Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
MORNING MESSAGE: GOP Budget Serves Irresponsible CEOs, Not Us
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "Communities are being bankrupted, forced to lay off police, firefighters, teachers, nurses and other essential people who work to protect and help us. More and more working people are hurting, falling ever further behind, losing or barely clinging to their jobs and homes and businesses and health. At the same time big-company CEOs who cheat, bankrupt their company, ship jobs overseas and fire white collar workers by the thousands are not held accountable -- instead they are rewarded with big bonuses. The measure of any serious budget deficit reduction program should be to look at these imbalances and address them. Instead, the new Republican budget accelerates the imbalances -- on purpose."
Shutdown Imminent
Negotiators adopt calmer tone, but no clear progress to averting shutdown. W. Post: "'It would be inexcusable, given the relatively narrow differences when it comes to numbers between the two parties, that we can’t get this done,' Obama said ... Boehner, who has not made a joint appearance with Reid on a legislative matter in recent memory, agreed that 'some progress' had been made ... But the speaker reiterated that there was 'no agreement on a number, and there’s no agreement on the policy questions.'"
House Rules Cmte votes to waive rule requiring three-day waiting period before voting on legislation, to speed consideration of any budget deal. The Hill: "The GOP introduced that rule so that members would have time to read bills before voting on them. Republicans had criticized Democrats for rushing lengthy bills to the floor. But, with less than two days before current government funding is set to expire, Republicans decided to waive the rule for a funding measure."
Most Americans want compromise. Most Republicans want shutdown. NBC/WSJ poll: "... 56 percent of self-identified Republicans — and 68 percent of Tea Party supporters — want GOP leaders to stick to their position, even if it means the inability to achieve consensus ... 66 percent of independents saying they want GOP leaders in the House and Senate to compromise." Similar poll data from Gallup.
New GOP congresspeople rail against spending, while hustling to bring home the bacon. NYT: "Representative Bobby Schilling voted against rail financing for his district in Illinois, and later said that he did so only because he knew that the Senate would not sign off on the cut. The Republican spending bill made large cuts to the Department of Energy ... Several Republicans, including Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio, wrote to Representative Paul D. Ryan ... seeking to restore money for the agency. Also potentially harmed by cuts were research centers in Illinois, which caught the attention of Representative Randy Hultgren, a Republican from that state."
GOP stubbornness may undermine their goals. W. Post: "If a shutdown comes, some conservatives said, it could seriously damage their political momentum. But, after winning an election on a no-compromise pledge, they saw nothing else they could do."
Shutdown could mean 800,000 public worker furloughs in a shaky economy. LAT: "...federal officials have prepared plans to furlough about 800,000 employees, freeze the processing of some income tax refunds and suspend pay for the military as part of the impending government shutdown ... Some environmental cleanup would cease. National parks and the Smithsonian museums would be closed. Washington's annual cherry blossom parade stands to be canceled."
"10 of the Biggest Corporate Tax Cheats In America" ranked by Alternet.
House GOP Budget Suffers More Blows
Little appetite for Republican plan to gut Medicare. NBC/WSJ poll: "A combined 44 percent think the program needs 'major changes' or a 'complete overhaul,' versus a combined 53 percent who think it needs just 'minor modifications' or is 'OK' the way it is. Those numbers are virtually identical to the combined 44 percent who said in January 2005 that Social Security needed 'major changes' or a 'complete overhaul,' ... George W. Bush’s effort to reform Social Security that year was unsuccessful."
LAT's Doyle McManus argues the House GOP budget clarifies the choice for Americans: "He has made it clear that if you're serious about cutting the federal deficit, you have to make a choice: low taxes or guaranteed Medicare coverage. You can't have both."
House GOP budget cuts to Medicaid would lose more than 2 million jobs. EPI: "... this proposal would have the federal government shift an increasing amount of the coverage costs onto states, who will be in turn forced to cut health benefits and other services, cut public investments such as education and transportation, or raise taxes. ... Using a standard macroeconomic model that is consistent with private- and public-sector forecasters, we find that a $207 billion cut would result in a loss of 2.1 million jobs over the next five years..."
