Senate Dems Resist Summers
Senate Dem group pushes Yellen over Summers for Fed chair. Politico: "The letter does not specifically mention Summers, but he has long been a lightning rod for liberals and other Wall Street reform advocates ... It’s not clear how many senators have signed the letter, the Journal put the number at roughly a third of the 54 Democrats in the Senate ... If a sizable number of Senate Democrats make it clear they want Yellen, it would be difficult for Obama to nominate Summers because he could have to rely on Republican votes to get his former top economic aide confirmed..."
NYT adds: "The letter is being circulated by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and so far has been signed by some of the most senior members of the caucus, including Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, and Dianne Feinstein of California."
W. Post suggests dark horse possibility: "...if Summers ends up sunk, there’s a chance that Yellen’s critics in the administration won’t want to pick her, either. They’ll have dug in too deeply during this process, and her supporters will have just dealt them a painful defeat. The ferocity of the backlash to Summers could end up helping an alternative candidate like Roger Ferguson."
ObamaCare Threat Splits GOP
Republicans divided over scheme to shutdown government unless ObamaCare defunded. Politico: "On Thursday, the dispute began to spill into public view, most notably when three Senate Republicans — including Minority Whip John Cornyn — withdrew their signatures from a conservative letter demanding defunding Obamacare as a condition for supporting the government funding measure ... [Sen. Tom] Coburn called the conservative effort a 'failed strategy' since 'backbones don’t hold long' after a government shuts down ... 'My feeling is if you want to make sure that the Democrats take control of the House, run that strategy,' Coburn said."
NC Sen. Richard Burr calls government shutdown threat over ObamaCare "the dumbest idea I've ever heard of." Roll Call quotes: "As long as Barack Obama is president, the Affordable Care Act is going to be the law ... Some of these guys need to understand that if you shut down the federal government, you’d better have a specific reason to do it that’s achievable. Defunding the Affordable Care Act is not achievable through shutting down the federal government.”
Meanwhile, Dems dig in ... but how deep? W. Post: "[Obama] has made it clear that he will not sign into law Republican spending bills that slash domestic programs even more deeply than sequestration. If Republicans do not relent and the White House sticks to its position, a shutdown would be likely at the end of September ... White House officials also are discussing a potential strategy to try to stop the sequestration cuts from continuing, the lawmakers and Democrats said. Under this scenario, the president might refuse to sign a new funding measure that did not roll back the sequester. No decision has been made ... White House officials are all but resigned to any potential budget agreement lasting just a year or two — not the long-term fiscal pact they have sought."
Senate Majority Leader Reid dismisses any tax reform that doesn't raise revenue. Roll Call: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he had no intention of even reading a request from Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, seeking priorities for the tax overhaul ... 'I want Sen. Baucus and Hatch to go forward with tax reform, that’s fine,' Reid said. 'But, it has to be under the understanding … that this can’t be revenue neutral. It can’t be even close to neutral.'"
Some House Dems wavering on taxes. Politico: "A sizable bloc of the 16 Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee is contemplating agreeing to Republican demands that any tax overhaul not include tax increases, bucking their party on what has become a signature issue."
Obama, Boehner miles apart over debt limit. National Journal: "[Boehner said,] 'We’re not going to raise the debt ceiling without real cuts in spending. It’s as simple as that ... For his part, Obama has said he won’t negotiate over the debt limit, a point press secretary Jay Carney reiterated this week..."
President seeks infrastructure investment without Congress. NYT: "President Obama vowed on Thursday to use his executive powers to bypass bottlenecks in Congress and accelerate infrastructure projects to bolster growth and add jobs ... Last July, Mr. Obama signed an executive order that helped expedite federal review and permitting on seven infrastructure projects ... The order accelerated the timing of a study to examine how to dredge the port in Jacksonville so that water depth increases to 47 feet from 40 feet, allowing in bigger ships. It also sped up a rail-yard project at the port to hasten the exchange of shipping containers from ships to trains."
Union Leaders Call For Detroit Aid
AFL-CIO calls for federal government to help Detroit. NYT: "State and federal authorities have largely set aside suggestions of a bailout in the days since Gov. Rick Snyder and the emergency manager he assigned to solve Detroit’s woes announced that the city required bankruptcy protection. But the appeal on Thursday by labor leaders, who were angered by the prospect of cuts to pensions and health benefits to help resolve the city’s $18 billion debt, suggests that questions about state and federal support for teetering cities like Detroit are far from over."
Detroit won't pull plug on new hockey arena. US News' Pat Garofalo: "Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder touted the plan as an investment in Detroit's future, saying the arena 'should increase the tax base of the city longer term, and should increase the employment opportunities for Detroiters.' But if that's what Detroit and Michigan lawmakers are banking on, they are setting themselves up to be sorely disappointed..."
