Economy
From NBC's Alex Beinstein, James Rankin, and Katelin Schartz
June 30 was the end of the fiscal year for most states, and here's a round up of headlines -- in the last couple of days -- that shed light on the challenges they're facing:
Alabama “Recession Delays Alabama Tax Refunds” 120,000 Alabama taxpayers will have to wait for their refunds due to declining revenue.
Arizona “Brewer Rips Budget, Calls Special Session”
California “California Ready to Issue IOUs”
Colorado “Colorado Crisis Worst Since Depression”
Connecticut Gov. Rell Vetoes Democrats' Budget Proposal Delaware “House OKs a Dozen New Tax Initiatives”
Florida “Florida Drivers, Brace for Impact on Your Wallets”
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From NBC's Ken Strickland
The Senate Health Committee unveiled its plan for a public/government insurance program to compete with private insurers. And it also detailed the "play or pay" provision that would require companies to provide insurance coverage to their employees or pay fees to the government.
Today's announcement, while significant, provides only a few new pieces in what has become a giant health-care reform puzzle. Several outstanding issues remain -- chief among them total cost of reform and how you pay for that cost. Votes are at least weeks away, and bipartisanship on major elements remain elusive.
Here are the outlines of what the committee released today. (This is the committee chaired by Ted Kennedy , but temporarily run by Chris Dodd .)
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From NBC's Mark Murray President Obama's handling of the economy (even though, as we pointed out this morning, that the huge job losses began back in 2008 ).
RNC Chairman Michael Steele : “June’s unemployment report shows a job loss of 467,000 and proves that the stimulus package is not a ‘Recovery Act.’ Today President Obama will hold another White House PR event with presidential spin instead of putting forth real world, free market solutions that will put Americans back to work."
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor: "House Republicans laid out a serious and substantive agenda that put jobs first. House Democrats, along with the White House, instead took an unfocused, ‘go it alone’ approach that has fallen well short of its goals and has failed to create jobs."
And House Minority Leader John Boehner has released a Web video that asks, "Where are the jobs?"
*** UPDATE ***
The New York Times front-pages, “President Obama on Sunday praised the energy bill passed by the House late last week as an ‘extraordinary first step,’ but he spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept limits on global warming pollution. ‘At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we’ve seen a significant drop in global trade,’ Mr. Obama said, ‘I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there.’ He added, ‘I think there may be other ways of doing it than with a tariff approach.’”
The Washington Post : “In an interview with a small group of energy reporters in the Oval Office, Obama had few other criticisms as he savored last week's narrow victory in the House on one of his top domestic priorities: a climate bill designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency."
Video: While critics say the new system will lead to higher energy costs, President Barack Obama used his weekly Web address to implore the Senate to follow the House's lead. The
Boston Globe called the House’s passage of the energy bill late Friday, “a big political victory” for President Obama.
The
AP on the energy legislation: “Facing a rare defeat, President Barack Obama put a big dose of political capital on the line and scored a major victory just when he needed one.”
“Obama
used his weekly address to urge senators to back the measure. ‘I want to congratulate the House for passing this bill, and I want to urge the Senate to take this opportunity to come together and meet our obligations - to our constituents, to our children, to God's creation and to future generations,’ Obama said.”
The president also appeared to give a pass to the Democrats who voted against the bill in the House. “The president, joined by Energy Secretary Steven Chu and White House coordinator of energy and climate policy Carol Browner, said ‘those 44 Democrats are sensitive to the immediate political climate of uncertainty around this issue,’” per The Hill . “They've got to run every two years, and I completely understand that.”
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From NBC's Mark Murray Earlier this morning, we warned you to expect MoveOn and other progressive groups to press North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan , after she suggested she wasn't ready to support a public/government option to compete against private health insurers.
From NBC's Mark Murray Rahm Emanuel -- who also worked in Bill Clinton's White House -- was optimistic about passing health-care reform this year. "We are in good shape," he told reporters in an off-camera breakfast meeting.
The first difference, Emanuel said, was that the interest groups that helped defeat health reform in the '90s -- the doctors, the hospitals, the insurers -- are playing a constructive role in the reform. Second, he noted that the three House committees working on the legislation are all on the same page, unlike what happened 15 years ago. And third, he said the Obama administration was allowing Congress to draft the legislation, which didn't happen in the '90s.
Yet in perhaps his most striking comments during the breakfast, Emanuel also observed this difference between now and then: fewer moderate Republicans, like the late Rhode Island Sen. John Chafee , who might be open to helping pass health-care reform. "They are a party that doesn’t have Sen. Chafees" anymore," he said answering a question about whether the White House could get 10 or more Senate Republicans to vote for the legislation. "That makes getting bipartisanship done hard." He added that the Republican Party has transformed into a regional party and is seeing its poll numbers decline even after suffering defeats in two consecutive national elections.
Video: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, joins the Morning Joe gang to discuss the back and forth over health care reform. Given the dwindling number of GOP moderates, Emanuel urged the reporters in attendance not to judge whether the legislation is bipartisan based on whether how many Republicans vote for it. A better standard, he said, is 1) does it have Republican ideas in it, and 2) has
President Obama tried to be bipartisan? All that said, Emanuel expects to get some GOP support, although he wouldn't say how many. "I do believe you'll see bipartisan votes."
