Deficit Down
Budget deficit slashed after "fiscal cliff" tax deal. CNN: "The annual deficit has fallen 32% over the first seven months of this fiscal year compared with same period last year, according to Congressional Budget Office figures ... Tax collections rose by $220 billion -- or 16% -- between the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 through April 30 ... The tax haul rose sharply primarily because wages and salaries were higher, the payroll tax cut of the past two years expired on Jan. 1 and the fiscal cliff deal brokered over New Year's raised tax rates on high earners."
Declining deficit reduces pressure for "grand bargain." W. Post: "The sunnier outlook means that President Obama will be able to pay the nation’s bills for months without seeking additional borrowing authority from Congress — probably until Oct. 1, according to independent forecasts. That might seem like good news, but it is unraveling Republican plans to force a budget deal before Congress takes its August break."
Republicans Can't Decide On Ransom
Republicans can't agree on why they should take the debt limit hostage. The Hill: "Some Republicans say ... they’ll need spending cuts as well as tax reform to raise the debt ceiling. Others in the conference say that only the full enactment of tax reform will be enough to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and that incremental progress toward completing tax reform is not enough ... The problem with that stance is that finishing off a tax overhaul by October — about the time officials expect the debt limit will need to be raised — would be a monumental tas
k."
W. Post edit board wants carbon tax as part of tax reform: "...Republicans should want to replace economy-sapping taxes on labor or business in return for a much more efficient tax on pollution. Democrats should be pushing for some of the revenue to pump up programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit to ensure the carbon tax doesn’t sting consumers, particularly those least able to afford it."
Speaker Boehner expresses opposition to Senate online sales tax bill. WSJ: "'Probably not,' Mr. Boehner told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, when asked whether he could support an online sales tax bill that has cleared the U.S. Senate. 'Listen, I just think that moving this bill where you’ve got 50 different sales tax codes, it’s a mess out there. And what you’re doing is you’re going to make it much more difficult for online retailers to be able to comply.'"
Immigration Bill Faces Slew Of Amendments
300 amendments filed to Senate bill. W. Post: "The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin considering the amendments Thursday, and the fate of the 844-page bill will be tested by a process that is likely to stretch through several days of hearings in coming weeks. Immigration advocates fear that an extended amendment process will derail the legislation by breaking apart a fragile, bipartisan coalition of eight senators that negotiated the package over several months."
"Conservatives Expect Immigration Bill to Move Right" reports Roll Call: "Conservatives exiting a private meeting with Sen. Marco Rubio to discuss immigration reform predicted that legislation pending before Congress would move significantly to the right as it proceeds toward President Barack Obama’s desk."
Sen. Rubio slams Heritage study on immigration. NYT: "'Their argument is based on a single premise, which I think is flawed,' he said. 'That is these people are disproportionately poor because they have no education and they will be poor for the rest of their lives in the U.S. Quite frankly, that’s not the immigration experience in the U.S. That’s certainly not my family’s experience in the U.S.'"
Breakfast Sides
Obama administration releases hospital price data, exposes widespread discrepancies. HuffPost: "Administration officials said they offered up the data with hopes that its release would administer a market corrective, forcing hospitals to take greater heed of competitors while arming ordinary people with information they could use to seek a better deal. The data could also spur health insurance companies to negotiate with hospitals to seek lower prices."
NLRB rule protecting union rights struck down by federal appeals court. NYT: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a National Labor Relations Board rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to unionize ... the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the N.L.R.B.’s rule violated a federal law that bars the board from punishing an employer for expressing its views so long as those statements do not constitute threats of retaliation or force ... 'The Republican judges of the D.C. Circuit continue to wreak havoc on workers’ rights,' [AFL-CIO] president, Richard L. Trumka, said."
Sen. Warren worries that trade talks could undermine bank regs. Politico: "Warren didn’t detail which rules could be weakened through trade deals [with Asia and Europe], but some consumer advocates have warned they could provide new avenues for corporations to appeal regulations at home and abroad and have questioned whether trade agreements could limit the ability of countries to ban certain financial transactions or instruments."
