Speculation Rises Over Immigration Announcement
Immigration announcement may come Friday in Vegas. The Hill: "A pair of local media outlets reported late Tuesday night that the president would be making a surprise trip to the city later this week ... A speech at Del Sol [High School] would provide a symbolic bookend on the president’s push for immigration reform. During a speech at the school in January 2013, he declared repeatedly 'now is the time' for Congress to enact immigration reform."
Bill signing today will send a message to GOP on immigration. NYT: "President Obama says he is happy to 'crumple up' his plans for executive actions on immigration if Republicans will step up and pass a bill ... [Now] Obama is planning to announce Wednesday that he is scrapping strict safety regulations that his administration unveiled last year for federally subsidized child-care facilities ... as he signs a bipartisan bill that would achieve the same goals."
Executive action may include work permits, says congressman. The Hill: "'...the president is going to choose between five and 10 years, that is that you have to be in the United States for five to 10 years and you have to been working here, and you are going to pay for [a] background check,' Gutierrez said on Fox News's 'O'Reilly Factor.' 'You're going to submit your fingerprints and if they come back clear, he is going to give you a work authorization for two years and a Social Security card. He's going to put you on the books paying taxes.' Gutierrez, a leading proponent of immigration reform, also gave details that would confirm a Bloomberg report on Tuesday that undocumented immigrants will need to have American citizen children in order to qualify."
"Obama Has the Law—and Reagan—on His Side on Immigration" argues TNR's Erwin Chemerinsky and Samuel Kleiner: " It has always been within the president’s discretion to decide whether to have the Department of Justice enforce a particular law. As the Supreme Court declared in United States v. Nixon, 'the Executive Branch has exclusive authority and absolute discretion to decide whether to prosecute a case.' ... presidents of both parties have tailored immigration policy to their own goals. In 1987, the Reagan administration took executive action to limit deportations for 200,000 Nicaraguan exiles, even those who had been turned down for asylum."
Keystone Blocked
Keystone filibustered, but battle isn't over. Bloomberg: "Next year’s vote promises to be different when Republicans take control of the chamber with at least eight more members. That could be enough to win passage though short of the 67 needed to overcome a presidential veto ... Obama, meanwhile, faces no deadline to decide, meaning Keystone could remain in limbo into the next election. The State Department, which has jurisdiction over cross-border projects, is reviewing whether the pipeline is in the national interest. Its evaluation has been delayed as it awaits a court decision in Nebraska that will determine the legality of the proposed route across that state."
Filibuster shows Senate liberals ready to fight. Politico: "...liberal Democrats are instead eyeing a long game: knock down GOP proposals that they disagree with when they can hold the line against 60 votes. If they can’t, rely on President Barack Obama to quash them with his veto pen. And hold the line until 2016, when Democrats hope to retake the Senate majority and litigate climate change in the presidential race."
NYT's Eduardo Porter touts carbon tax: " By providing a monetary incentive, economists say, such a tax would offer by far the most effective way to encourage business and individuals to reduce their use of fossil fuels and invest in alternatives."
China has a war on coal. The Hill: "The world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases unveiled a plan that puts a cap on consumption by 2020 to no more than a 28 percent increase from 2013 levels ... It also is limiting the growth of coal to 16 percent over the next six years."
Will Wages Rise?
"Wages poised to rise" reports Bloomberg: "Wages and salaries climbed last quarter by the most since 2008 as a dwindling number of unemployed per job opening approached a tipping point. Amid rising profits and sales per employee, some companies have a cushion to boost compensation."
But Larry Summers sees danger ahead, reports W. Post: "With Europe stagnant, China cooling and Japan, Russia and Brazil dogged by recession, Summers -- who removed himself from the running for Federal Reserve chairman last year -- argues that we should forget about the national debt and start taking advantage of abnormally low interest rates to borrow and spend on worthwhile investments that will boost growth now and in the future."
Breakfast Sides
GOP preparing to dump CBO chief, notes WSJ's Jim Manley: "The idea would be to get their own people in place ... as they try to make their tax proposals pay for themselves. That is, by using 'dynamic scoring,' which says, in essence, that tax cuts pay for themselves by increased economic production that comes about because of the tax cuts."
"A Bernie Sanders candidacy could help Hillary Clinton" argues LAT's Doyle McManus: "... it would be good for Clinton to work through her campaign style in more friendly waters. The last thing she wants is to sail through the primaries untested and have to develop her battle skills in actual combat with her Republican opponent. 'She needs to get out of the cocoon of inevitability,' former Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod said last week."
"Social Security advocates fear more cuts in staff and service" reports W. Post: "From fiscal year 2011 through 2013, the Social Security Administration received $2.7 billion less than Obama requested, followed by a small increase in 2014 ... field-office staffing dropped 14 percent from 2011 to 2014 ... Good luck to Social Security clients requesting a hearing after being denied benefits. They’ll need a great deal of patience."
