Happy Monday folks,
Yes, it has been checked and double-checked. Turns out it actually is Monday.
This weekend had sure had some important events. First of all, there was a lot of great college basketball to cheer about, the Oscars swept everyone by storm (rest assured, best/worst dressed compilations are shown below), and policymakers at the state level showed that they are able come up with innovative solutions to some of our nation’s biggest problems. While the sequester clock is ticking, solutions thrown back and forth have shown to be part of large-scale legislation. An unnoticed angle came from Governor Bobby Jindal this weekend, as he advocated reform from the states’ point of view. He said the best way for the federal government to avoid fiscal problems for states is to “Just delay the Medicaid expansions, delay the health care exchanges so they can work with states on waivers, on flexibility. … You could save tens of billions of dollars there, and you’re not even cutting a program that’s started yet. Just delay it for a few years.”
Even liberal Governor Jerry Brown of California believes a one-size-fits-all healthcare law put forth by an overbearing federal government is destructive to our republic. According to a Los Angeles Times article, he recently said that, “the federal government has a tendency to send out broad mandates and limit the state’s authority.” Brown feels that the best way to coordinate healthcare (e.g. the Medicaid expansion) is for governors to work with each other in order to find the most reasonable program for them.
Local voices are important when discussing expensive and broad-reaching pieces of legislation like Obamacare, but they’re also critical when discussing other national issues like immigration. Over the weekend, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker argued that immigration reform is essential for the country so that American companies can receive a receive a fresh influx of high-skilled workers. Though the legislation would be crafted at a national level, inputs like Walker’s remind us how important it is for Washington to remember that large-scale legislation has direct impact on local leaders and communities.
Seize the day,
Mark Bednar
@MarkBednar
Important Things On Tap For Today
11:05 AM President Obama And Vice President Biden deliver remarks at National Governors Association Winter Meeting.
12:45 PM Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
Tweet Tweet
@BillHemmer “Monday Morning, Everyone! Here’s to a good, productive week.”
@Reuters “Czech inspectors find horsemeat in IKEA meatballs http://reut.rs/WdO5zW”
@JayBilas “Michigan’s shoes are making me dizzy. The 1970′s Houston Astros would have said ‘no’ to those.”
@zerohedge “Average gas price $3.777, unchanged from yesterday, and just below critical $3.80 threshold”
@blakehounshell “Couldn’t the GOP just let the sequestration cuts go through and then pass a bill to refund the Pentagon?”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
Families Could Use Real Help With The High Cost Of College from The Washington Post by Michelle Singletary. “Designed by the Department of Education, the scorecard includes average net price data for in-state students, the school’s graduation rate, loan default rates and median borrowing. Oh, and the data used for the average net price are for the 2010-11 academic year. Honestly, given what I’ve been experiencing and after talking to other parents, the college scorecard doesn’t address our most pressing needs. What would help more would be an intensive effort by the administration to bring down the cost of college so families wouldn’t have to borrow so heavily.
Detroit’s Race For Mayor Offers Uncertain Prize from The Wall Street Journal by Matthew Dolan. “As Michigan’s governor moves closer to taking control of the state’s largest city, contestants are lining up to fight for what could turn into a largely powerless job: mayor of Detroit.”
In Euro Zone, Clouds Still Mask Silver Lining from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider. “The euro-zone economy faces at least another year of recession and rising unemployment, European officials reported Friday, with some major nations expected to miss their government deficit targets despite painful rounds of cost cutting.”
Immigration
Entrepreneurs Building Momentum, Changing Tactic In Pursuit Of Immigration Reform from The Washington Post by J.D. Harrison. “The lobbying campaign to ease immigration restrictions for highly educated foreigners is expanding and evolving, with advocates shifting attention toward a comprehensive deal rather than continuing their attempts to drive through smaller, targeted legislation. A collection of entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders are launching the latest assault on Monday, building what they hope will grow into a large, online army of immigration lobbyists to take part later this spring in a ‘virtual march’ on Washington. Using various portals on the Internet, their goal is to round up and educate as many people as possible about the economic appeal of attracting high-skilled immigrants, and then launch a social media blitz to appeal to Congress some time in April.”
Congress Facing Signs Of Immigration Roadblocks from Politico by Kate Nocera. “The push for immigration reform on Captiol Hill has been in overdrive thus far in 2013, but last week’s recess serves as a reminder — if one was needed — that the issue is far from settled. On the face of things, there’s plenty of momentum in Congress: The Senate Gang of Eight hopes to have a bill by mid-March; labor and business groups agreed on basic principles for low-skill workers; and a series of congressional hearings on the topic already have begun in earnest.”
McCain: Immigration Reform Won’t Hurt GOP At Polls from CNN by Kevin Liptak. “Republicans won’t be punished by conservative primary voters if they back comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Sen. John McCain predicted Sunday. The Arizona Republican, who saw backlash from conservatives for his support of immigration reform proposals during his bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, said that as long as certain provisions were included in the plan, Republican voters would get on board.”
Health Care
Panel On Health Care Work Force, Lacking A Budget, Is Left Waiting from The New York Times by Robert Pear. “One of the biggest threats to the success of President Obama’s health care law comes from shortages of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. But a 15-member commission created to investigate the problem has never met in two and a half years because it has no money from Congress or the administration.”
Suits Hits Contraception Rule’s ‘Religious Burden‘ from Politico by Jennifer Haberkorn and Kathryn Smith. “The Obama administration is aggressively defending its contraception coverage policy in the courts, asking judges to require the companies bringing the lawsuits to provide contraceptives to their employees even before the legal fight over religious freedom is resolved. A mounting pile of lawsuits challenge the new White House policy requiring most employers to provide no co-pay contraceptives in their employee health plans or to face fines. Nearly 50 lawsuits have been filed by religious organizations and private businesses that say the Obama White House is shredding the nation’s constitutionally protected religious freedoms.”
Overcoming Obstacles To Better Health Care from The New York Times by Richard Thaler. “Americans spend far more on health care than people in other countries and we have little to show for it. And as we live longer after retirement, the share that will be paid by the government will rise. Unfortunately, no single change will transform our health care delivery system into one that we can afford. We are going to have to try lots of new approaches that depart from standard practices.”
X-Factor
Welcome To Sequester Deadline Week from The Washington Post by Josh Hicks. “The sequester is set to kick in on Friday, leaving Congress little time to prevent across-the-bard spending cuts that would start this week and last until they’ve saved $1.2 trillion over 10 years. Democratic and Republican leaders are expected to introduce competing proposals this week that would replace the indiscriminate reductions, but neither side sees much chance of winning passage for their plans.”
A New Cold War, In Cyberspace, Tests U.S. Ties To China from The New York Times by David E. Sanger. “When the Obama administration circulated to the nation’s Internet providers last week a lengthy confidential list of computer addresses linked to a hacking group that has stolen terabytes of data from American corporations, it left out one crucial fact: that nearly every one of the digital addresses could be traced to the neighborhood in Shanghai that is headquarters to the Chinese military’s cybercommand.”
This & That
2013 Oscars: Red Carpet Yays from Cloture Club.
Oscars Red Carpet 2013: Worst Dressed from the LA Times.
Dope Tests In Ice Fishing? No, Beer Doesn’t Count from The New York Times by James Card.
Oscars GIFs from The Huffington Post.
Las Vegas Crime Rate Drops, But Recent Violence May Hurt Tourism from The Huffington Post.