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.
MORNING MESSAGE: 10 Benchmarks For Tonight
OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "Tonight the President gives his State of the Union address, followed by the Republican response from Rep. Paul Ryan. There'll be a lot of talk about the economy: jobs, taxes, deficits, and the state of American business. If you find that your mind's getting lost in vagaries and theories, here are ten 'reality checks' to bring you back to earth, benchmarks that provide a context for tonight's speeches..."
Competitiveness, Investment, Jobs
Competitiveness, investment, jobs to be President's themes tonight. W. Post: "White House officials say the speech will include a number of ideas, from increasing the number of U.S. exports to improving the American education system ... The competitiveness idea is supposed to link the administration's proposals for increasing spending on education and other longtime Democratic priorities with its agenda to create more jobs as America recovers from the recession ... officials said they do not believe another major stimulus bill is possible with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, leaving the administration struggling to find another mechanism to create jobs."
As President prepares call for modernizing transportation infrastructure, NYT details the battles ahead: "...the Obama administration’s priorities for expanding mass transit, passenger rail and what planners call 'livability' is likely to be challenged by Republicans in Congress who come from more rural areas with different needs ... unlike the Obama administration, which decided to put more than half of its high-speed rail money toward regular passenger routes that it hopes can one day be upgraded, [House Transportation Chair John] Mica wants the federal money to go toward true bullet trains that could be run at a profit ..."
House Budget Cmte Chair Paul Ryan to attack public investment for jobs as "spending binge." Politico: "Ryan also plans to make clear that Congress will not approve Obama’s call for an increase in the debt ceiling until a sweeping agreement has been reached in the coming months on both spending cuts and longer-term spending reforms."
"Republican Transportation Cuts Are Job Killers" says AFL-CIO's Edward C. Wytkind: "It is ironic that the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC’s) proposal to slash vital transportation investments was unveiled on the very day that we learned that Americans spend as many as 70 hours—or nearly three solid days—a year stuck in traffic ... Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be eliminated by the proposed cuts to transportation programs alone..."
Robert Reich calls on President to "invest in people": "Over the long term, the only way to improve the living standards of most Americans is to invest in our people – especially their educations, skills, and the communications and transportation systems linking them together and with the rest of the world (infrastructure) ... borrowing in order to increase future productivity is sensible ..."
President may push "revenue-neutral" corporate tax reform: "... companies and Republican lawmakers are waiting to see if he shares their priority of lowering the top rate ... Jason Furman, Obama’s deputy director of the National Economic Council, said in a speech at a conference at Georgetown University Law Center Jan. 21 that any moves to cut the corporate rate must not cause the deficit to increase ... it will take strong signals from Obama to determine whether talk of tax reform this year will produce legislation or will end up as another academic exercise."
TNR's Noam Scheiber argues President to "co-opting" the business community: "The beauty of the rapprochement with business is that it creates the appearance of a president rolling up his sleeves to solve the problem. And the best part is that it seems to come at little substantive cost. Yes, Obama is likely to pursue corporate tax reform and free trade deals, both business priorities. But these were already on the table before the recent love-in with business, and Obama has said any new corporate tax regime must generate at least as much revenue as the old one ... The only real question is whether big business will wake up one morning and discover it’s been played."
House To Pass Budget Slash Before SOTU
House prepares to pass resolution effectively cutting budget by nearly 20% percent, at least. HuffPost: "The rule for the resolution passed 240-160, with eight Democrats joining with Republicans to support the plan. A final vote on the resolution will be held [today]. Democrats blasted the effort as a meaningless political stunt, noting that Republicans chose to move forward before the Congressional Budget Office releases estimates on exactly what funding would need to be cut ... Democrats also decried Republicans' decision to reject amendments, particularly one that would have put all spending, not just non-defense spending, up for budget cuts."
Tension remains within GOP on how fast and deep to cut. LAT: "...conservative Republicans are insisting on cuts nearly twice as deep [as the leadership proposed] — reaching to $2.5 trillion over 10 years. Party leaders do not believe such cuts are politically or practically achievable ... Nearly all of the cuts proposed by conservatives, like those proposed by GOP leaders, are in nonsecurity, discretionary spending, which makes up only 15% of the $3.8-trillion federal budget. Longstanding budget hawks consider arguments over such cuts to be a distraction..."
Republicans not following through on pledge to cut military spending. W. Post's Eugene Robinson: "The conservatives want to end funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Legal Services Corporation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Energy Star program, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . . . you get the picture. Put together, these expenditures would not begin to pay for, say, the $13 billion Marine Corps landing craft that Gates plans to kill because we are no longer fighting World War II."
Top House GOPers challenge Pentagon's proposed cuts. WSJ: "In a letter sent today to Mr. Gates, the Republican leadership of the House Armed Services Committee expressed 'serious reservations' about plans to chop items like the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the Marine Corps’ next-generation amphibious tank, from the Defense Department’s shopping list. And they asked that the Pentagon put on hold any 'stop work' orders on those items that are in line to be cut."
