Sanders Adjusts After Debate
Sanders increases focus on foreign policy. The Hill: "He opened his Monday night rally in Cleveland with 10 minutes touching on foreign policy, a rare departure from his typical stump speech. He dug in on his support for accepting thousands of Syrian refugees ... And he came to President Obama’s defense after Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said the president is projecting weakness abroad."
Planned speech defending democratic socialism "on indefinite hold" as details yet to be finalized, reports Politico: "Details about how Sanders would pay for his proposed single-payer national health insurance program to provide Medicare for all Americans have yet to be fleshed out ... [He] has yet to unveil any details of his tax plan, such as whose tax rates would go up and by how much ... Any proposal the campaign will unveil ... is unlikely to involve tax rate increases on the middle class."
Sanders sharply questions Obama FDA nominee. USA Today: "After listening to [Dr. Robert] Califf’s testimony ... Sanders told him: 'You still don’t get that. You are not strong enough on this issue' of affordability [for prescription drugs.] ... Cadiff was firm in his stand against moving lower cost generic drugs to the marketplace too quickly. He said safety must come first, no matter how long the process takes."
Sanders calls Clinton's defense of Wall Street donors "absurd" in Yahoo! News interview: "When asked if he was offended by Hillary Clinton’s comments invoking 9/11 in the Democratic debate when discussing Wall Street donors, Sanders said, 'I wouldn’t use the word "offensive." I found them a little bit silly and a little bit absurd.'
Clinton picks up SEIU endorsement. The Hill: "...her union endorsements are beginning to pile up. In addition to the SEIU, Clinton has won the backing of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 1.6 million public sector workers, as well as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association."
Senate GOP Falls Short In Climate Fight
Senate rejects EPA climate regs, but lacks veto-proof supermajority. NYT: "Three Democrats from states in which coal plays a major role in the economy, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, broke party ranks ... But three moderate Republicans, two up for re-election next year, Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, as well as Senator Susan Collins of Maine, broke from their party..."
Republican climate science denial actually killing coal industry, says Rep. Raul Grijalva in NYT oped: "...Republicans who help coal companies reduce their carbon emissions would have to admit that those emissions are a problem worth discussing ... this upside-down political dynamic has become the biggest obstacle to the industry’s getting what it wants most: assistance in meeting the new standards."
House To Gut Mortgage Protections
House to vote today on weakening mortgage regs. The Hill: "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations ... exempt small and rural banks from certain mortgage standards [and provide] a 'safe harbor' protection from federal penalties and lawsuits brought by borrowers who have defaulted on their loans. [The GOP] bill would extend that safe harbor to all banking institutions..."
More Corinthian students to get expedited debt relief. NYT: "Earlier this year, the department said that tens of thousands of students who had attended Heald College, Corinthian campuses mostly in California, were eligible for immediate processing of requests for debt relief. Now, the pool of eligible students will include about 85,000 students who attended Everest University and WyoTech, two other programs in California, as well as students at Everest online programs in Florida, from 2010 to 2013."
