the Department of Energy pledged up to $47 million each to three projects it previously supported. The grants are intended to help the projects, off the coasts of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia, begin delivering electricity by 2017."
Climate change significantly impacting Florida. NYT: "Sea levels have risen eight inches since 1870, according to the new report, which projects a further rise of one to four feet by the end of the century. Waters around southeast Florida could surge up to two feet by 2060 ... Miami is exceptionally vulnerable because of its unique geology. The city is built on top of porous limestone, which is already allowing the rising seas to soak into the city’s foundation, bubble up through pipes and drains, encroach on fresh water supplies and saturate infrastructure. County governments estimate that the damages could rise to billions or even trillions of dollars ... three prominent Florida Republicans — Senator Marco Rubio, former Gov. Jeb Bush and the current governor, Rick Scott — declined repeated requests to be interviewed on the subject."
Health Insurers Humiliate GOP
Health insurers debunk GOP attacks an Obamacare in congressional testimony. NYT: "Insurers, appearing before a panel of the Energy and Commerce Committee, testified that the law had not led to a government takeover of their industry ... several insurers said their stock prices had increased in the last few years ... The executives also declined to endorse Republican predictions of a sharp increase in insurance premiums next year ... they said they were already receiving federal subsidy payments intended to make insurance more affordable for low- and middle-income people."
More from TNR's Jonathan Cohn: "It seems entirely possible that, when all is said and done, the payup rate for all plans will be closer to 80 than 90 percent—maybe a lot closer. Last-minute shoppers could also turn out to be the most delinquent payers, for example. But that'd still work out to roughly 6.5 million people getting insurance through the new marketplaces, which would be less than what the Congressional Budget Office originally predicted but more than CBO predicted following the technological problems of the Obamacare websites. 'What you have here is very solid first year enrollment, no matter how you slice it,' Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, told Bloomberg's Alex Wayne."
Minimum Wage Trips Up GOP Senate Nominee
New GOP Senate candidate in NC can't talk straight on minimum wage. Daily Kos' Jed Lewison: "North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis ... took a question from [MSNBC's] Chuck Todd about whether he would support raising the minimum wage. Tillis answered: 'I believe that minimum wage decisions should be made by the state' ... Todd followed up with the obvious question of whether Tillis thinks the minimum wage should be raised in North Carolina and Tillis said: 'I think that that's a decision that legislature needs to make with businesses.' ... Todd pressed Tillis to say whether he had a position on raising the minimum wage in North Carolina, given the fact that he is the leader of one of the chambers of North Carolina's state legislature. Tillis again dodged..."
Subway CEO shifts on minimum wage. HuffPost: "In an interview published Wednesday with CNBC, Subway CEO Fred Deluca said he is 'not concerned' by the idea of federal minimum wage increase, since it would affect rivals companies just the same and not put anyone at a 'particular disadvantage.' ... Deluca even said he would support measures that would raise the minimum wage automatically ... The comments are a departure from sentiments expressed in early 2013. Back then, Deluca described a minimum wage increase as a 'bad idea.'"
