Obama Warns Of Job Losses If GOP Doesn't Fund Transportation Soon
"Obama Urges Congress to Fund Infrastructure Projects" reports NYT: "...Obama poked derisive fun at Republicans as he urged them to join Democrats to pass legislation that would replenish the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to exhaust its resources by August ... 'I haven’t heard a good reason why they haven’t acted ... It’s not like they’ve been busy with other stuff.' ... The president said that if Congress did not act in the next couple of months, states would have to decide which projects to continue and which to halt, ultimately placing as many as 700,000 jobs at risk. 'That would be like Congress threatening to lay off the entire population of Denver, or Seattle, or Boston,' ... He made a pitch for his own infrastructure plan: a four-year, $302 billion initiative unveiled this year that would pay for renewing the transportation fund in part by closing corporate tax loopholes."
Transportation Department forced to cut payments to states as Highway Trust Fund shrinks. The Hill: "The federal government will start reducing road and transit payments in August, potentially leaving states scrambling to cover the gap. The cuts are expected to begin in the first week of August, when there will only be about $4 billion left in the Highway Trust Fund ... just as many families hit the roads for summer vacations."
Pressure Builds For Sweeping Immigration Action
Immigration advocates push for big executive order. The Hill: "Many reform advocates are hoping a wide-ranging list of policy recommendations, submitted to the Homeland Security Department in April by leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), will guide the administration as officials weigh their next move. Those recommendations include not only a broad expansion of DACA to include older immigrants, but also efforts to allow illegal immigrants enrolled in DACA to enlist in the military; to bar local governments from enforcing immigration law; and to permit more undocumented relatives of U.S. military members and veterans to remain in the country while they seek green cards."
"Boehner Decides Helping Hillary Win Is Better Than Passing Immigration Reform" argues NY Mag's Jonathan Chait: "The failure of a bill ensures that, at worst, Republicans will alienate Latinos again in 2016 by competing for the restrictionist vote; and at best, will hand Democrats a powerful issue to use against them in the general election ... The GOP’s worst problem is that Obama’s unilateral relaxation of immigration enforcement will add a newer and more potent dimension to the immigration issue. No longer will Republicans merely have to promise to oppose reform legislation. They will have to promise to undo what Obama has done."
Increased Republican Resistance To Ex-Im Bank
Setback for Ex-Im bank in Senate. The Hill: "Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) office said the centrist senator has no plans to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. The move comes after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Senate Democrats would organize a vote on reauthorizing Ex-Im ... soon after the July 4 recess ... Kirk had been seen as the most likely GOP co-sponsor of the bill given his past support for the bank. Two major beneficiaries of the bank, Boeing and Caterpillar, are headquartered in Kirk's state. And just last week, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) told The Hill that he and Kirk planned to introduce legislation."
W. Post lists the companies with "the most to lose" if Ex-Im Bank is shut down: "In the 2013 fiscal year, the bank provided $8.3 billion in financing to back the aviation-related manufacturing sector in dealings abroad, second only to the manufacturing sector (a category that excludes commercial aircraft), according to the bank's 2013 annual report ... the Chicago-based Boeing Co. benefits the most from the bank’s help ... Another company in the industry with much to lose is Atlas Air Inc., a cargo aircraft operator ... Connecticut-based General Electric Co. was given at least $2.6 billion in backing from the bank in fiscal year 2013 ... It’s not just large corporations and profitable industries that have stakes in the Ex-Im debate. Small businesses benefited from nearly 90 percent of the total number of authorizations in fiscal year 2013, representing a record 19 percent of the dollar volume allocated by the bank that year."