House Majority Leader Cantor to states suffering budget crises: keep suffering. The Hill: "House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) issued a new threat against a federal bailout for ailing state governments Monday as GOP leaders girded for a confrontation with President Obama over spending. "
Cantor throws cold water on conservative plan to help states break pension contracts with public employees through bankruptcy. AP: "The majority leader, Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, told reporters Monday that he believed states already had the tools needed to ease crushing budget deficits because they could cut spending, raise taxes and press public employee unions to renegotiate contracts and pension benefits."
States try to save money by getting jobs for those leaving prison. NYT: "The approach is backed by prisoner advocates as well as liberal and conservative government officials, who say it pays off in cold, hard numbers."
Rep. Michelle Bachmann releases her own budget. Politico: "The Minnesota Republican's proposal calls for eliminating the Department of Education and repealing signature Democratic legislation like the Dodd-Frank Act and a food safety bill. It would shift more transportation costs to states by reducing funds for the federal highway program ... Bachmann calls for approving cuts suggested by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and eliminating homeland security grants to states ... She's proposed repealing some laws that haven't been in the national conversation recently, like the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, which guarantees a certain wage level workers on federal projects."
Social Security Off Chopping Block, For Tonight
No call for Social Security cuts, not yet. W. Post: "... the White House informed Democratic lawmakers and advocates for the elderly that he would not endorse the commission's recommendation to raise the retirement age and make other cuts to Social Security ... Liberals, who have been alarmed by Obama's recent to shift to the center and his effort to court the nation's business community, applauded the decision, arguing that Social Security cuts are neither necessary to reduce current deficits nor a wise move politically ... Administration officials cautioned that Obama is not necessarily taking benefit cuts off the table."
Dems focus on Rep. Paul Ryan's support for privatizing Social Security and Medicare before his SOTU response. NYT: "A spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, [called] Mr. Ryan 'the architect of a plan to end Social Security and Medicare' in a statement that also nodded to the House resolution, declaring, 'Republicans are not only endorsing Representative Ryan’s extreme plan but giving him unprecedented power to carry it out.'"
NYT's Bob Herbert demands end to Social Security attacks: "What is happening now, in a period of deficit hysteria, is that this crucial retirement program is being dishonestly lumped together with Medicare as an entitlement program that is driving federal deficits. Medicare costs are a serious problem, but that’s because of the nightmarish expansion of health care costs in general ... 'If we didn’t have Social Security, we’d have to invent it right now,' said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future. 'It’s perfectly suited to the terrible times we’re going through. Hardly anyone has pensions anymore.'"
Social Security Works' Nancy Altman calls on President to strongly defend Social Security: "...he can speak forcefully about Social Security as the earned right that it is. He can emphatically assure younger workers that the Democratic Party will fight to make sure that every young worker will get every penny of the benefits he or she has earned ... He can follow those words with a proposal to restore Social Security to long-range fiscal balance in the way the American people want it done ... increased revenue."
Daily Kos poll finds big support for raising payroll tax cap, big opposition to cutting benefits: "The largest proponents of cutting benefits are the Tea Party folks, and just 20 percent of them opt for the austerity solution. Even among those most affected -- people making over $100,000 per year -- only 18 percent opt for benefits cuts rather than raising the payroll tax cap. And for those least affected -- the youngest cohort -- the poll couldn't pick up any support for cutting benefits."
Wall Street Prosecutions Possible
Prosections possible after financial crisis commission report. NYT: "The panel appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis referred a handful of cases involving potential wrongdoing to the Justice Department ... a civil investigation would be the most likely outcome of the referrals and that criminal charges were unlikely. Most of the potential violations concerned securities laws ..."
HuffPost reports criminal charges are still possible: "Though civil charges appear a more likely outcome should prosecution result, one source familiar with the panel's deliberations said criminal charges should not be ruled out. The commission's decision to refer conduct for prosecution underscores the severity of the activities it has uncovered and plans to detail in its widely anticipated final report..."
"Wall Street firms earn high profits while still owing Uncle Sam", reports McClatchy: "[Banks] are still benefiting from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s less-conspicuous debt guarantee program, which has no such strings attached ... federal guarantees ensured that bonds that dozens of lenders, investment banks and insurers issued — including Goldman, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and General Electric — got gold-plated ratings that drew investors and drove down the cost of financing the debt ... Goldman, which is doling out $15 billion in employee bonuses for 2010, borrowed as much as $29.8 billion under the FDIC program. It still owes $18.8 billion."
Little Hope For Robust Economy
Economic recovery still not expected to be robust. NYT: "One reason that hope was crushed last spring was that debt crises in Europe’s weak countries destabilized the stock markets, in turn unnerving consumers. And when fiscal stimulus measures expired, like the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, the housing market sagged. Unlike last year, hardly anyone is expecting skyrocketing growth in coming months. Industry leaders instead talk of stable improvement."