House GOP budget is too much for Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. Tapped's Sarah Babbage: "..., these are two men who think dealing with the debt crisis is more important than protecting living standards or the fragile economic recovery. So it is a bit disconcerting to hear that even they find Paul Ryan’s budget too extreme: '... the [House Budget] Chairman’s plan relies on much larger reductions in domestic discretionary spending than does the Commission proposal, while also calling for savings in some safety net programs – cuts which would place a disproportionately adverse effect on certain disadvantaged populations."
House GOP budget gives billions to the wealthiest. CBPP's Chuck Marr: "...the average person making at least $1 million a year would get $125,000 a year in tax breaks ... Heirs to multi-million-dollar estates would benefit from Ryan’s estate tax proposal, which would let them inherit the first $10 million in estate value entirely tax-free ... But for working families ... The Ryan plan would ... slash Pell Grants ... slash federal aid to states ... and
kill recent improvements in the American Opportunity Tax Credit."
Colombia Trade Deal Unveiled Today
President Obama and Colombian president to announce trade deal today. USA Today: "President Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will approve an “action plan” on labor rights today that had held up the free trade pact since it was negotiated in 2007 ... The breakthrough was hailed by business leaders and Republicans in Congress."
AFL-CIO unhappy with proposed Colombia trade deal. The Hill: "The administration announced it would move forward with the deal after agreeing to an 'action plan' with Colombia in which that country promises to make changes to its labor laws ... 'The action plan does not go nearly far enough in laying out concrete benchmarks for progress in the areas of violence and impunity...' AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said ... Labor officials in the U.S. predicted a stormy and uncomfortable debate for the administration ... Some unions said they would wait until more details of the plan were released before they weighed in."
WH argues labor reforms need to be in place first. W. Post: "Senior administration officials did not commit to a time frame for submitting the Colombia agreement to Congress, and they said the agreed-upon labor rights measures would have to be in place before the free trade pact takes effect."
Senate Rejects Ban On EPA To Combat Climate Change
Senate rejects multiple attempts to ban EPA from cutting carbon emissions. NYT: "The measure [to impose a permanent EPA ban on regulating greenhouse gas emissions] drew 50 votes, including 4 from Democrats, but fell shy of the 60 needed to avert a filibuster. Democratic alternatives that would impose less extreme limits on the E.P.A. regulation drew as many as 12 votes, putting the White House on notice that it risks further party defections unless it moderates the scale and pace of its proposed carbon rules ... Republican leaders are pushing to attach similar measures to the budget bill that is now being negotiated by administration and Congressional officials. If that fails, they can be expected to try again on debt ceiling or fiscal year 2012 budget bills."
House expected to approve permanent EPA ban today, despite Senate failure reports The Hill.
House rejects amendment acknowledging that climate change is real. The Hill: "Lawmakers voted 184-240 against Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) amendment [which] stated: 'Congress accepts the scientific findings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climate changes is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.'"
Ryan budget proposal slashes clean energy investment. NYT: "Under the Republican plan, overall discretionary funding for energy programs would fall to about $1 billion per year. President Obama’s 2012 budget, meanwhile, would provide about $8 billion ... Questioned on Fox News on Sunday by Chris Wallace on whether multibillion-dollar subsidies for oil and gas companies would also be eliminated, Mr. Ryan did not give a direct answer."
Internal nuclear regulator email show doubts about safety. Reuters: "The e-mails in question are part of an NRC review of how the operators of nuclear plants in Delta, Pennsylvania, and Surry County, Virginia, would cope with a prolonged power outage that knocked cooling systems offline, as occurred at the Tokyo Electric Power Co-operated Fukushima plant. In a July 28, 2010, e-mail, one NRC staffer said that contingency plans for Exelon Corp's Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Delta 'have really not been reviewed to ensure that they will work to mitigate severe accidents.'"
G.E announces plans for build largest solar panel factory in US. NYT: "...as with its wind business, G.E. will face competition from low-cost, government-subsidized Chinese manufacturers. The United States government has offered a range of subsidies to help American solar panel makers, including loan guarantees for new factories. G.E. said it was not applying for a loan guarantee but was exploring applying for state and federal manufacturing tax credits."
