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.
Not Enough Votes In Senate To Prevent Mass Teacher Layoffs
Sen. Harkin pulls $23B amendment to save teacher jobs, though Rep. Obey will put it in. Politico: "... the White House never forwarded a budget request and was conspicuously silent on the whole teachers funding issue when it issued its endorsement of the underlying $58.8 billion [war spending] bill this week. With the handwriting on the wall, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) retreated Tuesday from offering his amendment. [Educ Sec Arne] Duncan is next scheduled to appear Wednesday morning alongside House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, who has promised to add the same $23 billion to his draft of the war funding bill Thursday. But the Wisconsin Democrat is clearly frustrated by the administration’s approach..." Harkin will seek to protect teacher funding in House-Senate conference reports CQ.
Congress struggles to pass both jobs bill and war spending bill before end of week. CQ: "As of Tuesday evening, House Democrats were waiting for a final score from the Congressional Budget Office before scheduling a floor debate [on the jobs bill] ... Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate would stay in session until it completes work on the [jobs] bill. That could take a while, given that he filed cloture on the [war spending bill] on Tuesday — meaning that he would be unable to call up the [jobs] bill until Thursday at the earliest ... Without Snowe’s support, it will be difficult for Senate Democratic leaders to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome GOP procedural hurdles. And even some Senate Democrats were undecided about the bill Tuesday afternoon."
Stimulus paid off big in first quarter of 2010, reports CBO. Reuters: " The massive U.S. stimulus package put up to 3.4 million people to work and boosted GDP by up to 4.6 percent in the first three months of 2010 ... t it is sure to cheer congressional Democrats as they struggle to advance a smaller package of safety-net spending, tax cuts and other measures to boost the sluggish economy and bring down the 9.9 percent unemployment rate."
House-Senate Conferees Split On Derivatives
No pro-bank reform GOPers in House-Senate conference committee. Politico: "Republicans chose five senators who voted against the Wall Street reform legislation to work with Democrats on reconciling the House and Senate bills — a move that suggests the conference committee will break down along partisan lines ... The Republican conferees are ... Richard Shelby of Alabama ... Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Mike Crapo of Idaho ... The seven Democratic conferees are ... Chris Dodd of Connecticut ... Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas ... Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Chuck Schumer of New York, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Patrick Leahy of Vermont."
Dems on conference committee split on derivatives firewall. CQ: "House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., raised concerns Tuesday that the Senate version of the bill (HR 4173), which would require banks to spin off much of their derivatives business, could go too far. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., echoed that concern ... 'I intend to uphold what we came out of the Agriculture Committee with and which was adopted by the Senate,' said Tom Harkin, D-Iowa."
NYT's David Leonhardt calls for a permanent tax on banks to deal with future crises: "The House’s fund seems too small, and the Senate’s after-the-fact fee may not be so easy to collect after a crisis has passed. A better approach is a permanent tax on banks, based on how much debt they have and how risky their holdings appear. This has the double advantage of discouraging risky behavior while also making sure taxpayers are made whole ... A bank tax will not make it into this bill. But Congressional leaders have said they may take up the issue later this year."
Obama Seeks To Tighten Drilling Rules
President will announce new safety regs for oil drilling today. Bloomberg: "...Obama will respond with new permitting procedures for oil exploration and tougher inspections to ensure safety and environmental rules are being followed..."
Preliminary House investigation suggests missed signals, human error on the part of BP. Politico: "Five hours before the disaster, there were also signs of leaks. And three hours later, the pump gained three times more barrels of liquid than usual. There was a significant pressure differential between the shut off line and the drill – a 'fundamental mistake.' ... There were also procedural problems, where operators may not have followed procedures to test the blowout preventer. The blowout preventer, the fail-safe mechanism that many lawmakers blamed for the disaster, may have not been tested properly, according to the report, and several functions of the mechanisms also may have failed."
NYT edit board calls on Obama to apply Gulf lessons to the Arctic, and deny drilling permits to Shell: "...withhold the permits Shell Oil needs to proceed with a highly controversial drilling project in the Arctic Ocean. The company owns two leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas — two of the most remote and frigid waters in North America. It hopes to begin exploratory drilling there as early as July. But it does not have final permits, which Mr. Salazar has the authority to deny."
