Global Day of Action Tomorrow Support United Flight Attendants
OurFuture.org's Larry Cohen urges support for striking United Airlines workers: "Thursday’s global day of action and the battle for a fair contract are symbolic of the corporate profit and power grab that is strangling our nation. Details for the actions are at ourcontract.org. If you are passing through a United hub on Thursday or can get to one, join the pickets. If enough of us are there together, we’ll all start winning.
Bernie Tries To Pin Down Hillary On Issues
Sanders highlights contrasts as Clinton visits Capitol Hill. WSJ: "He repeated that Mrs. Clinton voted in favor of the 2002 Iraq War resolution that he opposed ... And he listed several issues on which he had taken a firm position while Mrs. Clinton, he said, had declined to be forthcoming: climate change, financial regulations and a $15 minimum wage."
Hillary's agenda "isn't enough" says NYT's Eduardo Porter: "Not only does the American economy suffer from one of the least skilled work forces, according to the O.E.C.D. The American political system has not done enough to build a social insurance apparatus to help everyday workers and their families sustain prosperous lives ... A future Clinton administration might help change the norms of corporate governance to foster the kind of labor relations that everyday workers have not experienced in decades.
Sen. Warren renews call for Glass-Steagall. The Hill: "Warren’s comments come a day after an advisor to Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton said Clinton has no plans to push for the bank break-up bill ... Two of Clinton's challengers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, have called for re-instating it."
Robert Reich knocks Hillary Clinton for refusing to back Glass-Steagall: "It's a mistake politically because people who believe Hillary Clinton is still too close to Wall Street will not be reassured..."
House, Senate Pursue Different Highway Bills
McConnell moves to pass "multi-year" highway bill. The Hill: "The Republican leader moved to end debate on a motion to proceed to a House-passed bill ... which senators will use as a shell for the highway legislation ... highway legislation could be next on McConnell's agenda after the Senate finishes its work on its rewrite of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law ... McConnell said Tuesday that there's 'bipartisan enthusiasm' for a multi-year bill ... 'I'm fairly optimistic that we can do that.'"
House to vote on "short-term" highway bill today, with eye toward blocking Ex-IM Bank. The Hill: "[Rep. Paul] Ryan and House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) used roughly $5 billion in tax compliance measures and a $3 billion extension of Transportation Security Administration fees to pay for their highway bill. Ryan has said the short-term extension would allow lawmakers to work on a revamp of the U.S.’s international tax structure that would pay for a long-term highway bill."
IMF Calls Greek Deal Too Harsh
IMF says Greece needs more "debt relief." Bloomberg: “'Greece’s debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe has been willing to consider so far,' the IMF said in the analysis ..."
Prime Minister Tsipras scrambles to win parliamentary vote today. Bloomberg: "...Tsipras said in an interview with ERT-TV before a parliamentary vote on the deal on Wednesday[,] 'My priority is to make sure that the choice I made the other day, with a knife at my neck, is finalized.' ... Tsipras’s comments set up a day of parliamentary maneuvering that threatens to rupture his coalition. Still, opposition lawmakers are likely to back the package at a plenary vote scheduled for about 10 p.m. Athens time Wednesday."
Tsipras retaining popular support, reports NYT: "Analysts say he has quickly fashioned an appealing, or at least credible, narrative in the face of what most Greeks consider a negotiating disaster: The deal may be bad, but it was the best we could get and must be carried out in a way that puts average Greeks ahead of the rich, particularly the oligarchs."