As most of you know, yesterday was an important day of legislation. It wasn’t an easy vote, but after much debate and toil, it has finally happened: The Montana State Senate voted to allow the salvaging of roadkill. The Governor of Montana has not yet indicated that he will sign it, but this is a huge win for roadkill-salvaging advocates everywhere.
Arguably as important as the salvaging bill, the U.S. Senate voted 79-20 last night to kill the 2.3% medical device tax found the Affordable Care Act. As The Wall Street Journalreports, “Device companies have argued that the tax, which applies to sales rather than profits, is unfair.” This repeal in the Senate is an important move, because much of the country still believes in full repeal of Obamacare or at least making changes to it. Enjoy the second “Day One” of March Madness!
Matchup Breakdown: On the surface, this looks like an extremely close matchup, mutch like Marquette game last night. However, the Tax-to-Spending ratio in the House is N/A because it raises no taxes! The Senate plan may look nice at a 1-to-1 ratio, but that still hikes up taxes by nearly a trillion dollars.
On Tap For Today6:45 PM: President Obama holds a joint news conference with King Abdullah II, Amman.ALL DAY: More day 1 of March Madness.
Tweet Tweet
@samsteinhp “Losing in the NCAA tourney has to suck. But losing to Harvard has to REALLY suck”
@ByronTau “Making fun of OKCupid profiles = low-hanging fruit. But funny. http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/20-reasons-you-shouldnt-date-men-who-wear-fedoras”
@SethDavisHoops “Yes, my Syracuse friends I have a bet to pay off during our postgame show on @truTV. That’s if your mommies will let you stay up.”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
House Averts Government Shutdown, Backs Ryan Budgetfrom Reuters by David Lawder. “The U.S. House of Representatives eliminated the threat of a government shutdown next week, approving on Thursday a stop-gap funding bill that temporarily eases partisan tensions after months of bitter fights over budgets.”
Analysis: Thrifty Truckers Wary Of Pricey Natural Gas Vehicles from Reuters by Nichola Groom. “Truckers considering natural gas as an alternative to high-priced diesel say the cost of vehicles that run on the cheap and cleaner-burning fuel is still too high for them to see a timely payback on their investment.”
Immigration
Putting the Heat on Immigration Talksfrom Roll Call by Humberto Sanchez. “A delay in finishing work on a comprehensive immigration overhaul could threaten the recent momentum for Congress to take on the issue. A bipartisan group of eight senators has been working since January on a bill, and they expect to unveil their package the week of April 8. But the group has come under criticism recently from prominent Democrats and Republicans — including Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa — as well as advocates of immigration policy changes. The complaints range from the group’s decision to craft the bill behind closed doors to the failure of the eight to release their proposal in March, as they had previously pledged.”
Schumer Says Immigration Deal Is Nearly Ready In The Senate from The Washington Post by David Nakamura and Rosalind S. Helderman. “A key member of a bipartisan Senate group said Thursday that the eight members are nearing agreement on a comprehensive plan to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and will unveil a bill for consideration early next month.”
Health Care
Health Insurers Warn On Premiumsfrom The Wall Street Journal by Anna Wilde Mathews and Louise Radnofsky. “Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation’s biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans. The projections, made in sessions with brokers and agents, provide some of the most concrete evidence yet of how much insurance companies might increase prices when major provisions of the law kick in next year—a subject of rigorous debate.”
States Urged To Expand Medicaid With Private Insurance from The New York Times by Robert Pear. “The White House is encouraging skeptical state officials to expand Medicaid by subsidizing the purchase of private insurance for low-income people, even though that approach might be somewhat more expensive, federal and state officials say.”
Will Americans Ever Love Obamacare? from Politico by Jason Millman and Brett Norman. “This weekend, which marks the third anniversary of the law’s passage, one thing remains clear: Someday has not yet arrived, and may not for a long time. Even as the pitched ideological and legal battles have faded, a huge raft of complicated and potentially crippling practical challenges remain, raising questions about whether Obamacare ultimately will work and whether it will become the Rushmore-size achievement that President Barack Obama hopes for.”
X-Factor
Standards to Assess Border Security Are Incompletefrom The New York Times by Julia Preston. “Lawmakers warned that failure by the Obama administration to devise a reliable way to evaluate overall border security could imperil passage of immigration legislation.”
Chicago Moves To Close 11% Of Elementary Schools In Fall from The Wall Street Journal by Stephanie Banchero and Caroline Porter. “The move to close about 11% of the 472 elementary schools in the nation’s third-largest school district this fall sparked anger from the teachers union, some elected aldermen, parents and neighborhood groups who vowed to fight the move. The Chicago Board of Education, appointed by Mr. Emanuel, a Democrat, must approve the final plan.”
