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: Why Won't Democrats Say No?
OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "The reported deal now on the table amounts to $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, including $200 to $300 billion in cuts from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years. The president sought about $150 billion in loophole closings -- oil company subsidies, private jet depreciation rates, and that there be some allocation of the spending cuts to the military. That's $150 billion over 10 years; $15 billion a year in new revenue. Not one to one spending cuts to tax hikes, despite the fact that Bush tax cuts dug much of the hole we are in. Not half of the spending cuts from the defense budget that has been bloated over the last decade. Instead 10 to 1 in spending cuts to tax loopholes closed, and the Pentagon cuts left to the measured judgment of Republican appropriators in the House. And Republicans said no. They want no loophole closing which they term tax hikes. And no allocation to the Pentagon. And oh, by the way, a prior vote on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. Next week, they'll demand prayer in the school, exile of Elizabeth Warren for championing consumers, and the president's first born. And Democrats say -- nothing."
President Holds Out For Broader Compromise
Politico details the outlines and obstacles to a debt limit deal: "... there is still uncertainty as to how $1.1 trillion in proposed appropriations savings would be allocated between defense and domestic spending. Democrats have wanted a 'firewall' built into the settlement to protect domestic priorities ... Democrats have put options on the table representing close to $500 billion in 10-year savings from Medicare and Medicaid. This could be dialed up or down depending on Republican willingness to agree to more revenues, and by being so aggressive for 'something big,' Obama is trying to make the GOP look small if it walks away ... The other major components of any deal would include upward of $250 billion to $300 billion in additional 10-year savings from entitlement programs not related to health care. Farm subsidies, college aid and retirement benefits for federal workers are major examples..."
President raises stakes by ruling out short-term deals. LAT: "...some Republican leaders in the Senate have suggested passing a short-term measure that allows bills to be paid but requires Congress to revisit the issue in a few months. Obama shot down that notion Tuesday, saying leaders must 'leave their ultimatums at the door.'"
Members of both parties have disincentive to deal with Obama. NYT: "While a broad-based agreement may appeal to the White House, neither Senate Republicans nor Democrats may be as eager to embrace one. Democrats worry that a deal that cuts Medicare could rob them of what they see as their political advantage on the issue; Republicans trying to win the majority next year might not like an agreement that is seen as giving Democrats credibility on reducing the deficit."
NYT slaps Business Roundtable for deficit hypocrisy: "...it consistently lobbies for a higher deficit. The roundtable defends corporate tax loopholes and even argues for new ones. It pushes for a lower corporate tax rate. It favors the permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts. It opposes a reduction in the tax subsidy for health insurance, a reduction that was part of the 2009 health reform bill. Oh, and the roundtable also favors new spending on roads, bridges and other infrastructure ... There are many potential objections to the Obama plan and to the Ryan plan. And neither would eliminate the deficit. But both plans would at least reduce it, which is more than you can say about corporate America’s deficit plan."
Senate Budget Cmte chair Kent Conrad will unveil budget proposal with 50-50 split between spending cuts and tax increases, reports The Hill: "...the Senate Democratic Caucus will receive a briefing after Conrad meets with leadership [today] ... The high ratio of increased revenues to spending cuts will put centrists who face reelection next year, including Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), in tough positions ... in April, Obama recommended a three-to-one ratio of spending cuts to tax increases..."
More than 100,000 sign Sen. Sanders petition for 50-50 split, reports In These Times.
Republican refusal to accept victory reminiscent of old American Communists, writes W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "In California, in Minnesota and here on Capitol Hill, Republican legislators in divided governments seem incapable of taking half or even three-fourths of a loaf — of recognizing when they’ve won. By holding out for more when they’ve already attained plenty, they run the risk of coming away with nothing for themselves or inflicting avoidable calamity on everyone else ... Today’s Republicans remind me of some leaders of the American Communist Party whom I got to know decades ago, after they’d left the fold. 'We believed in the party line, in its infallibility, so completely,' one ex-commie told me, 'that we’d forget the larger strategy for the momentary tactic.'"
Health Care Cuts On Table, But Pharma May Take Hit Too
NYT edit board wary of President's proposed Medicaid cuts: "President Obama, who would retain the Medicaid expansion, has proposed a cut of $100 billion, less than 2.5 percent of projected federal spending, which would be much more manageable, though a lot will depend on how it is carried out ... Congressional Democrats and advocates for the poor are most worried that the administration will use a new “blended rate” for federal matching funds — which would replace a patchwork of matching formulas for poor people and children with a single rate for each state — as a way to lower the federal contribution. This could lead some states to reduce the benefits they offer, seek waivers to cut people from the rolls, or reduce their already low payments to hospitals and other providers."
