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, Get Out Of Warren's Way
OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "Over the last two weeks, progressives have sparked a massive grassroots groundswell for Elizabeth Warren's appointment to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and rein in reckless bankers. And how did the Senate Republicans respond? By using parliamentary tricks to prevent the Senate from formally adjourning, thereby preventing President Obama from making a recess appointment. This obstruction on behalf of the Wall Street bankers who caused the financial crisis is outrageous. Senate Republicans seem to think they can carry water for Wall Street without objection from citizens. They need to hear from us."
House Rejects Debt Limit Increase
House rejects unconditional debt limit increase as Dems split. W. Post: "'Tonight’s vote illustrates that there is no support in the People’s House for a debt limit increase without real spending cuts and binding budget process reforms,' House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said ... 'I don’t intend to advise our members to subject themselves to a 30-second political ad and attack,' House Minority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said hours before the vote ... [The White House] dismissed the evening vote, saying Obama believes that Congress ultimately will act both to raise the debt ceiling and to rein in future borrowing."
Wall St. shrugs off vote as political theater. The Hill: "Wall Street so far has shrugged off Washington’s fight over raising the debt ceiling, but experts warn patience will wane and nerves will fray after the Fourth of July holiday. Lawmakers still have two months to reach a deal..."
President meets with House GOP caucus today, Dems tomorrow reports W. Post.
Geithner meets with House freshman tomorrow reports Politico.
"Study finds many corporations pay effective tax rate of zero" reports The Hill: "Citizens for Tax Justice released an examination on Wednesday that said that a dozen major companies had, between them, an average effective tax rate of roughly -1.5 percent between 2008 and 2010 – well below the top marginal corporate rate of 35 percent."
Conservative push to cut corporate taxes stumbling in several states. Stateline: "By signing the tax package last week, Governor Rick Snyder made good on his campaign promise to eliminate the much-hated 'Michigan Business Tax.' ... But not all of the governors have found the same success Snyder has ... Lawmakers [in Florida] pared down Scott’s [$2 billion] request to a tax cut worth $30 million ... In Iowa, lawmakers from both parties are resisting Republican Governor Terry Branstad’s proposal to cut the state’s corporate income tax rate in half ... [NV Gov. Brian] Sandoval wanted to balance the budget through spending cuts, but has since had to back off his strict no-tax policy after last week’s Supreme Court decision that invalidated efforts to take hundreds of millions of dollars from localities to balance the state budget."
20 Senate Dems say any debt limit deal must repeal Big Oil subsidies. The Hill: "Names on the list includes some of the members who are politically vulnerable in next year’s elections, including Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio.)."
What deficit crisis? Military spending gets a boost in House bill. The Hill; "...the House’s proposed funding level would be an $11 billion hike from the 2011 Defense spending measure hammered out by White House and congressional leaders earlier this year."
NYT's David Leonhardt blames early IA and NH presidential contests for lack of attention to infrastructure: "...Iowa and New Hampshire lack a single big city, at a time when large metropolitan areas are crucial to lifting economic growth ... Yet metro areas are also struggling with major problems. The quality of schools is spotty. Commutes last longer than ever. Roads, bridges, tunnels and transit systems are aging. You don’t hear much about these issues in the first year of a presidential campaign..."
Dean Baker questions the "beatification" of Alan Simpson: "... none of the items that are touted as revelations by Senator Simpson are news to anyone who has been involved in the policy debate over Social Security for the last four decades. The increases in life expectancy and declines in the ratio of workers to retirees that are so alarming to Mr. Simpson have been factored into the projections that show that the program can pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2036 with no changes and nearly 80 percent after that."
GOP Demands Less Aid To Workers Before Approving Commerce Sec
Widely praised pick for Commerce Sec. threatened by Republicans unless WH relents on helping workers displaced by trade. NYT: "President Obama on Tuesday nominated John E. Bryson for commerce secretary, a choice that drew plaudits from business and environmental groups ... But Senate Republicans threatened to block confirmation of the nominee over a trade dispute ... Senate Republicans revived a threat first leveled in March to block any nominee for commerce secretary until Mr. Obama submits pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress ... the White House joined Congressional Democrats to say that the trade pacts would not advance unless Republicans, who control the House, help pass an extension of a trade-adjustment assistance program benefiting workers who lose jobs when companies move operations overseas."
GOPers also attack Bryson's pro-environment record. The Hill: "Inhofe may place a procedural 'hold' on Bryson’s nomination over his support for the White House's environmental agenda ... House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) blasted Bryson earlier Tuesday, calling him a 'green evangelist.'"
Tea Party Dictates GOP Medicare Messages
Corporate-backed "tea party" group FreedomWorks gives Medicare talking points to GOP congresspeople, claiming they really want to "save Medicare," reports HuffPost.
What do Republicans mean by making Medicaid "flexible"> Tapped's Paul Waldman explains: "...right now, every state has its own eligibility standard for Medicaid. If you live in Massachusetts, you can get on Medicaid if your income is below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $29,726 for a family of four. In Mississippi, you're only eligible if your income is less than $9828 a year. That's right – a family of four with an income of $10,000 a year is too rich to be eligible ... this will change in 2014. When the Affordable Care Act fully takes effect that year, everyone in America with an income under 133 percent of the poverty level will be eligible for Medicaid. Is that 'flexible'? Maybe not. But every time you hear Paul Ryan or anyone else saying that what Medicaid needs is flexibility, remember that what they're saying is that poor and elderly people should have their health insurance taken away."
HHS announces new rules to ease access for those with pre-existing conditions into temporary insurance pool. USA Today: "...new rules and incentives Tuesday that make it easier for people to join, such as cutting premiums in some states by up to 40% ... [Applicants] no longer need to provide a letter from an insurance company denying them coverage. Instead, they just need a letter from a doctor saying they have a medical condition."
Breakfast Sides
Republicans in trouble as Hispanic population grows faster than expected. HuffPost: "Currently, 50.5 million Hispanics live in the United States (roughly 16 percent of its 308.7 million population), a significant increase from the 35.3 million Hispanics in the country in 2000. The 15.2 million difference accounts for more than half of U.S. population growth during that same time period ... In the South, for instance, the Hispanic population grew by 57 percent between 2000 and 2010, while overall population growth in the region during that same time period was only 14 percent. In the Midwest, the Hispanic population grew by 49 percent, more than 12 times the population growth of all other groups during that period."
Six recall elections of GOP Wisconsin legislators set for July. W. Post's Greg Sargent: "While Dems only need to net three recall elections to take back the state senate, it is now within the realm of possibility that even as twice that number of Republicans face recall elections, no Dems will. That’s a pretty sizable advantage."
FL Gov. Scott attacked federal stimulus, then pocketed $370M of it. McClatchy: "...as he ran for office last summer, Scott said he 'would fight all the stimulus money.' He also told reporters 'I would have figured out how to balance the budget without it.' When asked Tuesday why he appeared to reverse himself by keeping stimulus money, Scott didn’t specifically answer."
