Budget battles CPC v 1%; GOP split; Medicare; highway trust fund ...
MORNING MESSAGE
Robert Borosage
Dueling Visions: The CPC People’s Budget vs. the Budget for the 1%
The Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled its fiscal 2016 “People’s Budget: A Raise For America” one day after House Republicans released their “A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America” proposal. The CPC touted a $1.9 trillion investment in America’s future and over 8 million new jobs. The House Republicans bragged about cutting $5 trillion over 10 years. The sharp contrast between the two reflect stark differences in values and ideology – and a basic choice of whether government will serve the many or the few.
http://ourfuture.org/20150318/dueling-visions-the-cpc-peoples-budget-vs-the-budget-for-the-1?utm_source=progressive_breakfast&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pbreak
Senate budget to be released today, will largely track House version. McClatchy:
“…a GOP aide said the Senate proposal would resemble the House plan in three ways. Both generally would balance the budget at the end of a decade, the aide said, and both would build in flexibility to increase military spending. They also envision the use of an arcane budget tool called reconciliation to make it easier to repeal the Affordable Care Act over Democratic objections.”
http://m.sentinelsource.com/mobile/mcclatchy/gop-sets-budget-collision-course-with-obama/article_6a806176-c469-5872-8d5b-264957bf96bd.html
But Senate plan won’t spell out Medicare changes. Bloomberg:
“The Senate will avoid the House’s plan on Medicare … With the federal deficit easing and entitlement cuts unpopular with voters, Republicans worry that such an approach would damage them politically in 2016 … ‘Let’s face it, these solutions will not be popular,’ [said] Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican whose seat is up in 2016…”
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-17/senate-budget-to-focus-on-politics-as-well-as-budget-balancing
House GOP splits over defense spending, imperiling budget. Politico:
“House Republicans who back a bigger defense budget are revolting against their leaders’ new proposal to use a separate war fund to add additional money to Pentagon coffers … Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio … vowed Tuesday to vote against the budget resolution and predicted many of the 69 House Republicans who joined him last month in signing a letter seeking a defense budget boost would do the same … a portion of the new war funding would be dependent on finding savings elsewhere in the federal budget [that may] never actually materialize …”
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/gop-defense-hawks-threaten-budget-deal-116165.html?hp=b1_c1
And Medicare “doc fix”. The Hill:
“Some hard-liners in the GOP conference on Tuesday said they were infuriated to learn that Boehner had been talking for weeks with Democratic leaders about a plan to eliminate the automatic cuts to Medicare providers … The criticism doesn’t end with conservatives. Some liberal Democrats, as well as the AARP, are taking issue with the plan because it asks some seniors to pay more under Medicare.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/overnights/236018-overnight-healthcare-mounting-opposition-to-doc-fix-deal
Permanent solution elusive, House may opt for temporary extension of highway trust fund. The Hill:
“‘States have already notified the federal government that they will be delaying or postponing or canceling projects,’ [Rep. Peter] DeFazio [said]. ‘I expect the number of canceled or delayed projects will only grow over the coming weeks if we don’t have a short-term bill.’ … State and local transportation officials … told lawmakers Tuesday that another patch now would make it harder for them to plan long-range construction projects.”
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/236038-congress-scrambling-to-protect-highway-funds
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