Good morning folks,
Annnnd it’s snowing. No truth to the rumor (yet) that the liberal left will be pushing for a snow tax in their upcoming budget. Yet it is true that yesterday the House passed a bill forcing the Senate to produce a budget and moving the discussion to raise the debt limit into May, focusing all eyes squarely upon the sequester.
On March 1, the sequester ax falls. Politico’s David Rogers reports that, “The four weeks between March 1 and Mach 27 will be a window during which Republicans can offer to restore lost appropriations in return for alternative savings from benefit programs.”
The reality is that spending is going to be cut, the question is how. “The sequester will go into effect on March 1 unless there are cuts and reforms that give us a plan to balance the budget over the next 10 years. It’s as simple as that,” Speaker Boehner said Wednesday. For years, President Obama has said he preferred a scalpel to an ax when it comes to cutting spending. Here’s his chance. As the WSJ noted yesterday, it won’t be easy. “While this [sequester cuts] is modest in a nearly $4 trillion federal budget, and largely spares entitlements, Democrats and their spending tongs are already shouting in protest. Which is the political point.” It will be nice to watch the Democratic Senate play their budgetary hand after being forced into doing their jobs for the first time in years.
TWEET TWEET
@AskDrRuth: Women are going to go into combat w/US forces. Since I was sniper in Haganah (Israeli freedom fighters) I’m all for that.
@usembislamabad: “Senator John Kerry’s nomination hearing to be Sec of State -watch live streaming at 8pm Pak time http://goo.gl/ihlCy ”
@Cloture Club: “Your weather alert for #DC! The day’s High is 31F with a low of 21F.”
@Politico: “Leading @politico this morning: Democrats have a plan to turn Texas blue: http://politi.co/10TDa0k via @aburnspolitico”
@JayBilas: “Scoring is down (again) in college hoop: http://bit.ly/WvjpWi The game has been in decline, and nobody is in charge to address it.”
@jimgeraghty: “Lack of a public outcry about Benghazi ensures this is all the “accountability” we will get. http://bit.ly/14cU6fY”
Five Nomination Hearing Questions For John Kerry
1: Do you believe our “fiscal situation” affects our foreign policy decisions?
- Yesterday, Secretary Clinton said: “I am one who believes we have to both walk and chew gum at the same time. We have to deal with our own economy and our fiscal situation.” (Sec. Hillary Clinton, Remarks In Benghazi Testimony, 1/23/13)
2: If you were Secretary of State, would you recommend budget cuts that hinder America’s foreign policy capabilities?
- In 2011, you said: “We can balance the budget. We can reduce the deficit. We can get rid of our debt.” (Sen. John Kerry Criticizes House Budget Proposal That Would Alter Medicare,”State House News Service, 5/23/11)
3: What sort of words and actions will you execute, and what recommendations will you make to President Obama to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons?
- Iran still seems pledged to develop a nuclear weapon, and In October, 2012, you of President Obama: “Everybody knows this is a president who hasn’t hesitated to back up his words with action.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks On Iran, 10/22/12)
4: Since the Benghazi attack is such an important issue, will you pursue a full investigation if appointed Secretary of State?
- In a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, you said of the terrorist attack in Benghazi: “From the very beginning of the Benghazi events, every member of this Committee has shared with the President, and Secretary Clinton, our determination to get all the facts on what happened and why.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks In Senate Committee Hearing, C-SPAN, 12/20/12)
5: What impact would comprehensive immigration reform have on your job as Secretary of State?
ON THE RADAR
Economic Growth / Spending / Tax Reform
Schumer: Budget Strategy Best To Meet $600 Tax Goal. “Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), the Senate Democrats’ chief political strategist, sees a joint budget resolution between the Senate and House as the key to raising another $600 billion in new tax revenues. Democratic leaders say that will be the minimum amount needed from tax reform to stop automatic spending cuts to social and defense programs mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act. The revenue would come from limiting deductions and closing loopholes and would affect only people earning above $250,000.”
Next Up: Sequester, Budget Resolution. “Now that the debt ceiling fight has been delayed until May, the next big fiscal drama deadline is March 1, when the spending cuts of the sequester take effect.”
Murray Hopes To End Her Party’s Budget Dry Spell. “Three weeks ago, incoming Senate Budget Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., directed her staff to explore the pros and cons of actually crafting a budget resolution.”
Obama in a bind on Keystone: On Tuesday, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R), who previously hesitated at approving the project, sent Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton a letter saying he is now satisfied with the pipeline’s new routing. The potential environmental risks, he says, are lessened… The backing of Nebraska’s governor is seen as putting Obama in a tougher bind over a decision expected to receive heavy criticism either way. Environmental opponents view the pipeline as dangerous because it would carry oil extracted from Canada’s region of oil sands, which produce up to 30 percent more greenhouse gases than conventional crude oil. There are also worries about potential spills in the nation’s most sensitive agricultural terrain. Supporters of the Keystone XL say the pipeline would generate thousands of jobs and unprecedented construction and property-tax revenues in states that could certainly benefit.
Health Care
Arizona To Tax Hospitals To Pay For Medicaid. “Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has built a political career in standing up to the federal government over everything from immigration to health care. So she surprised almost everyone when she announced last week that she not only plans to push for an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program under the federal health care law — she plans to fund it by raising taxes.”
James Madison Institute: Florida Can’t Afford Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion. “As Florida’s state representatives and senators continue to debate just how the Sunshine State will implement several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, ‘Obamacare’), The James Madison Institute (JMI), a free-market think tank based in Tallahassee, today released its latest policy brief, ‘Florida’s Best Option Under the PPACA: Expand the Reforms, Not The Rolls.’”
Ohio Leader Notes Concerned With Expanding Medicaid. “COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The leader of the Ohio House said Wednesday his fellow Republicans have concerns about the expense of expanding Medicaid, though he has yet to discuss with them whether the state should increase Medicaid coverage under the federal health care law.”
Immigration
Silicon Valley Tech Companies See Opportunity For Immigration Reform. “SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Now that President Barack Obama has named immigration reform one of his top priorities this year, some technology giants of Silicon Valley plan to press for changes that would help them bring more skilled workers to the U.S.”
X Factor
Chris Christie Hits Obama Inaugural Speech. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address as overly polarizing during a radio appearance Tuesday. “Instead of trying to bring people together it was a manifesto for, ‘Hey, it’s my way or the highway,’ Christie said on 101.5FM, according to PolitickerNJ. Christie and Obama have had a warm relationship since Hurricane Sandy decimated the Garden State coastline. Christie was effusive in praising Obama and FEMA’s response to the storm. Christie, who had endorsed GOP nominee Mitt Romney, had previously harshly criticized the president in a prime-time address at the Republican National Convention. ‘We’re going to see how he acts moving forward,’ Christie said of Obama.”
Noteworthy: RNC Research Director Joe Pounder, Wednesday morning: “Liberals grumbling about the new [role for] Obama for America realize the Obama coalition was never about the Democrat Party. It was always about Obama.”
THIS & THAT
2/3 of Adults Turn to Drinking in Evening to Relax
Did Davos Steal Its Theme From an Author Who Hates Davos?
Mr. Belding is all over the Saved By The Bell Reunion
Flower Eating Goat Cleared of Vandalism
17 Celebrities Who Do Not Age
Seize the day,
Brad Dayspring
Senior Advisor - YG Network
@BDayspring
Mark Bednar
@YGNetwork