Highway Cliff Approaches
"Highway fund running on fumes" reports The Hill: "Lawmakers are under pressure to refill the Highway Trust Fund when they return to Washington after the Fourth of July weekend or risk losing thousands of construction jobs that could set back recent job growth ... The Obama administration wants lawmakers to approve a four-year, $302 billion transportation bill to prevent future standoffs over infrastructure funding ... A Senate panel in May approved a $265 billion highway bill, but senators still haven't found a way to pay for it beyond the gas tax revenue. Despite the pressure, House leaders have stayed silent on transportation funding. House lawmakers are focused on passing a short-term patch in the neighborhood of $9 billion to carry the Highway Trust Fund through the end of the year.vTransportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said this week that lawmakers should turn to a longer-term fix, though he acknowledged a temporary patch would be better than nothing."
Washington Examiner adds: "...neither the House nor Senate has scheduled time this week to debate legislation to fund highway projects, even though just a handful of workdays remain before lawmakers depart for the August recess."
WV officials worry about loss of funds. Charleston Daily Mail: "'It would put our cash flow in a critical state,' said Brent Walker, spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Transportation ... Walker said state departments of transportation likely are used to dealing with such uncertainty, but this time the threat looms larger as the money could disappear soon."
And in VA. Frederickburg's Free Lance-Star: "Hap Connors, the Fredericksburg-area representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, summed it up: 'We’ve been told that everything is at risk.' In May, new Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne told Congress there would be 'dire' consequences if the federal money dries up. Hundreds of projects could be 'ground to a halt,' he said. Transit systems, mostly rural, could stop running. And, he added, thousands of jobs could be lost."
Ex-IM Bank Splits GOP
Dems hopes Ex-Im Bank issue leads Big Business away from GOP. National Journal: "'I've said this to [chamber President] Tom Donohue and others: In many ways mainstream Democrats are closer to you than many Republicans because the tea party has pulled them so far to the right,' said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. 'They're doing what's harmful to business.' Indeed, business lobbyists in Washington and the interests they represent have increasingly voiced irritation with a Republican Conference that has ignored its counsel and its requests on everything from the debt ceiling and immigration reform to terrorism risk insurance."
Conservative activists ramp up pressure on Republicans. WSJ: "Two conservative groups, Heritage Action for America and Club for Growth, are expected to make reauthorizing the agency a "key vote" the groups will use in their annual ratings of lawmakers, as they did in 2012. Groups such as Generation Opportunity, a conservative organization aimed at younger voters, have targeted the bank on social media, including a recent cartoon video titled 'The Kronies: Laughing All the Way To The Export-Import Bank' that received more than 200,000 views in three weeks on YouTube ..."
Boehner Defends Lawsuit
Boehner writes CNN.com oped defending lawsuit against Obama's executive actions: "...the President has not faithfully executed the laws when it comes to a range of issues, including his health care law, energy regulations, foreign policy and education ... the President has consistently overstepped his authority under the Constitution, and in so doing eroded the power of the legislative branch."
Boehner lawsuit has a long way to go. National Journal: "Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said the measure will first go to the Rules Committee for either a hearing or a markup [then a] vote in July ... Steel would not commit to a suit being filed before Labor Day. But he vigorously refuted suggestions that talk of the suit is a ploy solely designed to gin up the GOP base prior to the November elections ... Even if a suit is filed, [White House aides] believe it could not be decided during Obama's presidency ..."
Breakfast Sides
Treasury officials head to China this week. Bloomberg: "The immediate task before [Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for Trade and Investment Policy Sharon] Yuan is persuading a slow-moving Chinese government to allow greater market access for U.S. businesses. She’s Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew’s everyday liaison with the world’s second-largest economy as they press China to quicken its economic opening and increase the value of a currency that happens to be called the yuan ... [She said a] good outcome in Beijing this week would be 'to make as much incremental progress as we can' and put 'some flesh on the bones' of China’s pledge to move toward a more market-oriented economy..."
Homeland Security Secretary Johnson pledges to stem child immigrant influx and implement broader deportation relief. Bloomberg: "'Our border is not open to illegal migration, and we are taking a number of steps to address it, including turning people around faster,' Johnson said today on NBC’s 'Meet the Press.' ... 'There are a number of things that the president and I, within the confines of existing law, can do to fix the broken immigration system, and we will,' ... Johnson said that the administration would work to fix flaws in the Secure Communities program, which facilities the transfer of local arrestees to federal immigration officials."
