TPMDC Xavier Becerra
Payroll Tax Cut
Last-Minute Fights Slow Down Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)
Barring an unexpected collapse in negotiations, a broad deal to extend the temporary payroll tax cut and other expiring measures will be finalized Wednesday. But with time winding down, top Democrats and Republicans are still fighting over key details -- particularly how to pay for over $50 billion of the approximately $150 billion package.
One of the likely financing provisions would require federal workers to provide greater contributions to their own retirement packages.
"I'm very unhappy with the projected pay-fors which hit average working Americans, otherwise known as federal employees, pretty hard," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told TPM and one other reporter in the Capitol Wednesday. "I don't know the exact details and the exact details are being worked on. So from that standpoint I'm not happy."
Hoyer represents a Maryland district that's chockablock with federal workers, which underlies his concerns. Asked if he himself planned to vote for the measure, Hoyer proclaimed "I don't know."
Topics: Doc fix, John Boehner, John Larson, Medicare, Payroll Tax Cut, Steny Hoyer, Unemployment, Unemployment benefits, Xavier Becerra
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi Games Out The Long Fight Over Medicare And The Rest Of The Safety Net
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Eight months is a long time in politics, but it will be eight months ago next week that House Republicans voted overwhelmingly for a budget that envisioned a massively scaled-down social safety net -- a smaller, privatized health care system for old people, to replace traditional Medicare; Medicaid financially constrained, and handed over to state governments; cuts to various other support programs that benefit the poor, the young, and the elderly.
That didn't sit well with voters. And in the months that followed, Republicans tried to contain the fallout by making federal deficits a central political issue while forcing Democrats to agree to real cuts to these programs -- all while refusing themselves to raise taxes, even on the very wealthiest Americans.
This too didn't go according to plan. The GOP upheld its vow not to raise taxes; Democrats insisted new tax revenue was a criterion for cutting benefits; and Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security avoided the scalpel.
At least for now.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Budget, Chris Van Hollen, DISCLOSE Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Privatization, Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Social Security, Steny Hoyer, Tax Cuts, Taxes, Xavier Becerra
Super Committee
Super Committee Democrats Want More Deficit Reduction
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
The key dilemma facing President Obama and Congressional Democrats is that Republicans are wholly unwilling to support any new job-creating spending projects -- even projects with bipartisan support -- unless they're offset with spending cuts or savings elsewhere in the budget.
Thus, Democrats on the new joint deficit Super Committee will seek more than the $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction they've been tasked with finding, in order to help offset some of those costs.
"All of us would like to set as a target for ourselves even more than $1.5 trillion," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who's also the top House Democrat on the Budget Committee, told reporters at a Tuesday Capitol press conference.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chris Van Hollen, Entitlement reform, Entitlements, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Spending, Stimulus, Super Committee, Taxes, Xavier Becerra
Russ Feingold
Feingold To Press Dems To Abandon Any Unbalanced Super Committee Deal
Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), June 12, 2011.
Former Sen. Russ Feingold and his new group Progressives United are petitioning the six House and Senate Democrats serving on the joint deficit Super Committee to walk away if Republicans don't budge on tax increases, and insist on cutting entitlement benefits.
"If we don't get our policy priorities, Democrats need to be ready to walk away from the deal," Feingold emailed his supporters. "You can guarantee extremists on the other side will continue to push relentlessly to give even more to corporations and put even more of the burden on the middle class. We have to fight harder than they will."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chris Van Hollen, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Defense Spending, Deficit, Entitlement reform, Entitlements, Jim Clyburn, John Kerry, Max Baucus, Medicaid, Medicare, Patty Murray, Republicans, Russ Feingold, Social Security, Super Committee, Taxes, Xavier Becerra
Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi Names Clyburn, Van Hollen, Becerra To Deficit Super Committee
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
The roster's now complete. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has named her picks to the deficit Super Committee, and they're a familiar bunch: Reps Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Each of the three has served at her behest on different fiscal working groups in the recent past. All are loyal members, current or former, of her leadership team, all with fairly liberal voting records.
