MORNING MESSAGE: Austerity Lovers In D.C., Austerity Haters At Home
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "They cry for cuts, cuts, cuts. When the cuts happen in their districts they cry for cuts somewhere else ... Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-WI) decries government spending but goes home to her district and instead cries about airport tower closings ... Take, for example, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX). His House website says 'Texans insist House make ‘significant spending cuts’." But when the cuts happen in his district? Then, it’s Texas 'Rep. Steve Stockman denounced NASA cuts under sequestration' ... Virginia’s Bob Whitman (R-VA) voted for the sequester and for the Ryan budget. But when the cuts happen in his district, the headline is 'REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Military "Lives Are At Risk" Because Of The Sequester.'"
Immigration Reform On Track
President predicts immigration reform by "end of summer" to Telemundo: "If we have a bill introduced at the beginning of next month as these senators indicate it will be, then I'm confident that we can get it done certainly before the end of the summer."
"We're 90% there" says Sen. Chuck Schumer on tour of AZ border.
AFL-CIO hopeful of agreement with Chamber of Commerce. Politico: "Talks on a new visa program for low-skilled workers are 'back on the right track' after a dispute over wages stalled progress on a Senate immigration reform bill [said] Ana Avendaño, immigration director for the AFL-CIO ... She would not say whether last week’s wage dispute has been resolved. But she suggested that negotiators are moving away from a business-backed proposal to pay the lowest-level wage to many of the new workers ... The two sides have reached consensus on the scope, size and timing of the program, but worker pay has been a sticking point in completing a deal on the temporary worker program ..."
Sen. Lindsey Graham relaxes as conservative South Carolina warms to reform. Bloomberg: "Opinions are shifting Graham's way in South Carolina. In focus groups conducted this month, Resurgent Republic, a Republican-aligned firm, found that Republican primary voters in Greenville were strongly opposed to illegal immigration, yet viewed mass deportation as impractical. They were open to considering an arduous pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants after border security had been bolstered."
Sanders Bill Would Break Up Banks
Sen. Bernie Sanders introduces legislation to reduce bank size, ease prosecution. News release: "Sanders’ legislation would give Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew 90 days to compile a list of commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies that he deems too big to fail ... Within one year after the legislation became law, the Treasury Department would be required to break up those banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions identified by the secretary."
Germany facing backlash for Cyprus mess. NYT: "If Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is bothered by images of her wearing a mustache like Hitler’s, which are being waved in streets from Cyprus to Spain, she has yet to show it ... But the intense negative reactions to the bailout program for Cyprus appear to be jangling other nerves in Berlin ... Influential lawmakers in Ms. Merkel’s center-right party have ... begun to grumble about how Germany is portrayed in nations that are receiving help."
Breakfast Sides
President will hold another dinner with Republicans when he releases his budget next month reports W. Post.
IMF calls for taxing carbon emissions and ending fossil fuel subsidies reports The Hill.
AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka articules new vision for labor movement, on C-Span: "We’re no longer going to allow employers to decide who our members are. We’re going to decide who our members are. We’re going to open up our arms to people who want to join our movement."
State-level push for private school vouchers. NYT: "...the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the state’s voucher program as constitutional ... Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama signed tax-credit legislation so that families can take their children out of failing public schools and enroll them in private schools ... In Arizona, which already has a tax-credit scholarship program, the Legislature has broadened eligibility for education savings accounts. And in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, in an effort to circumvent a Legislature that has repeatedly defeated voucher bills, has inserted $2 million into his budget so low-income children can obtain private school vouchers ... critics warn that by drawing money away from public schools, such programs weaken a system left vulnerable after years of crippling state budget cuts — while showing little evidence that students actually benefit ... Currently, 17 states offer 33 programs that allow parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools..."
Tennessee won't expand Medicaid. NYT: "Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee said Wednesday that he would not expand Medicaid in his state as called for in the federal health care overhaul, joining 18 other Republican governors who have rejected expansion for now. Governor Haslam said he wanted instead to use federal Medicaid money to buy private insurance for as many as 175,000 low-income residents of his state. But he said that plan was being held up because the Obama administration had put too many conditions on the money."
