Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
Jobs Bill Vote Delayed As Leaders Hunt For Votes
Vote on $200B jobs and tax changes bill delayed as House leaders try to lock down support. CQ: "...with revenue estimates still in flux and negotiations continuing with the Senate, House leaders are planning to wait until Wednesday ... Concerns from deficit-wary moderates about the bill’s cost — particularly the price tag on a provision that would prevent a significant cut in doctors’ reimbursement rates under Medicare — remains a key sticking point."
Jobless aid extension doesn't cover those unemployed for more than 99 weeks. HuffPost's Arthur Delaney: " In some states, laid-off workers can receive checks for 99 weeks -- and that's all they're going to get. This bill isn't for the '99ers' and there's no proposal on deck to give them additional weeks of benefits."
$23B in state aid to prevent mass teacher layoffs is in "jeopardy," reports Politico: "...there are signs that the price is too high, and the measure is meeting such resistance among Senate Democrats that [Sen. Tom] Harkin may back down for the moment to expedite action on the underlying [war spending] bill."
Business groups fighting provisions to close tax loopholes that would offset cost of economic aid. Bloomberg: "New York-based IBM ... told lawmakers it ... would rather do without the research credit than face new taxes on overseas profits ... private-equity firms such as New York-based Blackstone Group LP and Washington-based Carlyle Group ... are trying to block a proposed tax increase on carried interest ..."
Bill includes tax on oil industry for cleanup: "...Congress is getting ready to quadruple – to 32 cents a barrel – a tax on oil used to help finance cleanups. The increase would raise nearly $11 billion over the next decade."
President proposes new authority to pressure Congress to cut spending. NYT: "The administration sent legislation to the Capitol to allow a president, after signing a bill into law, to propose within 45 Congressional business days a package of spending provisions to delete. Congress would have to vote within 25 working days on the package and could not amend it." NYT edit board underwhelmed: "...the deficit problem is largely a result of mandatory, out-of-control health care spending, which the administration has begun to tame with health care reform, and of inadequate revenues, the result of Bush-era tax cuts and the recession. The discretionary spending singled out has actually been trending downward as a share of the economy for several decades."
Expectation of rebalancing China currency prompts car battery manufacturer to open Ohio plant reports Bloomberg.
Wall St. Reform: House-Senate Conference Jockeying Begins
Senate backs auto dealer derivatives loophole. NYT: "In a sharp rebuke of President Obama, the Senate voted on Monday to direct conference negotiators to make sure that the final version of a sweeping financial regulatory bill includes a special exemption to shield automobile dealers from the oversight of a new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The vote was 60 to 30, with Republicans unanimously in favor of the instruction to the conferees; 29 Democrats and one independent were opposed."
Bank-friendly House Dems plan to strip Senate derivatives firewall. Bloomberg: "'My position is that it should come out now,' [Rep. Michael] McMahon, one of the lead derivatives negotiators for the self-described 'moderate, pro-growth' New Democrat Coalition, said in a telephone interview yesterday. 'The House bill is based on principles on how to reduce risk and make the system more transparent, it's not based on wiping out the system or destroying the system and that's what the provision does.'"
Republicans under pressure to back final Wall St. reform bill. The Hill: "When the House first passed the financial reform legislation on a 223-202 vote in December, it drew relatively little attention in a political debate dominated by healthcare. The dynamic is different now, and Democrats have credited increased public focus on the Wall Street reform bill with helping to secure its passage in the Senate."
Conferees being selected. WSJ: "Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) and Agriculture Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D., Ark.) are expected to play a key role for Democrats, while Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire are anticipated to be among those representing the GOP. The roster of Senate Democrats, which is also said to include Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Tom Harkin of Iowa, suggests the conference will be dominated by veteran lawmakers. That could leave few seats for the Democrats elected in recent years who are generally seen as more friendly to business. House lawmakers aren't planning to name their members to the conference for at least another week or two."
W. Post explores the new powers for the Fed in the Senate bill: "The exact impact of the far-reaching Senate legislation on the Fed is hard to predict, and it will change further as the Senate bill is reconciled with the House version passed last year. But the final bill will clearly reinforce the primacy of the Fed in preventing financial firms from taking risks that endanger the U.S. economy as a whole."
Europe looks to impose financial crisis tax on banks. WSJ: "The European Commission on Wednesday will propose legislation requiring European Union governments to create bank crisis funds supported by up-front taxes on financial institutions..."
WH Resists Calls For Federal Takeover Of Gulf Spill Response
The Obama administration says their options are limited when it comes to BP. HuffPost's Sam Stein: "'To push [the responsible party] BP out of the way would raise the question: Replace them with what?' said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen when asked why a company that caused the spill and has proved inept at solving it remained in charge. Allen punctuated his quote with a shrug — waiting a few seconds for his questioner to answer the rhetorical retort. The fact that he was in the briefing room at all was a reflection of an apparent sense of despair and frustration that has crept into this White House."
Interior Sec. scales back notion of federal takeover. The Hill: "'[BP] will be held accountable. We will keep our boot on their neck until the job gets done,' he added. Salazar did not, however, repeat his comments Sunday that the administration could 'push [BP] out of the way appropriately' if the spill response is not adequate..."
Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard knocks White House oil spill response as "sluggish": "Nearly one month into the worst environmental catastrophe in US history, President Barack Obama finally appeared to be stepping up his response to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico ... despite the administration's latest moves, it's still leaving many of the critical decisions to BP ... For almost four weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency also allowed BP to dictate the choice of chemical dispersant used to prevent the oil from spreading ... As one reporter pointed out to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday, it's not enough to ask BP to be more transparent. 'Why are you not demanding it?' the reporter said. Gibbs' response was less than forceful..."
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder cuts White House slack: "The perceived problem: they're not doing enough. They deferred too much to BP. The real problem: nothing like this has ever happened before. There is no script ... The scariest thought: this is a problem that cannot be solved until a new well can be built."
Government engineers ignored government scientists on drilling risks. W. Post: "The federal agency responsible for regulating U.S. offshore oil drilling repeatedly ignored warnings from government scientists about environmental risks in its push to approve energy exploration activities quickly ... Minerals Management Service officials, who can receive cash bonuses in the thousands of dollars based in large part on meeting federal deadlines for leasing offshore oil and gas exploration, frequently changed documents and bypassed legal requirements aimed at protecting the marine environment ..."
Culture of lax oversight at Minerals Management Agency finds inspector general. NYT: "Federal regulators responsible for oversight of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico allowed industry officials several years ago to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil — and then turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency ... inspectors had accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from at least one oil company while they were overseeing the industry ... a minerals agency employee conducted four inspections on drilling platforms when he was also negotiating a job with the drilling company ..."
ProPublica trying to pin down EPA on BP's refusal to use less toxic dispersants: "We’ve reached out to the EPA to ask what the agency will do about BP’s refusal to comply with its directive. Where the EPA goes from here will give a window into how much authority the federal government has—and is willing to exercise—in its oversight of the cleanup..."
BP will not pay one cent more to clean up the Gulf than it has to by law, says Alternet's Joshua Holland:: "Rand Paul told George Stephanopoulos: 'I’ve heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill.' Paul apparently doesn’t understand the concept of 'fiduciary duty.' The board of BP has a responsibility to BP’s shareholders — it must, by law, prioritize their profits over anything else. If they were to decide to do 'the right thing' by the Gulf, they’d open themselves up to shareholder litigation. BP will not do anything more than it must."
The Austerity Backlash
Truthdig's Chris Hedges points to the Greek masses on how to respond to the elite austerity agenda: "They know what to do when they are told their pensions, benefits and jobs have to be cut to pay corporate banks, which screwed them in the first place. Call a general strike. Riot. Shut down the city centers. Toss the bastards out. Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare-the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat. The Greeks, unlike most of us, get it."
If the Greeks get it, so does New Jersey. AFL-CIO's James Parks: "The “Stand Up” rally, one of the largest-ever protests at the state capitol in Trenton, sent a clear message that New Jersey working people reject Christie’s budget cuts and believe the path to getting the state back on track is through job growth and doing more to help the state’s most vulnerable families. ...Christie is proposing bills to cap increases in public employee wages and benefits at 2.5 percent annually, which would be more than eaten up by the rising cost of health care. "
State fiscal crisis undercutting SCHIP. USA Today: "The law makes more than $10 billion in federal aid available each year through 2013 but requires state funds as well. Faced with budget shortfalls, less than half the states have used it to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program..."
Breakfast Sides
President meets with Senate GOP caucus today, immigration on the agenda reports The Hill.
Limited immigration reform unlikely to get vote while push continues for comprehensive reform. The Hill: "Pro-immigration groups are pressing Durbin to move the Dream Act separately from comprehensive reform, which is stalled by a lack of Republican support ... [but Durbin] said, 'I’m not going to push for that because I don’t want anyone to think I’m pushing the Dream Act at the expense of comprehensive immigration reform.'"
Murkowski amendment to strip EPA of authority to fight climate change, reportedly slated for June 10 vote on Senate floor. ClimateWire: "'Reid and I have agreed on the time,' Murkowski said yesterday. 'Until it's typed down in language, nothing is locked in solid, but the agreement that we have that was reached this afternoon was to go for the 10th.' Reid spokesman Jim Manley declined to comment ... Murkowski's resolution would need 51 votes to clear the chamber. She already has 41 co-sponsors, including three Democrats... Even if the resolution passes the Senate, it faces an uphill climb in the House [and] a likely veto from President Obama."
Compromise reached to phase out "Don't Ask. Don't Tell." W. Post: "Lawmakers will now, within days, vote on amendments that would repeal the Clinton-era policy, with a provision ensuring that any change would not take effect until after the Pentagon completes a study about its impact on troops. That study is due to Congress by Dec. 1."
Move to dismiss right-wing lawsuits against health care reform. W. Post: "...in a 39-page brief filed late Monday in U.S. District Court, attorneys acting on behalf of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius wrote that Virginia's law was an attempt to nullify the federal statute and did not create the legal conflict necessary to enable the state to sue."
