Obama Defends Obamacare
WH apologetic over website, defiant in support of law. NYT: "Senior advisers to the president said they understood that the bungled rollout of the insurance marketplace has given Republicans another opportunity to litigate the political case against the health care law. But they said they viewed the weeks ahead as a period of inevitable improvement that will vindicate their position ... "
President explains how the law allows people to keep substandard plans they like if insurer permits: "...there are a number of Americans, fewer than 5 percent of Americans, who’ve got cut-rate plans that don’t offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident … if you had one of these substandard plans before the Affordable Care Act became law and you really liked that plan, you were able to keep it ... But ever since the law was passed, if insurers decided to downgrade or cancel these substandard plans, what we said under the law is, you’ve got to replace them with quality, comprehensive coverage ... You’re going to get a better deal."
GOP embarrasses themselves at Sebelius hearing. CNN: "References to 'The Wizard of Oz.' A poster of 'bros' doing a keg stand. And that shout-out to 'Red Solo' cups. White House officials are all but thanking Republicans for some of the more entertaining moments from Wednesday's House hearing featuring Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. 'They did us a favor up there today,' one senior White House official told CNN..."
Budget Talks Open
"Farm Subsidies to User Fees Said to Be on Budget-Cut Menu" reports Bloomberg: "House and Senate lawmakers opened their latest bipartisan attempt to curb the U.S. deficit by clashing over whether to raise revenue or cut entitlement spending. Chances are they’ll do neither. Instead, they’re moving toward a third path, reductions to mandatory programs outside Social Security and Medicare to replace automatic cuts hitting the Pentagon, research and other programs ... mandatory program cuts could include farm subsidies and health-care provider payments."
Dems not as unified as during shutdown. NYT: "Democrats in Congress insist that Republicans, to prevent billions of dollars in scheduled cuts to military programs next year, must agree instead to raise new revenues by closing some tax breaks. But the White House, eager to end the arbitrary cuts known as sequestration for both military and domestic programs, has not linked taxes and Pentagon spending for a short-term budget deal covering a year or two."
NYT's Eduardo Porter chronicles the "Perils in Philosophy for Austerity in the U.S.": "...taking a timeout from the inside-the-Beltway obsession with gouging government programs to rein in the nation’s budget deficit could save the economy from a lot of harm ... the assumption that the nation’s biggest problem today is too much borrowing is flawed ... it ignores the large-scale budget cutting already in place. And it plays down the costs of steep deficit reduction in an economy that remains far short of its potential. If anything, the bigger problem is the exact opposite: severe budget cutting is shrinking the federal government too much for it to do its necessary jobs ... few countries can match the speed with which the United States has embraced fiscal austerity ... A recent analysis by the research firm Macroeconomic Advisers estimated that cuts to discretionary government spending ... trimmed growth by seven-tenths of a percentage point a year since 2010, and cost some 1.2 million jobs."
NJ voters set to approve minimum wage hike. W. Post: "On Tuesday, voters there are expected to overwhelmingly pass an amendment to the state constitution that raises the minimum wage by a dollar, to $8.25, and sets it to increase automatically with inflation. If passed, it would make New Jersey the fifth state to include the minimum wage in its constitution and the 11th to adopt automatic increases..."
GOP Civil War Heats Up
"No truce for business groups, Tea Party" reports The Hill: "Trade associations and conservative groups that clashed bitterly over the government shutdown and the debt-ceiling hike will soon be on opposite sides in fights over the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) and the farm bill, to name just a few."
Alabama GOP primary exposes rift. Time: "...Republican runoff for the vacant seat in Alabama‘s First Congressional District has emerged as a proxy war between the GOP‘s business wing and a Tea Party movement that saw the government shutdown as just the first step in the right direction. The safe-seat skirmish between Bradley Byrne, a conservative former state legislator, and Dean Young, an arch-conservative Tea Party upstart, has taken on national import..."
The Nation's Lee Fang isn't buying it: "...the spin makes the business community appear moderate, though there is nothing backing it up. Despite making statements and sending letters voicing their concern, the Chamber has failed to spend a single penny in advocacy against the Tea Party hostage-takers ... there are a handful of high-profile primary races in which establishment Republicans are challenging incumbents, but none of them are proof that there is a concerted effort by business to drive out the Tea Party"
Third Republican Backs Dem Immigration Bill
California's Rep. David Valadao comes on board. The Hill: "'“By supporting H.R. 15 I am strengthening my message: Addressing immigration reform in the House cannot wait.' [said Valadao.] Valadao is a House freshman who was first elected to Congress in November. The 2014 midterm election might have influenced Valadao’s decision to sign on. Democrats hold a 15-point voter registration edge in his district."
More from Roll Call: "While the House isn’t likely to take up that measure, Republicans signaling support for such legislation could pressure leadership to address the issue ... Right now, however, it seems Boehner faces more pressure from the right to not bring up a comprehensive immigration bill than he does to address a pathway to citizenship. That could change if more Republicans sign on to the Garcia bill."