Big Pharma may have to cough up in debt limit deal. The Hill: "Republican budget negotiators might agree to Medicare drug rebates as their contribution to debt-ceiling negotiations ... By demanding that the rebates count as revenue raisers rather than spending cuts, Republicans would be able to say they're meeting Democrats halfway — without actually having to raise taxes ... The proposal would extend Medicaid drug rebates to the nation's 9 million 'dual eligibles,' who are on both Medicaid and Medicare..."
South Carolina leads the pack in cutting Medicaid and deny health care access. USA Today: "It is one of nearly a dozen states that have opted to cut the Medicaid rates this month to doctors, hospitals and other providers to help limit spending ... Most specialists in the city don't see Medicaid patients, and primary care physicians generally will see only one new Medicaid patient a month, says Fran Kunda, a Spartanburg family doctor and chairwoman of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians ... With a shortage of doctors, Kunda says, patients have little choice but to use hospital emergency rooms for more routine care. And that can drive up costs for the Medicaid program."
President's Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick racing to implement reforms before recess appointment is over. W. Post: "...he has been trying to instill his views about systems, management and medical quality, holding seminars for staff members, urging them to collaborate with different parts of the agency ... He has trained his focus most intensely on patient safety and better ways to organize health care. This spring, CMS announced a Partnership for Patients — an aspect of the law, but also vintage Berwick — that is giving out $1 billion to cut down on hospital infections and readmission of patients for whom things go wrong. So, far 1,800 hospitals have volunteered to take part."
Stateline questions whether states will take lead to lower insurance premiums: "This year, states will start cracking down on double-digit rate hikes with the hope of containing premiums by 2014, when nearly everyone will be required to purchase insurance. But some experts question whether the new push will work ... Almost half of them lack legal authority to reject an insurance company’s rates, and many that have the authority fail to use it ..."
Jobs Ideas Stall Out
Bipartisan infrastructure bank bill stalled. Politico: "President Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve a loan program that could spark the building of roads and bridges ... [But] supporters acknowledge that a glowing presidential endorsement could turn a bipartisan initiative into a political grudge match ... bipartisan backing has proved to be a mixed blessing. In a hostile political climate, lawmakers care less about cooperating and more about denying possible victories to each other.... Senate staffers are quietly searching for ways to move it through the legislative process, although they admitted there is no clear vehicle for doing so yet. And without a GOP partner in the House to shepherd the bill, the odds of it passing are slim."
Progressive frustration at shift by Obama towards smaller policies. Politico: "...Roger Hickey of the Campaign for America’s Future ... urged the White House not to think tactically about what could pass Congress and instead offer a bold job-creation plan with broad government investment that Democrats could run on. 'The consistent line [from Obama aides] has been the polling shows the public is weary of spending money ... The other thing they say is, we can’t even get some Democrats to vote for it ... Our response is tell the country the truth about the scale it will take' to revive the economy. But Obama adopted a strategy focused on hitting singles and doubles."
Breakfast Sides
Ignore the whining of bankers on capital requirements, argues USA Today edit board: "Witness the bankers' resistance to the latest efforts to require their institutions to increase capital reserves, the amount they set aside to cushion against losses. (The principle is the same as your emergency savings. The more you set aside, the better off you'll be when a rainy day arrives.) ... higher capital reserves are particularly important given the banks' history, their sometimes reckless trading, and the harm they could do if they returned to irresponsible lending practices that enrich bankers while everyone else bears the risk ... Conservative balance sheets are the best, and perhaps only, antidote to this 'too big to fail' problem."
House GOP snubs trade compromise, moves pacts without aid for displaced workers. W. Post: "According to an announcement Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee, only the three trade deals – and not the Trade Adjustment Assistance program – will be on the agenda when the panel meets Thursday morning ..."
EPA chief digs in as new rules readied on carbon emissions and more. NYT: "Ms. Jackson said she intended to go forward with new, tougher air- and water-quality rules, including those that address climate change, despite Congressional efforts to override her authority ... The first of these new rules is expected to be announced Thursday, imposing tighter restrictions on soot and smog emissions from coal-burning power plants in 31 states east of the Rockies. The regulation is expected to lead to the closing of several older plants and will require the installation of scrubbers at many of those that remain in operation."
