Obama Renews Economic Vision

Obama previews plans to help economy without Congress. National Journal's Jill Lawrence is skeptical: "That is not the same as raising the minimum wage (which many conservatives say is bad for business); finding money for universal pre-K (more spending at a time when Republicans are still in slash-the-budget mode); or even offering incentives to companies to hire the long-term unemployed (look for it, maybe, to turn up sometime as a bargaining chip in a larger context). Instead, Obama said he is 'challenging CEOs from some of America’s best companies to hire more Americans who’ve got what it takes to fill that job opening, but have been laid off so long no one will give their resume an honest look.' Maybe those CEOs will respond – but if they felt like doing something for the long-term jobless, wouldn’t they already be doing it?"

Obama speech seeks to rally public, gain leverage in upcoming budget battles, argues W. Post's Greg Sargent: " It wasn’t a policy speech. It was a set up to something much longer. But that much longer thing could prove important. Obama said he’d be taking his case on the road in coming days in a series of speeches and appearances, and vowed to 'engage' the public in an argument over the true nature of our short and long term economic challenges. Indeed, this speech was more of a template for what’s to come — a sustained argument against the prevailing pro-austerity prejudices that continue to hold sway in Washington and for a robust government role in creating jobs and securing long term middle class security ... [Obama] made the case against continued GOP austerity as a threat to the recovery and the middle class, an effort to frame the coming battles over spending on more favorable terms."

Jared Bernstein compares yesterday's speech to his 2005 address: "What’s different is that in 2005 he was saying 'here’s what a president should do,' in 2013 he’s saying 'here’s what I’d be doing if we had a functional political system.' He still sees a clear role for government in the economy but he now sees something else that he could not have foreseen eight years ago: the political barriers to implementing that vision. And he still doesn’t know what to do about that dichotomy—a compelling economic vision on the one hand; a uniquely hostile Congress on the other—beyond making his case to the people as he did today, taking executive actions, and exhorting private sector actors (CEOs, college presidents; he clearly has some executive orders loaded; I’m hoping one involves improving the job quality of workers on government contracts)."

More specifics may come today. McClatchy: "Obama offered few new specifics but said he’d do so in the next several weeks, including a stop Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla. He said some of the ideas will require congressional approval, others he said he can do on his own."

Dems face intra-party debate over economic direction. NYT: "...there is a growing frustration among progressives who are now saying the party must move toward a more populist position on the issue that many on the left see as the great unfinished business of the Obama years: economic fairness ... with the first talk of the post-Obama Democratic Party, liberal angst is starting to take form in Washington ... When a bipartisan compromise was struck last week on federal student loans, she declined to support the deal — irritating some of her more senior Democratic colleagues. 'The student loan issue for the millennial generation will rank up there with the draft for our generation,' said Robert L. Borosage, a co-director of the liberal Campaign for America’s Future."

National Journal's Norm Ornstein excoriates GOP over "The Unprecedented—and Contemptible—Attempts to Sabotage Obamacare": "The clear comparison is the [Bush] Medicare prescription drug plan ... Almost certainly, Democrats could have tarnished one of George W. Bush's signature achievements, causing Republicans major heartburn in the 2004 presidential and congressional elections—and in the process hurting millions of Medicare recipients and their families. Instead, Democrats worked with Republicans ... and it has been a smashing success. Contrast that with Obamacare ... Guerrilla efforts to cut off funding, dozens of votes to repeal, abusive comments by leaders, attempts to discourage states from participating in Medicaid expansion or crafting exchanges, threatening letters to associations that might publicize the availability of insurance on exchanges, and now a new set of threats—to have a government shutdown, or to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, unless the president agrees to stop all funding for implementation of the plan."

Senate Approves Student Loan BIll

Student loan deal clears Senate. CSM: "...the Senate passed a bipartisan reform of the nation’s student loan system Wednesday evening with a vote of 81-18 ... liberal lawmakers said the bill amounted to a bait-and-switch for American students, with low rates on loans now when interest rates are low but with new caps that are above the levels set by Congress at present ... In order to revisit Democrats’ concerns, the Senate bill requires the Government Accountability Office to generate a report on the costs of administering the federal student loan program. The information would be used to help lawmakers address student loans as part of the need to reauthorize the Higher Education Act this fall ..."

Bill expected to pass House. Roll Call: "...Republicans wasted no time pointing out that the proposal closely mirrors their original plan."

Government set to profit off of student debt, says HuffPost: "The U.S. government is forecast to generate $185 billion in profit over the next decade from students and their families under an overhaul of the federal student loan program endorsed by the White House and approved by the Senate on Wednesday. The profit figure, if annually averaged through 2023, would place the U.S. student loan program among the 20 most profitable public companies in the world ...

House GOP Shifts, A Little, On Immigration

GOP suggests willingness to separate parents from children in immigration reform. National Journal: "An emerging coalition of House Republicans is arguing that young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children constitute 'a special protected class' that should eventually be eligible for citizenship ... The toughest [question] is the one they should expect from Democrats: If you legalize young children, how can you advocate deporting their parents ... [Bob] Goodlatte, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said Tuesday: 'I do not believe parents ... should be afforded the same treatment as their kids'"

But is GOP moving toward eventual compromise? NYT: "As House Republicans took a tentative step forward on an immigration overhaul this week and raised the possibility of citizenship for those brought to the United States illegally as young children, immigration advocates found themselves pondering a new question: Is the potential concession as far as many House Republicans are willing to go, or are they slowly inching their way toward a broader compromise?"