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Georgia's Sixth Votes Today

Averting runoff will be tough for upstart Democrat. CNN interviews Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Blustein: "Republicans who were unbelievably skittish just a week ago are sounding much more confident, while [Jon] Ossoff backers privately say they were always gunning for a runoff even if publicly he says an outright win is still within reach ... [But the] shouldn't be competitive [for Democrats.] ... It's an affluent, highly educated and establishment-friendly district along Atlanta's northern 'burbs where Chamber of Commerce-type Republicans usually prevail."

Trump tweets and robocalls to stop Ossoff. USA Today: "'Democrat Jon Ossoff would be a disaster in Congress,' Trump tweeted early Tuesday. 'VERY weak on crime and illegal immigration, bad for jobs and wants higher taxes. Say NO.' ... Trump also recorded audio for a robo-calls being made to district voters."

Tax Reform Stalled

Treasury Secretary says don't expect tax plan soon. FT: "Steven Mnuchin said the target to get tax reforms through Congress and on President Donald Trump’s desk before August was 'highly aggressive to not realistic at this point ... It is fair to say it is probably delayed a bit because of the healthcare' ... Senior administration officials have told the FT that the controversial [border adjustment] measure is unlikely to survive ... Mnuchin said there may be other ways of raising $1tn without incorporating the border adjustment, saying the measure was just one of many elements being examined by a 100-strong Treasury team. 'That is not to say we have taken it off the table,' Mr Mnuchin said..."

Trump's hidden tax returns complicate tax reform. NYT: "As procrastinators rushed to file their tax returns by Tuesday, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, emphasized again on Monday that Mr. Trump had no intention of making his public. Democrats have seized on that decision, uniting around a pledge not to cooperate on any rewriting of the tax code unless they know specifically how that revision would benefit the billionaire president and his family. And a growing roster of more than a dozen Republican lawmakers now say Mr. Trump should release them."

Some Republicans want to scrap state and local tax deduction. Bloomberg: "Ever since the inception of the federal income tax in 1913, taxpayers have been allowed to deduct the state and local income taxes they pay from their taxable income ... 'When you allow people to deduct their state and local taxes against the federal tax, you in effect subsidize tax increases at the state and local level,' [anti-tax activist Grover] Norquist said ... Trump hasn’t taken a position on the issue ... The largest beneficiaries of the tax break are California, New York and New Jersey, all relatively high-tax blue states ... 28 Republicans represent New York, California and New Jersey combined..."

Proposal to eliminate payroll tax would undermine Social Security, argues Helaine Olen in The Nation: " The 12.4 percent payroll tax—regressive though it may be—represents not just dedicated funding, but money we see directly in action. That’s why Social Security is popularly thought of as an entitlement ... The money won’t be coming out of out paychecks, making Social Security seem like just one more thing the government funds out of tax revenues, instead of a guarantee."

Methane Rule In Danger

Interior Dept. and Congress should leave rule curbing methane leaks alone, says retired Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney of the American Security Project, in The Hill oped: "The House, just a few weeks ago, passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would not only block the BLM methane rule, but it would prevent any substantially similar rule limiting methane waste from being put in place ever—without an act of Congress ... the Senate vote is very close where one or two senators will make all the difference. And in a recent Secretarial Order, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a 21-day review of the BLM methane waste rule ... Wasting methane is not only irresponsible, it has serious national security implications that could impact America’s role as a leader in fostering energy security."

The Atlantic investigates North Carolina's enviro deregulation: "Even after a massive coal-ash spill from a Duke Energy plant polluted 70 miles of the Dan River in North Carolina in 2014, the state was wishy-washy on coal-ash cleanup, ultimately passing a bill that allowed the company to leave many of its coal-ash sites in place as long as the company made repairs to the basins and provided a supply of clean drinking water to households located near coal-ash sites. And so, [Amy] Brown and her family still live on bottled water ... Brown herself was a registered Republican, but she changed her party registration to Independent after her experience with the state and coal ash."

Trump Touts Buy American, Hire American

Trump to push "buy American and hire American" policies. Politico: "President Donald Trump on Tuesday will sign an executive order aimed at bolstering his pledge to 'buy American and hire American' by directing federal agencies to probe government procurement practices and re-examine all programs under which workers enter the United States from abroad — including H-1B visas, a key priority for tech companies."

Tech industry pushes back. NYT: "Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a research group sponsored by several tech companies, predicted in January that a crackdown on H-1B visas would be counterproductive. 'The effect would end up being exactly the opposite of what Trump wants,' he said. 'Companies would go offshore, like Microsoft did with Vancouver, Canada,' to seek talent."

Breakfast Sides

Bleak future for non-college educated. Bloomberg: "[Economists Anne] Case and [Angus] Deaton have a theory for why mortality has risen for less-educated whites. For all the debate over whether college is worthwhile, high school graduates who go straight into the workforce have higher unemployment, weaker wage growth, and less chance of marrying than their predecessors and educated peers. Community supports have broken down, and as disadvantage snowballs, premature deaths rise ... While blacks and Hispanics without college degrees are also falling behind economically and socially, middle-age mortality has worsened for whites in particular over the past 20 years ... 'For whites, their reference group is previous generations of whites,' said Shannon Monnat, a Pennsylvania State University professor who studies the opioid epidemic in rural America. 'When they look back on their parents and grandparents, it feels like their generation is doing worse.'"

Senate Republicans face boisterous town halls. Politico: "Sen. Tom Cotton came under fire at a raucous town hall Monday, as constituents pelted the Arkansas Republican on topics ranging from Donald Trump’s tax returns and possible ties to Russia to the GOP push to repeal Obamacare ... Nevada GOP Sen. Dean Heller also faced occasional jeers and frustrated queries at his own home-state event ... Both lawmakers also vowed on Monday to support their states’ expansions of Medicaid coverage under Obamacare."

The Nation's John Nichols argues the DNC build on unity tour and "abandon centrism": "That’s where the Sanders-Perez tour comes in. The senator and the party chair are working together to send a clear signal about where the Democratic Party stands. That signal will have to get even clearer; but having Sanders and Perez on the same page is important ... It is only a beginning. But it is the right beginning."

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