But here are a few caveats...
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alan Simpson, Chris Van Hollen, Deficit, Erskine Bowles, Fiscal Commission, James Clyburn, Joe Biden, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Patty Murray, Social Security, Super Committee, Xavier Becerra
House Democrats
Democrats Emerge From White House Meeting Determined Not To Cave On Medicare, Taxes
House Democrats emerged from a White House meeting with President Obama confident that the GOP Medicare plan has Republicans on the ropes and more determined than ever to ensure that tax increases on the wealthiest Americans are included in any long-term debt-reduction package.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the meeting was "very productive" and a "great exchange of ideas."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, House Democrats, John Larson, Kathy Hochul, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Tax Cuts, White House, Xavier Becerra
Fiscal Commission
FAIL: Fiscal Commission Adjourns Without Holding Official Vote
The 18-Member Commission on Fiscal Responsibility, Sept. 29th, 2010
After weeks of tumultuous negotiations, the White House's fiscal commission adjourned today without agreement on a controversial plan to reduce deficits by slashing spending and lowering income tax rates.
Recognizing that they'd fail to meet the 14-vote threshold for passage, the 18-member commission ultimately did not take a final vote. However, members announced their positions ahead of today's final meeting, and in the end a majority -- according to Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), 11 in total -- claimed to support the proposal.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alan Simpson, Andy Stern, Dave Camp, Dick Durbin, Erskine Bowles, Fiscal Commission, Fiscal Resonsibility, Jan Schakowsky, Kent Conrad, Max Baucus, Paul Ryan, Tom Coburn, White House, Xavier Becerra
Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi Prevails Over Uneasy Democratic Caucus
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
For hours Wednesday morning and afternoon, while House Republicans went through an almost perfunctory exercise of electing the next Speaker of the House, Democrats vented steam over the results of the November 2nd election. Dozens rebelled against the existing leadership team. Others simply were too shell-shocked to give Nancy Pelosi a vote of confidence so soon after their party lost over 60 seats.
When all was said and done, the leadership team will be the same as last last year's. Pelosi won her race against Blue Dog Heath Shuler (NC) -- a mostly symbolic opponent -- handily, and everybody else took one step down behind her. Steny Hoyer (MD) will become the minority whip. Jim Clyburn (SC) will settle into a new, and ill-defined role as assistant minority leader, and John Larson (CT) and Xavier Becerra (CA) will retain their roles as conference chair and vice-chair.
Getting there was a saga Democrats are eagerly working to put behind them.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barney Frank, Heath Shuler, James Clyburn, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Xavier Becerra
James Clyburn
Clyburn: Don't Count Me Out!
Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
After watching Majority Leader Steny Hoyer conduct an overt campaign to become House minority whip next year, current Whip Jim Clyburn is starting to make a more public play for the leadership office.
Last night, the Democratic Conference's Vice Chair Xavier Becerra became the first member of leadership to endorse in the contest -- and picked Clyburn.
"James Clyburn deserves to be reelected Democratic Whip in the 112th Congress," Becerra said in a statement. "Through some of the toughest legislative efforts in recent history--from health care to Wall Street reform--Mr. Clyburn found us the votes when they counted most. He fought to pass legislation that is putting America back to work and laying the foundation for a future where America leads the world in the new energy economy. He is a stalwart supporter of fixing our broken immigration system and providing every American a decent education and an equal shot at the American Dream. James Clyburn has my vote to continue as our Whip in the 112th Congress."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Barbara Lee, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, House Democratic Whip Race, James Clyburn, Luis Gutierrez, Lynn Woolsey, Peter DeFazio, Steny Hoyer, Xavier Becerra
James Clyburn
Pelosi Quiet As Hoyer And Clyburn Battle It Out For Minority Whip
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Speaker Of The House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Top Democrats in Washington wish their big electoral defeat Tuesday hadn't been followed by a divisive leadership fight in the House. But that's what happened Friday when, minutes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would run to be the Dems' Minority Leader, her vote-counter James Clyburn announced he would run for Minority Whip, touching off a leadership race between himself and Steny Hoyer.
