TPP Text Is Unveiled
Announcement sets timetable for eventual congressional vote. W. Post: “After the text’s release, Obama administration officials said, the president will notify lawmakers of his intent to sign the trade accord. Obama must then wait 90 days before he can apply his signature and send the agreement to Capitol Hill, under the terms of ‘fast-track’ trade legislation approved by Congress in the spring. The president and his top aides are preparing a public relations blitz in the coming weeks to sell the specifics of the deal to the public, with Obama highlighting the economic and foreign policy implications during a trip to Asia later this month.”
Nothing on currency manipulation. Reuters: “The deal does not include measures demanded by some U.S. lawmakers to punish currency manipulation with trade sanctions or set monopoly periods for next-generation biologic drugs at 12 years.”
WH touts labor deal with Vietnam. NYT: “The Communist government in Vietnam has agreed to American terms to grant potentially far-reaching labor rights to the country’s workers, including the freedom to unionize and to strike … [But] John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said that while the bilateral agreement was enforceable in theory, ‘it is not enforceable in practice.'”
And enviro rules. Politico: “[The WH] has been marketing the deal to Democrats as a historic environmental accord that will help protect some of the most ecologically and economically significant regions of the world … Major environmental groups are divided on its merits, however, and it is unclear whether the provisions will succeed in winning over skeptical Democrats.”
State Department rejects request to delay Keystone review. LAT: “Suspending the review probably would mean pushing a final decision past the 2016 presidential election … Analysts expect Obama to reject the project before a United Nations climate summit he will attend in Paris in December, to show he is willing to take tough steps to slow global warming.”
Republicans Prepare Demands For Spending Bill
Republicans eye policy riders on spending bill attacking EPA and Dodd-Frank. Politico: “…the Republican wish list includes: block Waters of the United States regulations that some Democratic moderates also oppose; overwrite a proposed fiduciary rule that would make brokers legally liable for the investment advice they give to customers; kill the EPA’s clean power plan, which Republicans fear will hurt home-state coal companies; and continue to chip away at Obamacare.”
Shutdown talk resurfaces. The Hill: “Democrats say Republicans are trying to wriggle out of the deal by giving priority to defense spending. A core tenet of the accord was that defense and non-defense programs would be increased by equal amounts, they point out. ‘It appears they still can’t get it out of their system,’ Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said, accusing Republicans of wanting to shutter the government.”
Some Republicans hope to end the filibuster. Politico: “The growing appetite to change the rules also shows how frustration from House GOP lawmakers is having some influence on their Senate-side colleagues … Despite the rising desire among many Senate Republicans to alter the rules, any changes limiting minority rights are likely to run into resistance from veteran GOP senators…”
Sen. Warren proposes legislation to compensate for this year’s lack of Social Security’s increase. HuffPost: “Arguing that the government’s measurement of inflation is wrong, Warren’s office said her bill would give seniors and veterans a one-time lump sum of about $580, or roughly 3.9 percent of their annual benefits. The percentage represents the average increase in compensation for CEOs last year, the release says.”
House To Vote On Transportation Bill
Any transportation bill won’t burnish Obama’s legacy, says NYT: “The transportation bill the House is set to pass this week all but dashes the last hope for Mr. Obama and Republicans to go big. It contains no big upfront investment in a jobs program and infrastructure building boom, no tax code overhaul to pay for it, not even any more money for highways and bridges than the nation’s ailing infrastructure gets now.”
House moves to include Ex-Im Bank in transportation bill. The Hill: “A group of House Democrats and Republicans led the charge to block 10 GOP amendments to long-term highway bill that supporters argued would hamper the chances of reviving the bank’s charter…”
Bernie Toughens Rhetoric Against Hillary
Bernie criticizes Hillary on multiple fronts in WSJ interview: “If her email practices foiled public-records requests or compromised classified information, those are ‘valid questions,’ Mr. Sanders said … he said that consistency on such issues [like TPP] ‘does speak to the character of a person.’ … ‘People should be suspect of candidates who receive large sums of money from Wall Street and then go out and say, “Trust me, I’m going to really regulate Wall Street,”‘ Mr. Sanders said.”
Rubio flip-flops on deportation relief. W. Post: “Marco Rubio committed Wednesday to ending President Obama’s controversial program for child immigrants even if Congress doesn’t create an acceptable alternative … Rubio’s shifts on the issue — he co-sponsored and then disavowed comprehensive immigration legislation in the Senate — is … providing fodder for opponents.”