More from TomDispatch's Subhankar Banerjee on the risks in the Arctic : "...these two Arctic seas are verdant ecological habitats for remarkable numbers of marine species, including endangered Bowhead whales and threatened polar bears, Beluga whales, walruses, various kinds of seals, and numerous species of fish and birds, not to mention the vast range of 'non-charismatic' marine creatures we can’t see right down to the krill -- tiny shrimp-like marine invertebrates -- that provide the food that makes much of this life possible."
Conservatives continue to block bill to lift liability cap on oil spills. So much for "personal responsibility." Daily Kos' Jed Lewison: "Wouldn't it be nice if a Republican like Scott Brown sided with Democrats and took a stand against this sort of corporate socialism? GOPers like Inhofe want corporations to enjoy unlimited profit with limited risk. For all the bellyaching by teabaggers about the financial bailouts, why are they silent about this sort of bailout?"
Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard laments Senate squabbling over liability: "After a third Republican block of a Democratic bill to raise the liability on oil spills, the GOP put forward its own bill on Tuesday afternoon. This one would eliminate the cap only for the current spill, but not change the cap set under the Oil Pollution Act for future spills, which stands at $75 million. The new bill comes from Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and David Vitter (R-La.) ... Both parties have accused the other of grandstanding on the issue. Meanwhile, oil is still gushing into the Gulf at an unknown rate and the liability cap remains a measly $75 million. Our Senate at work, folks!"
If Rand Paul is so libertarian, why does he want to bailout BP? HuffPost's Jonathan Weiler: "...someone is going to pay, and pay dearly, for the ongoing gusher of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. And if that someone isn't BP (which, as Plumer noted, has already had its liability artificially limited by government intervention), it's going to be the US taxpayer..."
The EPA should ban BP, writes The Progressive's Ruth Conniff: "...the EPA could ban BP from receiving government contracts or drilling in federally controlled oil fields, through a process called 'discretionary debarment.'"
Sen. Lindsey Graham says that the Gulf oil disaster means only a limited energy bill can pass. HuffPost:: "'You have a comprehensive approach that can sell and I don't think many people believe that the oil spill has helped get more votes for offshore drilling,' he said. 'It has made it a hard climb. Let's do smaller version of the energy climate bill ...and be realistic about what is possible or not.' Asked what exactly that small version would be, Graham replied: 'There are some things we
can do on nuclear power. There are some things we can do on the alternative energy side which would make it easier for our country to start creating technologies... without having to price carbon or expand drilling.'"
Lieberman hopeful comprehensive climate compromise will get vote by July reports The Hill.
Still unclear if Sen. Lisa Murkowski has the votes to kneecap EPA on climate regs. Politico: "The resolution, which is part of the Congressional Review Act, cannot be filibustered or amended ... it needs only 51 votes ... [Murkowski's spokesman] added that though the resolution has 41 co-sponsors, there are others who have expressed support, but he was unsure of how they would vote." 1Sky's Gabriel Elsner rallies grassroots to defeat Murkowski: "... this vote on the Dirty Air Act will set the stage for the broader fight to kick our reliance on dirty fossil fuels."
Someone Tell The Deficit Hysterics There's A Jobs Crisis
W. Post's Harold Meyerson takes thinly veiled shot at W. Post edit board for deficit hysteria: "The elites don't really believe we're still in recession. Or maybe, they just don't care. How else to explain the continual harping on the deficit by editorialists, centrist think tanks and the like when the nation is still enmeshed in the most serious economic downturn since the 1930s? How else to understand the growing opposition to the jobs bills Congress is set to vote on this week, particularly when nobody has identified any future engine of American economic growth save countercyclical public investment?"
Rep. Anthony Weiner defends Social Security from deficit hysterics in Politico oped: "We won’t be in a recession forever. A recovering economy, combined with long-term increases in productivity, will correct the short-term revenue imbalance that some critics use to paint a distorted picture of Social Security."
