MORNING MESSAGE: Help The Progressive Caucus Disarm The Austerity Bomb
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "The sequester is an 'austerity bomb' of budget cuts that will hit the economy so hard that a recession is nearly guaranteed ... Today the Progressive Caucus co-chairs Keith Ellison and Raul M. Grijalva will introduce The Balancing Act. This bill would repeal this sequester austerity bomb while achieving balance in long-term deficit reduction between revenue and cuts. It invests in job creation and pays for that investment with savings from balancing defense and non-defense cuts ... To call for an end to this manufactured crisis, join our campaign: Disarm the Austerity Bomb. Repeal the Sequester."
Parties In Opposite Directions Over Sequester
Dems, GOPers hold separate retreats on latest budget standoff. McClatchy: "Senate Democrats plan to meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Annapolis, Md., and House Democrats will meet for three days, beginning Wednesday, at a Virginia resort. President Barack Obama is expected to address both gatherings, and Democrats are expected to discuss raising revenue through loophole closing, as well as possibly capping income tax deductions ... Senate Republicans will meet Tuesday at the Library of Congress. House Republicans met last month in Williamsburg, Va. Republicans have been adamant that revenue should not be part of the mix."
House GOP consider 6-month, $70B cut for stopgap spending bill, same rate as sequester. Bloomberg: "The measure, known as a continuing resolution, would fund the government through Sept. 30 at about $974 billion, well below the current level of $1.043 trillion, Representative James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican said ... 'It’s a serious cut,' ... A House stopgap budget that called for deep spending cuts through the end of the 2013 fiscal year would have difficulty winning approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate, posing the threat of a government shutdown when the current resolution expires ... The automatic spending cuts of about $1.2 trillion over the next decade would lower the fiscal year 2013 budget authority to $974 billion, Lankford said."
Sen. Carl Levin proposes $200B in revenue from closing loopholes. Bloomberg: "Senator Carl Levin’s push to close tax loopholes will target corporate deductions for stock options and rates on investment income known as carried interest ... His new proposal would penalize offshore financial institutions and jurisdictions that impede U.S. tax enforcement; defer tax deductions for corporations that move jobs and operations offshore until the corporation repatriates the profits from offshore operations and pays taxes on them; and treat offshore funds deposited in U.S. bank accounts as repatriated funds subject to taxes, among other provisions."
Sequester would slam states, says Pew Center on the States: "...about one-fifth of federal grant funding to states would be subject to the sequester."
Vets oppose chained CPI cut to Social Security. PCCC's Daily Change: "Last week, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) hosted veterans groups, labor unions, and others at a press conference to oppose the chained CPI proposal, which would reduce benefits to Social Security beneficiaries and veterans. At the event, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which represents 200,000 veterans and supporters, blasted the proposal. The IAVA’s Tom Tarantino said the proposal would 'balance the budget on the backs of those who fought for us.'"
House Prepares To Address Immigration
Anti-immigrant House Judiciary chair announces immigration reform hearings. NYT: "[Rep. Robert] Goodlatte said he expected that the hearings would result in one or more bills that reflect the House position on the overhaul ... Calling legalization of those immigrants 'the most difficult side' of the immigration issue, Mr. Goodlatte said the committee would consider options to give 'some kind of legal status to bring people out of the shadows,' offering them a chance at 'being a fuller part of our society.' He said the committee would examine proposals that would allow most of the 11 million illegal immigrants to become citizens relatively quickly, as well as plans that would only offer limited legal status to far fewer people."
President to meet with CEOs and labor leaders today. W. Post: "Obama has invited 16 labor and progressive leaders, including the heads of the AFL-CIO and NAACP, to the White House at 11 a.m., and a dozen big business chief executives, including the heads of Coca Cola, Goldman Sachs and Yahoo, at 3:20 p.m. ... The White House believes that increasing pressure on Congress from different interest groups with large networks outside Washington will help Obama in his pursuit of an ambitious second-term agenda, including stricter gun-control laws and immigration reform."
U.S. v. S&P
US sues S&P over mortgage ratings. Reuters: "The U.S. government has launched a civil lawsuit against Standard & Poor's and parent The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc over mortgage bond ratings, the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged illegal behavior tied to the recent financial crisis."
"S&P is probably just the first to face the music" top analyst tells Bloomberg.
Ohio Accepts ObamaCare
OH Gov. Kasich breaks with Tea Party, expands Medicaid under ObamaCare. Politico: "Conservative groups wanted to stop the march of Obamacare expansion at ground zero: the states. But one of their best hopes just caved. John Kasich, the fiercely conservative governor of Ohio, announced Monday that he’s going to expand Medicaid dramatically using federal money — a 180-degree turn from what conservative groups swore their allies in governors’ mansions would do when the Supreme Court gave them an out last year."
