Republican Start New Congress With Social Security Attack
House Republicans use rules change to attack Social Security. HuffPost: "The House on Tuesday passed legislation laying out parliamentary rules for the year. The bill included a little-noticed provision blocking Congress from shifting funds to prevent a 2016 shortfall in Social Security's disability insurance program ... Since last year, Social Security advocates have been calling on lawmakers to shift funds from the retirement program to make up the difference -- something Congress has done 11 times since the 1950s ... Social Security Works, an advocacy group that opposes benefit cuts, called the GOP strategy 'hostage taking.'"
And destroy credibility of congressional budget analysts. NYT: "The change on 'dynamic scoring' — ardently sought since the 1990s by Republicans — could ease passage of major tax cuts by showing that their impact on economic growth would substantially reduce their cost to the Treasury. The move is widely seen as a way for Republican leaders to set ground rules for an ambitious overhaul of the entire United States tax code ... Opponents said the rule change would invite politicized scorekeeping, further tilt policy to benefit the rich, and expand the budget deficit."
House also prepares to gut Volcker Rule. HuffPost: "...under legislation slated for a Wednesday vote, banks would be given a two-year reprieve from unloading some of their riskiest holdings ... The legislation can only pass the House if dozens of Democrats support it, since the bill will be brought up under special rules that require a two-thirds majority for approval ... The legislation received [a prior] vote in September, when it passed the House 320 - 102, with 95 Democrats voting in favor..."
Sen. McConnell eyes Dems to help him surmount filibusters. The Hill: "Republicans have identified six go-to centrists: Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mark Warner (Va.), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and independent Sen. Angus King (Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats. Several other Democrats, including Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Chris Coons (Del.), Tom Carper (Del.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.), are also targets, though they are seen as riskier partners."
Sanders Throws Down Over Trade
Sen. Bernie Sanders sends "brutal letter" on Asian trade negotiations to White House. HuffPost: "The letter Sanders sent on Monday to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman criticizes secrecy standards that Froman's office imposes on the TPP talks ... If Froman, the top USTR official, turns down his request [for a copy of the draft text], Sanders said he'd respond by introducing a bill that would require any trade talks be made public at the request of a member of Congress."
Robert Reich argues "Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Is a Pending Disaster": "Tariffs are already low. Negotiations now involve such things as intellectual property, financial regulations, labor laws, and rules for health, safety, and the environment. It's no longer free trade versus protectionism. Big corporations and Wall Street want some of both."
More States To Expand Medicaid
W. Post debunks GOP talking point about Obamacare's medical device tax: "Have thousands of jobs in the American medical device industry been eliminated as a result of the tax? ... Despite cuts to some companies, there was growth in others in 2013, including smaller companies ... The Congressional Research Service also found the medical-device tax would have 'fairly minor effects' on industry jobs, and that output and employment in the industry would fall by 'no more than two-tenths of 1 percent.'"
More Republican governors prepared to expand Medicaid. The Hill: "President Obama appears more willing to compromise on the path toward Medicaid expansion in several red states, a pair of GOP governors said after a White House meeting on Tuesday. Govs. Pat McCrory (R-N.C.) and Gary Herbert (R-Utah) told reporters they believe the president would sign off on their states’ alternative expansion plans for the low-income insurance program ... Last month, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) took a major step toward making his state the first in the deep South to approve the expansion. Shortly after, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) shocked his staff when he said was also mulling an expansion."
Progressives Pressure Obama On Overtime Pay
W. Post's Greg Sargent covers progressive worries over Obama's upcoming overtime pay order: "Last spring, Obama directed the Department of Labor to revise the rules that govern which private sector employees get overtime pay ... The question is: How high will the Obama administration set the new threshold? ... Some liberals are pushing Obama to set the threshold at around $51,000 per year, which could mean overtime pay for 47 percent of workers who get salaries. Billionaire Nick Hanauer ... wants it set even higher, at $69,000 per year ... [But] some of these liberals think the Obama administration is eying a much lower threshold, of around $42,000."
EPI's Larry Mishel and Ross Eisenbrey talk to TNR about "Obama's wage agenda": "...employment authorization to let’s say 3-4 million more [undocumented immigrants], that’s going to raise wages ... the executive order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for anyone who works for a federal contractor ... The fair pay and safe workplaces initiative, which I think Obama talked about in terms of fairness and taxpayers not subsidizing evil, is also a wage initiative..."
Obama nominates Hawaiian banker to Fed. NYT: "[Allan] Landon’s selection comes after months of pressure by the community banking industry, which is regulated by the Fed and which has argued that the Fed’s seven-member board should include at least one person with relevant experience of that sector ... two people with knowledge of the Obama administration’s selection process said the White House had considered only nominees likely to support the Fed chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, in her campaign to stimulate the economy."
