Bipartisan Deal Struck To End Setting Student Loan Rates
Student loan deal reached. HuffPost: "A bipartisan group of senators struck a deal late Wednesday tooverhaul the federal student loan program, tying interest rates on new loans to the U.S. government’s cost to borrow in a move that immediately reduces the cost to finance higher education, but is forecast to raise borrowing costs for millions of graduate students and parents in about three years ... Undergraduates would pay 1.8 percentage points above the government’s cost to borrow for 10 years. Graduate students would pay 3.8 percentage points above ... The cost to borrow for undergraduates would be capped at 8.25 percent. For graduate students, interest rates would be capped at 9.25 percent. ... The bill is likely to pass the Senate after securing support from two leading Democrats, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)."
House To Pursue Piecemeal Immigration Reform
House path on immigration fuzzy after GOP caucus meeting. Roll Call: "...lawmakers said they were no closer to setting a timetable for action, formulating a strategy or building consensus on how to deal with a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants. Lawmakers were also intensely wary of how the process might play out in the future, saying they do not trust the White House to enforce any border security measures nor a House-Senate conference. Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, sought to allay at least one of those fears by promising that any immigration conference committee would be convened of House Republicans reflective of the will of the chamber."
But "Boehner warns House GOP will be weaker without immigration reform" reports The Hill: "... both he and Ryan, the House budget chief and the GOP’s vice presidential nominee in 2012, made the case that the House GOP should take action on immigration in a way that reflected the party’s principles..."
Participants in the Republican caucus meeting described a 50-50 split" on path to citizenship reports CNN.
Rejecting comprehensive legislation, Speaker reaches out to Dems on piecemeal strategy. Politico: "The legislation under discussion between Republicans and Democrats includes bills reworking the employment verification system and legislation to toughen border security ... Moving legislation before the August recess is now almost completely out of the question ..."
Obama to use bully pulpit. Bloomberg: "The White House realizes the legislation is in danger and a public campaign is the last option at the president’s disposal ... Obama, who mostly stayed in the background during debate on the Senate bill, is considering visiting electoral battlegrounds with important Hispanic constituencies such as Nevada, Colorado or Florida to press for action in the Republican-run House ..."
GOP Split On Next ObamaCare Move
Conservatives reject Boehner bill to delay ObamaCare individual mandate. TPM: "Many conservatives see such efforts as a distraction from full repeal, which they believe the only acceptable Republican response to the law — even though that’s a fantasy with Democrats controlling the White House and Senate."
Dems "shrug off" delays" reports NYT: "Congressional Democrats said Wednesday that they expected to see more delays and snags in President Obama’s efforts to carry out the new health care law, but they affirmed their strong support for the overarching goal of expanded coverage ... 'I expect that there will be disruptions and glitches,' [Prof. Timothy] Jost said, but he expressed confidence that 'the central reforms' of the law ... would be carried out on time."
Breakfast Sides
Senate Majority Leader meets with Dems today on filibuster reform strategy. CNN: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected Thursday to push his fellow Democrats to support a controversial change to Senate rules - over the objection of Republicans - that would prevent filibusters against executive branch nominees ... Such a move, if successful, would likely enrage Republicans who have warned of a 'meltdown' in cooperation with Democrats..."
Conservative House staffer, writing anonymously at Real Clear Science, advocates revenue-neutral carbon tax: "Energy subsidies come in many forms and most serve as a proxy for a price on carbon. Conservatives want to get rid of subsidies because they’re wasteful and inefficient and allow government to pick winners and losers in the market. Government subsidies also result in market uncertainty, rent-seeking problems, and inefficient allocation of capital. Importantly, getting rid of these wasteful expenditures can help reduce our deficit. As the subsidies are being phased out, a revenue-neutral carbon tax swap should be phased in. A proposal like this wouldn’t force individuals to choose one energy source over another. It would simply 'internalize the externalities' associated with the burning of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases, and the market would sort the rest out."
