GOP Whiffs On Climate
Republican attack on rules has been pathetic, says TNR's Danny Vinik: "...when you take a closer look at those arguments: they quickly fall apart. What’s more, Republicans had months to develop their position ... Yet, their three arguments against the new regulations only prove the weakness of their position. In those five months between McConnell meeting his constituents and Monday, Republicans were unable to devise a single, credible argument against the new rules."
WH reaches out to Senate Dems on climate rules. The Hill: "...applause was heard multiple times coming during the lunch meeting, and most Democrats refrained from criticizing the rules to reporters when it was concluded. There were a few exceptions. Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), who is up for reelection this year, slammed the administration for sidestepping Congress, which she said should have control over climate policy. And Sen. Mark Begich (Alaska), another vulnerable Democrat up for reelection, said he was concerned about the flexibility that power plants in his home state would have to meet the targets."
Natural gas is displacing some renewable energy. NYT: "If all the increase in gas-fired generation replaced coal, then the switch produced savings of 113.1 million tons of carbon a year. But natural gas is starting to replace nuclear power, which can be seen as wiping out about 10 percent of the savings, because a reactor has a carbon footprint of nearly zero ... 'Natural gas has also displaced some investment in renewables and nuclear,' according to a paper published in May in Environmental Science & Technology ..."
VA Reform Battle
"Significant differences" in parties' VA reform Senate bills: The Hill: "Similarities between the two approaches suggest a compromise remains possible. For example, while McCain’s bill appears to go farther in giving veterans the option of seeking private care, Sanders would allow vets to seek private care if they can’t get into a VA in a timely fashion. But there are also significant differences between the two approaches. For example, the Sanders bill would authorize the VA to lease 27 new facilities in order to provide more care ... Sanders said that his bill, like the GOP measure, would give the VA chief the power to promptly fire incompetent personnel, but that the Republican effort would go too far and could open up the agency to lawsuits from employees arguing they were fired for political reasons."
Dispute over amendments could sink bill. Politico: "On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) posed an offer to Republicans: The Senate will vote on a version of a House-passed bill that seeks to allow the VA to clear out bad actors caught up in the health-care scandal. In return, Reid is demanding a vote on legislation devised by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would create 27 new VA health facilities, expand veterans access to health care at community centers and encourage the VA to hire more doctors and nurses. But Reid wants to work quickly — and he seemed unenthusiastic about offering Republicans votes on amendments, which would include a roll call on an alternate proposal developed by GOP Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma ... McCain said if he can’t get a vote on his alternative, there’s little hope for the Sanders legislation."
Breakfast Sides
Sen. Sherrod Brown to question if student loan industry is rigged against borrowers at Senate Banking subcommittee hearing. The Hill: "'I'm concerned that student loan servicers see that they can maximize their profits by cutting corners, rather than giving proper customer service,' Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will say, according to an advanced copy of his opening remarks. 'Among the questions to consider: Have servicers created an intentionally opaque repayment process, set up to make borrowers fail?' ... While Brown's hearing will look at the borrower's experience, the Senate Budget Committee will have a full committee hearing Thursday on how the nation's $1.2 trillion student loan debt impacts the economy. Warren's first standalone legislation proposal has seen little traction in the Senate, which would allow students who are eligible for Stafford loans to borrow at the same interest rate that banks receive when obtaining low-interest, short-term discounted loans from the Federal Reserve."
"Michigan Senate Passes Plan to Ease Detroit Pension Cuts" reports NYT: "The Michigan Senate on Tuesday agreed to Gov. Rick Snyder’s call for spending millions in state funds to spare the pensions of Detroit retirees from deeper cuts and to avoid the sale of artworks from the city’s museum, part of a larger bargain aimed at bringing a swift close to the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy ... But for the bargain to proceed, the city’s 20,000 retirees must in the coming month vote for Detroit’s plan for emerging from bankruptcy, even though it includes cuts to some of their benefits ... Some of the city’s creditors have balked at the proposals, saying they blatantly favor retirees over banks. But many retirees say that their pensions were protected by the state’s Constitution and that any cuts — even smaller than expected ones — were crushing."
Huge health insurance premium cut in Oregon. The Hill: "One health insurance company on Oregon's ObamaCare exchange is proposing to lower premiums an average of 16 percent next year, according to a report. The other two carriers — Regence BlueCross Blue Shield and Kaiser — are proposing negligible increases of less than 5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively ... The insurer proposing a 16 percent rate decrease in Oregon is Providence Health Plan, which said it is cutting prices because its customers are expected to bill less for medical care than once anticipated."
