Bill To Fund Government May Pass Narrowly
Boehner thinks he has the votes. Politico: "The margin could be razor thin, but House Republicans think they will pass their funding bill before the government shuts down Thursday. Top aides and lawmakers on the GOP whip team privately say they believe between 150 and 175 Republicans will support the $1.1 trillion, nine-month government funding bill. And senior House Democrats predict that some of their members will help make up for the Republican defections to get the bill across the finish line."
Other signs point to yes. The Hill: "While President Obama hasn’t publicly endorsed the legislation — something that would likely cause more Republicans to vote against it — the White House on Wednesday touted a number of the bill’s provisions ... House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a wild card in the debate, criticized both measures but pointedly did not say she would oppose the bill ... If she signals to her members that they are free to support the bill, it will surely pass. And Pelosi generally sides with the White House."
Left still trying to strip out derivatives deregulation. The Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren ... pleaded for House Democrats to withhold support for a government funding package due to a provision she said would change the Dodd-Frank financial reform law to let 'Wall Street gamble with taxpayer money.' ... it’s unclear whether the opposition from Warren, Frank and others will persuade House Democrats to risk a government shutdown by voting against the bill. Even vocal critics in the Senate of the provision, such as Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), stopped short of promising to oppose it."
"Republicans seek to cripple IRS" reports Politico: "With seemingly little pushback from Democrats, the GOP this week secured $350 million in IRS budget cuts into the “cromnibus,” just weeks before one of the toughest tax seasons starts. The cuts to the IRS — and the larger negotiations on the year-end spending bill — offer a sneak peek at what Republicans plan to do when they are able to dominate government spending decisions. IRS watchers warn that the agency is spiraling toward a rocky future that will rival some of its darkest days in its history, when whistleblowers blew the lid off IRS agents abusing power and thousands of tax returns were lost in the mail."
Weiss Fight Heats Up
More senators oppose Weiss nomination. Bloomberg: "The opposition yesterday from Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Al Franken of Minnesota further complicates the nomination for the administration and Democratic leaders. After defending Weiss’s Democratic bona fides and accepting his campaign contributions, they’ll have to turn to Republicans to get him into office."
W. Post's Harold Meyerson laments the loss of regular work hours: "Regular hours were once a cornerstone of Americans’ work lives. They were a feature of the union contracts that covered a third of the workforce in the decades following World War II. But as unions have vanished and workers suffered a loss of power, thousands of employers have taken to summoning their employees — or telling them to wait, unpaid, until they are either called in or told not to report — with scant regard for such hoary concerns as the workers’ familial obligations ... As Democrats regroup from November’s debacle, they should develop and promote a Workers’ Bill of Rights..."
President to announce new manufacturing hubs. The Hill: "President Obama on Thursday will announce some $390 million in new public and private spending designed to boost manufacturing and apprenticeship programs [which will] will underwrite the creation of a smart manufacturing hub run by the Department of Energy and a flexible hybrid electronics hub run by the Pentagon. They will be the seventh and eighth such institute launched during Obama’s presidency."
Breakfast Sides
Right-wing Australian government reverses on global climate fund. Mother Jones: "...Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop—who is also the country's minister for foreign affairs—finally caved to international pressure and announced a $200 million (AUD) commitment to the Green Climate Fund. That's about $166 million (US) ... Last month, [Prime Minister] Abbott was humiliated at his very own party—the G20 meeting in Brisbane—when world leaders ganged up on him..."
White House touts bipartisan support for early education. NYT: [Obama's] $1 billion announcement is a drop in the bucket; in his original proposal to expand preschool last year, Mr. Obama called for 75 times that amount. But Cecilia Muñoz, the president’s domestic policy adviser, says the support among businesses, local officials and federal lawmakers was evidence of 'tremendous, tremendous support' for expanding preschool around the country ... even without congressional action, Ms. Muñoz said action in 34 states to expand access to preschool was encouraging. That includes investments by traditionally conservative governments in places like Georgia and Oklahoma..."