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Today, Obama will "meet with a bipartisan group of governors who co-hosted regional forums on health reform earlier this year. They include Democrats Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Jim Doyle of Wisconsin and Christine Gregoire of Washington, and Republicans Jim Douglas of Vermont and Mike Rounds of South Dakota," the AP reports. "The White House says the meeting will serve as a forum for the governors to share what they learned and discuss the health care overhaul and skyrocketing health care costs." AP adds. "The response from physicians and industry: a lobbying counterattack accusing Obama of denying patients the lifesaving tools they need. Patients, rural doctors and advocacy groups who back the procedures will gather in the House Wednesday for a panel discussion, part of the campaign. The industry spearheaded a bipartisan letter to Obama from 57 House members objecting to the cuts. It has staged events in North Carolina and other states where senators face re-election next year. And it is using a Web site and newspaper ads to encourage people to complain to Congress about the proposal."
Video: President Obama explains that proposed health care reform legislation 'must and will get paid for' while preserving what is best about the current American health care system. Politico : "As Senate Democratic leaders voiced increasing skepticism about reaching a bipartisan health care compromise, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and a high-powered delegation of administration officials huddled with key Democratic senators on Capitol Hill Tuesday. The aim, according to one participant, was to 'compare notes' as pressure builds on the administration’s goal of passing a health care bill this year with support from both sides of the aisle.
Politico : "Amid all its other budget woes, the Obama administration now estimates it will need $20 billion in new savings or revenues to shore up the finances for the highway trust fund until after the 2010 elections."
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From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro President Obama's televised town hall tomorrow on health care, the Republican National Committee is airing a new 60-second TV ad that criticizes Obama's plans to overhaul the system.
Per the RNC, the ad will air on "select national cable outlets." An RNC spokeswoman wouldn't disclose the size of the ad buy, but said it was neither small nor large.
Script: "Today a national TV network turns its airwaves over to President Obama's pitch for government-run health care."
"President Barack Obama will make a formal announcement Monday welcoming the weekend agreement by the pharmaceutical industry to help close a gap in prescription drug coverage under Medicare," the AP says. "The president has invited Barry Rand, head of the senior citizens' advocacy group AARP, to appear with him." will also "sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The law allows the Food and Drug Administration to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such as 'low tar' and 'light.'" USA Today looks at the idea of a health-care exchange, which would offer a wide range of health insurance plans. “Options include one national exchange or many on a state or regional basis. An exchange could be operated by the government or an independent agency. It could administer federal subsidies to low-income people. It could collect fees required from employers who don't provide health insurance to their workers. It could be open to all comers or exclude large employers and others with insurance already. Those are the details being debated, but proponents say one thing is certain: An exchange, coupled with changes in the insurance market, would increase availability and cut costs for people who don't get health insurance through their employers.”
Video: Team Obama has suffered through a tough week with criticism from the left and the right; a drop in the polls and new questions surrounding whether the president’s health care plan can get done. A Hardball panel discusses. The
Washington Post front-pages the political-economic situation for Obama if unemployment reaches 10% by the end of the year. “The likelihood of severe unemployment extending into the 2010 midterm elections and beyond poses a significant political hurdle to President Obama and congressional Democrats, who are already under fire for what critics label profligate spending. Continuing high unemployment rates would undercut the fundamental argument behind much of that spending: the promise that it will create new jobs and improve the prospects of working Americans, which Obama has called the ultimate measure of a healthy economy.”
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"Emboldened by polls that show public backing for a government health insurance plan, Democrats are moving to make it a politically defining issue in the debate over the future of medical care." Chuck Schumer to the AP: "I don't think I could say with a straight face that this (co-op proposal) is at all close to a nationwide public option. Right now, this co-op idea doesn't come close to satisfying anyone who wants a public plan."
Despite the NBC/Wall Street Journal and CBS/New York Times polls showing 72%-76% of Americans wanting a public option, Republicans push back and say many are unaware of the details of what a government-run plan are. Once they learn, they won't want it anymore, they argue. And Republicans are more than happy to provide their version of the details.Boston Globe wraps the health care debate: "Democrats seemed disorganized and shocked as financial analysts slapped surprisingly high price tags on their plans. Republicans jeered when the health committee’s incomplete bill weighed in at $1 trillion - to insure a relatively paltry 16 million people." But the argument, it writes, seems to be shifting again toward the public vs. private back and forth.
Video: Former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., discuss President Barack Obama’s approach to reforming the U.S. health care industry with NBC’s David Gregory on “Meet the Press.” USA Today : “Lawmakers and businesses are calling for expansion of a tax credit for first-time home buyers that has helped spark home sales in an otherwise dismal real estate market. With the tax credit scheduled to expire in fall, some business groups say the amount of the credit, now capped at $8,000, should be raised to $15,000 and applied to anyone who buys a home.”
The Washington Post profiles Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying the GOP leader has worked to persuade his colleagues to “pick targeted, potentially winnable fights against the Democrats… McConnell helped orchestrate one of the Republicans' most convincing victories of the year: a 90 to 6 vote rejecting Obama's plan to start closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to move some of the detainees to U.S. soil. McConnell delivered the same speech on the Senate floor day after day during April and May, attacking the proposal and saying Obama had no idea how to implement it.”
What else is on tap this week? "House and Senate lawmakers this week will begin digging into the specifics of the Obama administration's plan to overhaul the financial system," The Hill reports.
