GOP Seeks To Widen Inequality
Sen. Marco Rubio today to propose weakening Social Security. AP: "[Rubio] would raise the retirement age for younger workers while protecting those age 55 and over. Older workers could still expect to retire at age 62 or older, depending on their plans ... To offset their concerns, those younger workers could have access to the same retirement plans used by Congress. Rubio's plan also would suspend the payroll taxes on those age 65 or older who continue to work."
"GOP candidates stumble on wage hike" reports The Hill: "In competitive fights across the country, Republican candidates are opposing the wage hike, or have sought to dodge the question entirely. 'They're having a hard time messaging this,' said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. 'The issue of the minimum wage has dogged Republicans for years ... the hard thing is convincing voters that [raising the minimum wage] is going to cost jobs.'"
Corporate tax break bill may get squeezed from left and right in Senate. Roll Call: "Senators will likely face a separate vote on boosting the deficit in order to pass an $85 billion tax cut extenders bill, according to key Senate Republicans. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a staunch opponent of the extenders bill, said he expects someone to raise a budget point of order ... 'I will raise every order I can to try to get us to do the right thing as far as the American taxpayer and our kids' are concerned, he continued ... And could extenders be used as leverage to force House action on a Senate unemployment extension bill? 'The answer is maybe,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt ... Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he may try to attach the unemployment extension bill, which he helped draft, to the extenders measure. But that doesn’t seem likely given that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is not expected to allow amendments."
Time Ticking On Highway Trust Fund
Bipartisan Senate transportation bill doesn't solve insolvency crisis for highway trust fund. Bloomberg: "The bill drafted by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer and other members would provide the same amount of money each year as in the current two-year, $105 billion legislation expiring in September, plus inflation. Every state would see a boost in federal funds from what it currently receives ... The bill is co-sponsored by Louisiana Senator David Vitter, the committee’s top Republican ... The bill doesn’t address the central issue of how to fund projects ... The U.S. Highway Trust Fund, which pays for projects out of gasoline and diesel-fuel taxes, may not be able to meet its obligations by July unless a revenue source is agreed to..."
WH wants a bigger bill. The Hill: "Obama's proposal would include approximately $75 billion per year in road and transit spending ... The current transportation bill that is expiring in September includes about $50 billion per year for infrastructure after the 2013 sequestration budget cuts were factored in. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has said the upper chamber's bill will include about the same amount of funding, adjusting for inflation ... Obama has proposed that lawmakers use approximately $150 billion from a corporate tax reform proposal that is considered unlikely to be approved to help close the transportation funding gap."
Business Pressure On GOP To Back Immigration
US Chamber of Commerce pressures GOP on immigration. Politico: "The GOP shouldn’t even field a presidential candidate in 2016 unless Congress passes immigration reform this year, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said Monday ... National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons said he also thought immigration reform could pass this year, perhaps in a lame-duck session."
Speaker Boehner won't say when will we turn to immigration. The Hill: "Boehner said that after years of bipartisan talks on immigration, the parties were 'getting closer on the policy side' on immigration. Supporters of reform see a window after the GOP’s 2014 primary season is over and before the August recess for House action, but Boehner gave no indication of a similar timetable. The Speaker was adamant, however, that 2016 politics would not play a role in his decisions on immigration."
Republicans Filibuster Energy-Efficiency
Republicans filibuster energy-efficiency bill, sacrifice Keystone vote. The Hill: "Monday’s impasse likely dooms a Senate vote on the pipeline, a high priority of Republicans and Democrats from energy rich states, for the rest of this year ... Reid said Republicans constantly changed their demands. He said they initially expressed a willingness to vote on the bipartisan bill without amending it ... Reid said the final straw came after he promised Republicans a vote on a stand-alone bill authorizing Keystone. They again upped their demand by insisting on several other energy-related amendments ..."
No hope for West Antarctica ice sheet. NYT: "A large section of the mighty West Antarctica ice sheet has begun falling apart and its continued melting now appears to be unstoppable, two groups of scientists reported on Monday. If the findings hold up, they suggest that the melting could destabilize neighboring parts of the ice sheet and a rise in sea level of 10 feet or more may be unavoidable in coming centuries."
Michigan Senate race may turn on climate. W. Post's Greg Sargent: "Dem Rep. Gary Peters, who is running for Senate in Michigan, is calling on GOP foe Terri Lynn Land to take a stand on whether she believes human activity is responsible for global warming. It may seem far fetched, but climate change could actually be an issue in this one Senate race, because of two factors: The centrality of the Great Lakes to the Michigan economy; and the huge expenditures on behalf of Land by the political group founded by Charles and David Koch."
Oklahoma oil man supports increase in state oil tax. WSJ: "...George Kaiser is breaking with fellow energy executives in asking the state to raise taxes on oil companies, including his own. 'Oklahoma is in desperate financial circumstances,' says the billionaire philanthropist, who controls closely held Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. A higher tax on oil-and-gas production could help the state pay for education and much needed infrastructure improvements, he says in a prepared statement. Raising the production tax 'doesn't move the needle in the decision to drill.'"
Californnia Gov. Jerry Brown fights to keep high-speed rail in budget. LAT: "Bond funding for the project has been tied up in court, and Brown wants to use money generated by polluters who pay for the right to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, part of the state's cap-and-trade program ... Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who sits on a budget subcommittee, would rather spend the money on mass transit projects in heavily congested areas than on laying the first strips of track for the bullet train in the Central Valley ... Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has offered his own plan for spending cap-and-trade income, which would direct less money to the bullet train than Brown wants and put much more toward affordable housing."
