Deficit-Cutting Plan Stumbles In Uphill Climb
Reuters reports on the prospects of the Deficit Commission’s proposal, which is expected to fail to win a supermajority vote among its members today: “Although the plan drafted by panel co-chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson was unlikely to go to Congress, it will likely provide an abundance of ideas that could frame the politically explosive deficit debate in 2011 and 2012.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET, and meet at 10:30 a.m. ET with senior advisers. At 11:15 a.m. ET, he will deliver a statement to the press on the monthly jobs report.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will meet at 11:45 a.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Budget Director Jack Lew, and he will make remarks to the press at the start of the meeting. At 1:45 p.m. ET, he will meet with Rep. Ed Towns (D-NY), to discuss oversight of the Recovery Act.
Some Democrats Count On ‘Millionaires’ Strategy On Tax Cuts
The New York Times reports: “The chances of Congress allowing income tax rates to go up only for millionaires: slim. The chances of Democrats using ‘tax cuts for millionaires’ as a political bludgeon against Republican lawmakers: game on…For Democrats, short on time and political mojo, the hope is that the phrase can define the debate with the same semiotic impact as ‘death tax,’ the coinage used to considerable effect by conservatives in their drive to slash and eliminate the federal estate tax.”
Hillary Clinton Says U.S. Still Working On Mideast Talks
Reuters reports: “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday the United States was still working to relaunch Middle East peace talks despite the Palestinian assessment that negotiations with Israel had collapsed. ‘The United States is working intensively to create the conditions that will permit the parties to negotiate their way forward to a final resolution,’ Clinton said in Bahrain, where she is attending a security conference.”
Obama’s Stimulus Pours Millions Into Faith-Based Groups
Politico reports: “For many conservatives, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the stimulus is formally known, has been Exhibit A in their case against the Obama administration, a symbol for an era they feel will be defined by out-of-control government spending. But the stimulus is also the largest-scale embodiment of what was, not long ago, a conservative priority: directing tax dollars to ‘faith-based initiatives,’ as President George W. Bush called them.”
Texas Will See Dramatic Gain In U.S. House Seats
The Associated Press reports: “Fast-growing Texas is poised to be the biggest winner of all when it comes to picking up influence in Congress in the next few years, and Republicans are salivating at the prospect of fattening the largest GOP delegation in Washington. Texas will gain at least three and possibly four seats in Congress, as population trends continue to push people out of the rust and snow belts and into the sunbelt, demographers say. With strong GOP majorities in the Texas capitol and all statewide offices in their fold, Republicans are sure to use their new clout to cement their hold on power through the redistricting process and possibly increase their majority in the House.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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