USA Today polls the unemployed: "... most of those surveyed have lost any optimism they will find a job soon or end up with work they really want to do. Two-thirds struggle to pay their bills. Nearly half have had to deal with such major personal problems as moving to cheaper housing or fighting depression ... 21% say they receive benefits, and 11% say they received them in the past. The other two-thirds haven't received any jobless benefits, either because they didn't apply or weren't eligible ..."
GM adds 750 jobs. NYT: "G.M. will call back workers from its pool of about 3,000 employees nationwide who have been laid off from other plants, adding a third daily shift at the Flint plant, which builds heavy-duty versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. The news follows hiring announcements at several other G.M. plants and word this month from the Ford Motor Company about plans to add 7,000 jobs at its plants by the end of 2012."
Consider The Evidence challenges Third Way notion that the social safety net is strong: "The 2010 health care reform, even if fully implemented, likely will leave millions of Americans uninsured ... Not all states have full-day kindergarten ... Paid parental leave is available in only a few states ... Unemployment insurance covers too few of us ... Social assistance benefits have been decreasing steadily ...."
Senate To Prioritize Energy
Senate Dems to prioritize energy legislation. The Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will introduce Tuesday a placeholder energy bill, the substance of which will be filled in later ... The introduction of the placeholder bill indicates that energy will have a significant place in this year’s policy debate in the chamber..."
GOP Sen. Richard Lugar may push for "clean energy standard." The Hill: "The diverse energy standard included in the energy bill Lugar introduced last year would require 20 percent of the country’s electricity to come from renewable energy, nuclear, and coal with carbon capture technology by 2020 ... Lugar spokesman Mark Helmke ... said energy industry stakeholders have raised questions about the 'regulatory impact' of the proposal and the senator is still 'thinking it through.'"
President's top climate policy adviser leaving White House. The Hill: "Her departure comes as the chances have dimmed that the Congress will pass [comprehensive climate] legislation ... it appears nearly impossible that Congress will pass a cap-and-trade bill in the near future, though key lawmakers have expressed interest in moving a narrow energy bill."
Federal agency unveils solar-powered charging station for electric cars. NYT: "...for much of the time, electricity from the [solar] cells will flow to the [electric] grid because no car will be there to charge. And to recharge the cars, the system draws power from the grid, so the sun does not have to be shining for a driver to charge up."
Rolling Stone ranks the top 12 people blocking action on climate.
Thomas Admits Lack Of Disclosure
Justice Clarence Thomas admits failure to disclose wife's professional political activities. NYT: "To rectify that situation, Justice Thomas filed seven pages of amended disclosures ... [Common Cause] asserted that Justice Thomas should have withdrawn from deciding last year’s landmark Citizens United case on campaign finance because of both Mrs. Thomas’s founding of another conservative political group in 2009..."
No media allowed in Scalia-Tea Party meeting. LAT: "The session, part of what Bachmann calls a series of constitutional seminars, was closed to the media. Lawmakers said Scalia advised them to read the Federalist Papers and to follow the Constitution as it was written."
Filibuster Reform Stalls
Compromise near on Senate rules reform. NYT: "...potential changes would cut the length of time senators would be allowed to impose anonymous objections against bills and nominations. Another change would exempt hundreds of less senior executive branch nominees from Senate confirmation votes. Senators would also bar opponents of legislation from being able to require the reading of lengthy amendments to consume time and block votes ... Democrats would agree to allow more Republican amendments to be considered in exchange for a pledge by Republicans to reduce filibusters against efforts to bring measures to the floor."
Leading advocates for filibuster reform reject compromise. Politico: "The three Democrats who proposed sweeping changes to Senate filibuster rules balked Monday at a scaled-down package negotiated by Senate leaders and called for a vote this week on their own reform plan ... It’s unclear, however, if all the talk is simply posturing. And others have warned that invoking the constitutional option – and holding a party-line vote on the changes – could come back to haunt Democrats if they lose the majority in 2012, leaving Republicans with broad authority to set rules."
House Oversight Cmte Chair Darrell Issa ending policy of bipartisan subpoenas. The Hill: "Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is objecting to Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) plans to unilaterally issue subpoenas in investigations and deny Democrats access to committee records, practices the panel hasn’t employed since Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) chaired the committee from 1997 to 2002."
Chamber Faces Dissent Over Health Care
U.S. Chamber of Commerce suffering internal dissent over health reform repeal. Mother Jones' Suzy Khimm: "...there's no denying the divergence of views within the Chamber's ranks on health care. It's just the latest reminder of the gulf between the Chamber's unapologetically conservative views and those of the small businesses that it purports to represent. Though the Chamber portrays itself as the country's leading voice on Main Street, one glance at the national organization's donor base and leadership show an organization dominated by major corporations ... alternative small business associations and lobbying organizations have emerged in an effort to give voice to dissenting perspectives—and they've put health care reform front and center."
"U.S. recovers $4 billion from health-care fraud cases" reports W. Post: "The government recaptured a record $4 billion last year from pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other providers of care that defrauded federal health-care programs ... The annual report arrives as the new Republican leaders in the House are planning congressional investigations, suggesting that the administration is not aggressive in pursuing government waste and fraud."
