Homeland Security Shutdown Looms
With 17 days until Homeland Security shutdown, McConnell and Boehner squabble over immigration. The Hill: "Senate and House Republicans are fighting over who should move first to break the stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security ... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday ... 'The next move obviously is up to the House,' ... Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office pushed back, arguing there is 'little point in additional House action.'"
All eyes on Sen. Ted Cruz. Politico: "With the House DHS bill stalled in the Senate, Boehner has publicly called on Cruz — and [Sen. Jeff] Sessions — to lead the charge in their chamber ... But Cruz told reporters Tuesday that Boehner and McConnell had 'given away virtually all our leverage by funding almost the entirety of the federal government' in last December’s funding package. Cruz also called on McConnell to prevent the confirmation of all presidential nominations who are not vital to national security interests — until Obama relents on immigration."
Unions Under Assault
Senate GOP plans offensive against NLRB. The Hill: "The new Republican majority in the Senate [plans] a series of hearings and legislative attacks against policies that make it easier for workers to unionize. The hearings will put a spotlight on an agency increasingly held in disdain by Republicans, while also offering a platform for the GOP to cozy up to the business groups that have assailed the labor board as blatantly pro-union."
Governors in both parties target public sector unions for cuts. Politico: "The most aggressive moves are coming from Illinois’ newly inaugurated Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner ... But some Democrats have lately put public-employee unions in the hot seat too ... Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spoken of removing 'ineffective teachers' and expanding charter schools ..."
"Rauner is a hybrid of the worst traits of Mitt Romney and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker" warns HuffPost's Robert Creamer.
Greece, Germany In Staredown
Greece declares "no way back" in advance of European talks. AP: "'How much of the bailout deal do we accept? Zero percent. What percentage of the (cost-cutting) measures do we accept? About 30 percent of that agreement is toxic and we reject it,' Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said."
Germany holds firm on austerity. Bloomberg: "German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rejected Greece’s call for a new debt accord ... Schaeuble damped any expectations of a positive outcome for Greece at the meeting, saying there are no plans to discuss a new accord or give the country more time. He said in Istanbul yesterday after a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 that if Greece doesn’t want the final tranche of its current aid program, 'it’s over.'"
Breakfast Sides
Bipartisan group warns Obama that trade deals must address currency manipulation. The Hill: "Nine House and Senate members introduced legislation on Tuesday that would punish countries that alter their exchange rates to gain a global trading advantage, hurting U.S. workers and damaging competitiveness ... saying they will withhold their support for trade promotion authority (TPA) and any trade agreements that don't tackle the currency issue."
Sen. Bernie Sanders issues report defending Social Security from GOP attack. Bloomberg: "Sanders's report argues that it is unnecessary to cut Social Security benefits in order to shore up the program's long-term solvency ... Sanders is using his new perch as the top Democrat on the budget committee to become a self-styled defender of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt-era program..."
American Prospect's David Dayen unloads on Obama's housing record: "... it was within Obama’s power to remedy this one—to ensure that a foreclosure crisis now in its eighth year would actually end, with relief for homeowners to rebuild wealth, and to preserve Americans’ faith that their government will aid them in times of economic struggle."
"New Evidence that Half of America is Broke" from Common Dreams' Paul Buchheit: "A recent Bankrate poll found that almost two-thirds of Americans didn't have savings available to cover a $500 repair bill or a $1,000 emergency room visit. A related Pew survey concluded that over half of U.S. households have less than one month's income in readily available savings, and that ALL their savings -- including retirement funds -- amounted to only about four months of income."