Over the weekend, both men and their allies worked the phones relentlessly to shore up support. But publicly, the two camps picked very different strategies for managing public expectations of the outcome. Team Hoyer has been working the media, rolling out ever-longer lists of members who've publicly committed to backing their guy.
"Hoyer's going to win," one source close to Hoyer told TPM.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chris Van Hollen, DCCC, Democrats, Ed Markey, House Democratic Whip Race, House Democrats, House Minority Leader, James Clyburn, Jerrold Nadler, John Larson, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Xavier Becerra
Bush Tax Cuts
House And Senate Dems Bicker Over Forcing GOP Hand On Tax Cuts
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Are Democrats bickering again over whether the Senate or the House should make the first move on a major agenda item.
Yes they are. Multiple House Democratic leaders tonight were adamant that they'll put Republicans on the spot for demanding tax cuts for the wealthy...but they're arguing amongst themselves over whether the onus should be on the House or the Senate to make the first move.
"I do think it's worth a fight, I do think it's worth a vote," DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen said on MSNBC tonight after a meeting with the Democratic conference. "As to whether we start in the House or the Senate, that's obviously something that we have to figure out."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bush Tax Cuts, Chris Van Hollen, DCCC, Democrats, Health Care, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Steny Hoyer, Tax Cuts, Xavier Becerra
Social Security
Meet The 18 People Who Could Determine The Fate Of Social Security
President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.
Last week former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, who co-chairs the White House's fiscal commission, drew a storm of criticism for comparing Social Security to a "cow with 310 million tits." But Titgate isn't really about language. It's about both Simpson himself -- who has long viewed Social Security as a bloated program for spoiled old people -- and about the commission as a whole. Comprised of nine tax-averse Republicans and nine Democrats, many of whom have expressed support for Social Security changes in the past, the commission will almost certainly be biased toward benefit cuts, and away from raising taxes, when it presents its report on December 1. Below, the cast of characters who will be making the calls.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alan Simpson, Andy Stern, Barack Obama, David Camp, Debt, Debt Commission, Dick Durbin, Erskine Bowles, Fiscal Commission, Jan Schakowsky, Jeb Hensarling, John Spratt, Judd Gregg, Kent Conrad, Max Baucus, Medicare, Mike Crapo, Paul Ryan, Social Security, Tom Coburn, Xavier Becerra
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Republicans Meeting In New Orleans
Republicans are gathering today in New Orleans for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, an early cattle call for several potential national candidates. The biggest speaker will be Sarah Palin, along with Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Haley Barbour. Not present will be Tim Pawlenty, who will address the event by video, as well as Mitt Romney, both of whom had scheduling conflicts.
Obama's Day In Prague
President Obama arrived in Prague, Czech Republic, at 9:25 a.m. CEST (3:25 a.m. ET). He arrived at Prague Castle and was greeted by Czech President Vaclav Klaus at 9:45 a.m. CEST. He took a family photo with President Klaus and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at 9:55 a.m. CEST. He held a bilateral meeting with Medvedev at 10:05 a.m. CEST, and an expanded meeting at 10:45 a.m. CEST. He attended a New START Treaty signing ceremony with Medvedev at 11:50 a.m. CEST. He attended a ceremonial lunch with Medvedev and Klaus at 1 p.m. CEST, and deliver toast remarks. Later, at 6:30 p.m. CEST, Obama will greet central and Eastern European leaders on arrival, and he will host a dinner for the leaders at 7:15 p.m. CEST.
Topics: Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, China, Joe Biden, Repealing health care, Republicans, Roundup, Sarah Palin, Steve King, Timothy Geithner, Xavier Becerra
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