Senate Dems Set To Keep Sequester ... For Now
Reid unites Senate Dems around maintaining sequester in stopgap bill. The Hill: "Reid’s ability to forge a consensus within his caucus — despite the grumbling of liberals — stood in contrast to the Senate GOP conference, which split Tuesday over the tactics for defunding ObamaCare ... [But] Reid’s acceptance of the House GOP’s number could set up a clash with House Democrats, who have panned it as too low."
Though Senate bill only lasts for 2 months. The Hill: "Reid argued that the funding level in the stopgap does not matter because total discretionary spending for fiscal 2014 would be capped at $967 billion by the 2011 Budget Control Act and sequestration ... Reid said he would accept the House level of $986.3 billion 'because nothing is that consequential until we have sequester, which kicks in automatically in January.'"
While Divided GOP Waits For Cruz To Stop Talking
Senate GOP had it with Cruz. The Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) convened a special all-conference meeting on Tuesday to try to unify his conference. But during and after the meeting, Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) indicated they intended to continue their effort to link ObamaCare's defunding to a government funding bill ... McConnell had said it would be better to send the clean bill to the House soon, to give House Republicans more time to make a counter offer to the Senate. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said many members wanted to get on with the debate but Lee and Cruz were not listening. "
House GOP may counter with individual mandate delay. Politico: "If House Republicans decide to go this route, it would all but provoke a government shutdown, since Senate Democrats might not even schedule a vote on a bill that includes that provision ..."
House GOP leadership privately hates its own strategy. Politico: "Much of the House Republican leadership privately says they would prefer to pass a 'clean' CR and avoid a shutdown. Boehner will need Democrats to push such a bill over the finish line."
HHS previews reasonably priced premiums for Obamacare exchanges. HuffPost: "The average price for basic health coverage purchased on health insurance exchanges created by President Barack Obama's health care reform law will be $249 a month, not counting subsidies, in 48 states reviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a government report published Wednesday ... The figures released by the Department of Health and Human Services represent averages and prices will vary widely by geographic location as well as family size, age, tobacco use and income. Even the average price of a so-called bronze plan, designed to cover 60 percent of medical expenses not counting monthly premiums, masks big variation. The average price of the cheapest bronze plan in Minnesota is $144 while in Wyoming, comparable coverage costs $425 on average, not including subsides."
Threats To Debt Limit, Farm Aid Simmer
Republicans try making Keystone pipeline debt limit bargaining chip. NYT: "Environmentalists say they are cautiously optimistic that Mr. Obama will not yield to pressure from the pipeline’s supporters in Congress, including some in the president’s own party. But Mr. Obama has left his views on the pipeline murky, refusing to say whether he plans to approve it or not. And with the stakes of a shutdown or a debt default so high, opponents of the pipeline remain on edge ... Mr. Obama has said flatly that he will not negotiate with Republicans about what he sees as the imperative to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a potentially catastrophic default on America’s obligations. But White House officials say they are willing to have discussions about the budget to avoid a government shutdown — although they say the pipeline should not be part of those talks."
Food stamp impasse means farm subsidies begin to expire next week. Roll Call: "...he impact will be staggered. The most significant effect of the extension’s expiration won’t happen until Jan. 1, when the Agriculture Department would be required to start taking steps under permanent law to force up milk prices, the 'dairy cliff.' ... Two major programs for promoting U.S. farm products overseas, the Foreign Market Development Program and the Market Access Program, will be among the first affected."
Big Step For Climate Regs On Horizon
WH today to discuss next stage of climate regs. The Hill: "A top White House official will talk about carbon emissions rules for the nation’s existing power plants, perhaps the farthest-reaching piece of President Obama’s second-term climate agenda. Heather Zichal, a senior climate aide, will appear at a Bipartisan Policy Center event to discuss standards that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to propose next June and finalize in 2015 ... The rules won’t force coal-fired power plants to directly trap carbon emissions, unlike the EPA’s new proposed standards for future plants. Instead the EPA is eyeing an array of other potential options for compliance that deal with efficiency, boosting renewables, curbing consumer power use and other steps."
States may get flexibility. NYT: "Four years ago, Congress rejected the idea of a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by putting a price on them. But the plan announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to regulate emissions from existing coal-fired power plants could foster creation of such a system ... Experts say the E.P.A. might set a simple limit in pounds per kilowatt-hour, or might let the states convert that rate of emissions into an overall cap. The cap might be met by blending in wind power, or by shutting one coal plant and earning credits that could be applied to another. Experts point to the trading system that the E.P.A. allowed when it was phasing out lead in gasoline as one possible model. In that case, credits could be traded among refineries."
