Syria Delays Vote To Keep Government Open
House postpones vote to keep government open to weigh Syria request. The Hill: "A vote was originally slated for Thursday. But after the White House made a late request to Congress to include authorization to arm Syrian rebels to fight the Sunni militant group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the continuing resolution, House leadership chose to delay a vote ... House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said a vote on the funding measure is now expected next week. He said he hopes it will be next Wednesday. The House does not return until Tuesday evening."
Top House Republican faces conservative backlash for Ex-Im compromise in government operations bill. The Hill: "[Rep. Jeb Hensarling,] chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bank’s charter, is an ardent critic of the bank ... But on Wednesday, Hensarling offered his reluctant support for a stopgap funding measure to avoid a government shutdown, even though the bill reauthorizes the bank through June ... Hensarling [noted] in June the bank’s charter would be up for debate, when lawmakers were not distracted by avoiding a shutdown ... Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler said conservatives are 'understandably wary when party leaders promise to fight another day.'"
Senate Dems Unveil Inversions Bill
Sens. Schumer and Durbin propose bill curtailing inversions. Journal-News: "The bill by Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Durbin of Illinois takes a different approach than an earlier proposal from Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan that received a chilly reception from Republicans. The new bill would reduce the practice known as 'earnings stripping’' in which U.S. subsidiaries deduct up to 50 percent of interest payments on their debt. Schumer and Durbin want to cut the deduction in half and to stop letting corporations carry forward their interest expense deductions to use them in the future ... The Levin bill would keep the legal headquarters of a merged company in the U.S. if 50 percent of the merged company’s shareholders aren’t different from the original shareholders."
Senate group calls on Burger King to drop inverson. Reuters: "Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, and four other lawmakers argue that move is unfair because many Burger King workers count on programs such as Medicaid and food stamps that rely on taxpayer funding. They also said, in a letter to Burger King Chief Executive Officer Daniel Schwartz that was dated Thursday, that the burger chain uses taxpayer-supported roads, food safety inspectors and other perks of doing business in the United States ... In addition to Durbin, Senate Democrats Jack Reed, Sherrod Brown, Carl Levin, and Independent Bernie Sanders signed on."
NY Gov. Cuomo's social liberalism doesn't negate his economic conservatism, argues W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "Cuomo’s travails reflect a growing trend in Democratic politics: In blue cities and states, being a social liberal will no longer suffice ... Democratic mayors and governors are beginning to get this message. That’s one reason why legislation raising municipal and state minimum wages is beginning to move through city halls and statehouses."
Breakfast Sides
Student debt crisis hitting all ages. McClatchy: "The percentage of households headed by someone 65 to 74 years old with student debt increased to 4 percent in 2010 from 1 percent in 2004 ... the outstanding federal student debt for this age group was about $2.8 billion; by last year, it had climbed to more than $18 billion ... the majority of student loan debt for older Americans was incurred as a result of their own education, not the education of their children."
Conservative legal strategy against EPA climate regs takes shape. TNR: "...15 Republican governors sent a letter to Obama claiming that the regulation 'exceeds the scope of federal law.' ... the Clean Air Act—specifically Section 111(d)—is what necessitates the EPA to act ... But conservatives argue that existing power plants are already regulated under another section of the law, so Section 111(d) shouldn't apply ... Second, the letter argues that the EPA can't force states to regulate emissions beyond the point where they are emitted from power plants themselves ... The Natural Resources Defense Council, which proposed a blueprint in 2012 similar to the EPA's plan, says there is nothing to worry about."
Some Senate Dems don't want Obama to act on immigration ever. Politico: "The resistance is coming from Democrats facing tough reelection bids this fall and other moderate voices in the party who say President Barack Obama shouldn’t use executive authority to ease deportations at any time ... The level of resistance from rank-and-file Democrats could be influential in what the White House ultimately does on immigration, since the administration will be reluctant to make major moves on immigration without strong support from congressional Democrats."
W. Post's George Will calls Senate Democrats "extremists" for proposing campaign finance constitutional amendment: "...although there is abundant foolishness and unseemliness in U.S. politics, real extremism — measures or movements that menace the Constitution’s architecture of ordered liberty — is rare. This week, however, extremism stained the Senate. Forty-eight members of the Democratic caucus attempted to do something never previously done: Amend the Bill of Rights. They tried to radically shrink First Amendment protection of political speech. They evidently think extremism in defense of the political class’s convenience is no vice."
CFPB plans new mortgage regs. The Hill: "The forthcoming regulations center on disclosure forms mortgage lenders are required to give borrowers during the application process and again during the closing stage of the agreement. A final rule set to take effect next August is meant to streamline the process by replacing multiple overlapping forms with a single form to be given to consumers upon application and at closing, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. At the same time, the rule will simplify the forms, presenting the basic terms of the loan in plain language, he said."
