Progressive Breakfast: Hunt For Jobs As Unemployment Breaks 10%

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BREAKING NEWS: Unemployment Breaks 10%, Though Pace of Job Loss Continues To Slow.

Labor Dept. release: [1] "The unemployment rate rose from 9.8 to 10.2 percent in October, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline (-190,000) ... The largest job losses over the month were in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade. In October, the number of unemployed persons increased by 558,000 to 15.7 million. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 10.2 percent, the highest rate since April 1983. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 8.2 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3 percentage points."

Politico on WH struggles to create more jobs without increasing deficit, transportation bill opportunity: [2] "To help the jobless through the holidays, Congress sent Obama a bill Thursday that would add up to 20 weeks in assistance for those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. But the future of the highway program, hurt by a drop-off in gasoline tax revenues, remains a bone of contention. The White House has said it wants to extend the current program only through the 2010 elections and then address increased funding. But 15 states are already so short of cash they can’t meet their 20 percent matching requirement. And that number could double next year — greatly reducing the chance to let contracts and create jobs. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) has argued for an upfront investment of $80 billion over two years to get over this hurdle. 'The concrete is cracking,' Oberstar said, laughing, hinting that the administration’s resistance is weakening."

Also from Politico, highway funding could come from tax on Wall Street: [3] "House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told POLITICO: "We have to reauthorize that highway bill for at least four years. I would prefer five or six,” Clyburn said, even if it meant imposing a securities transaction tax on the financial community to cover the costs ... Rep. Peter DeFazio, a major player on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a gymmate of Emanuel’s, has been drafting legislation along these lines ... [He] argues that the proposed 0.25 percent excise tax would have a negligible impact on the average investor and yield sufficient revenues to both cover increased highway funding and make a down payment toward reducing the deficit. The financial industry is sure to fight any such levy and enjoys powerful allies, such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). But the anti-Wall Street sentiment in Congress goes well beyond DeFazio’s populist caucus."

Sen. Schumer looks to stop stimulus funds from creating green jobs in China for a Texas wind farm. Green Inc.: [4] "Mr. Schumer said he had sent a letter on Thursday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, urging him to 'reject any request for stimulus money unless the high-value components, including the wind turbines, are manufactured in the United States.'"

Pelosi Prepares For Health Care Vote Tomorrow

Speaker Pelosi confident before tomorrow's vote, GOP won't accept CBO score. The Hill: [5] "Pelosi insisted 'we will' get the 218 votes Dems needed for passage. She must find supporters within her 258-member caucus because Republicans are united against it ... Meanwhile, Republicans are pressing Rick Foster, Medicare’s chief actuary, for a score of the House bill before the weekend vote..."

CBO scores Speaker Pelosi's final version (PDF file): [6] "CBO and the staff of JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting H.R. 3962, incorporating the manager’s amendment, would yield a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $129 billion over the 2010-2019 period."

Abortion issue not yet resolved. CQ: [7] "Abortion is the most serious problem for the leadership. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a leading abortion opponent, has warned that up to 40 Democrats might vote against the bill unless stronger language is added to restrict federal funding of insurance plans that cover abortion. With the majority now 258 members strong — once a newly elected Democrat from New York is sworn in on Friday — Democratic leaders can afford to lose up to 40 votes from their party’s ranks. But Thursday night, Diana DeGette of Colorado said the Democrats’ 190-member Pro-Choice Caucus will not accept abortion language more restrictive than that proposed by Democrat Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and accepted by the leadership ... Backers of abortion rights do not like the Ellsworth wording but will not oppose the bill because of it, she said."

W. Post's Dana Milbank chronicles hateful messages at anti-health care Tea Party rally: [8] "In the front of the protest, a sign showed President Obama in white coat, his face painted to look like the Joker. The sign, visible to the lawmakers as they looked into the cameras, carried a plea to 'Stop Obamunism.' A few steps farther was the guy holding a sign announcing 'Obama takes his orders from the Rothchilds' [sic], accusing Obama of being part of a Jewish plot to introduce the antichrist. But the best of [Rep. Michelle] Bachmann's recruits were a few rows into the crowd, holding aloft a pair of 5-by-8-foot banners proclaiming 'National Socialist Healthcare, Dachau, Germany, 1945.' Both banners showed close-up photographs of Holocaust victims, many of them children." Media Matters finds conservatives inflating tiny protest turnout numbers. [9]

Jacob Hacker and Diane Archer urge support for House version of public option. The Treatment: [10] "The public plan is ... critical to reform as a cost and quality benchmark ... should also help keep down the rate of growth of health insurance premiums over time ... the public plan is really the only tool available for testing and implementing reforms in the market for the non-elderly ... pegging rates to Medicare and obligating Medicare providers to accept these rates would be far preferable ... But it’s still immensely valuable to give Americans an out--another choice--to let the insurers feel the heat..."

Latest CNN poll (PDF file) still finds solid support, 55% [11], for public option.

Boxer Passes Climate Bill Over GOP Boycott

The Vine's Brad Plumer assess Boxer's 11-1 victory in committee: [12] "Basically, the climate bill's out of the hands of Barbara Boxer and [Environment and Public Work Committee] at this point. The Republican boycott was circumvented. A few of the other committees—like Finance—could now take a whack at it, but it's mainly going to be shepherded by Harry Reid from this point forward."

W. Post notes attention is shifting to Kerry-Graham-Lieberman compromise talks, Gore blesses: [13] "Former vice president Al Gore, in a meeting Thursday with The Washington Post's editorial board, said he hopes the negotiations between Kerry and Graham, with the aid of the administration, will 'produce a consensus bill before Copenhagen,' empowering U.S. negotiators at the talks. Gore added that he knows President Obama and his aides are 'having discussions' about Obama attending the climate talks in December. He said, however, that he 'has no indication' that a final decision has been made."

Politico gets Graham's reaction to Boxer bill: [14] "Graham said that he would have voted against the EPW bill. 'Now, it’s time to find a bill that will make good policy,' said Graham. 'Clearly, there are not 60 votes for that product.' Graham said his group would take the 'good pieces' of the work by Boxer and the five other committees ... Boxer (D-Calif.) stressed that her committee was only the first step in a long process."

NYT spotlights Baucus' no vote: [15] "Mr. Baucus’s vote against the bill was another ominous sign. He is the influential chairman of the Finance Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture Committee, both of which will have major input in any final climate and energy legislation. He said the bill’s emission reduction targets were too ambitious and its agriculture provisions too weak. He said the measure had a long way to go."

"Boxer avoids repeating Baucus' mistake with dragging out health care talks [16] argues OurFuture.org's Bill Scher.

Enviro strategy to accept compromises attracts criticism. ClimateWire: [17] "...some question whether in their quest to get a bill, environmentalists and their allies are far too willing to compromise on historic priorities such as offshore drilling and nuclear power ... Officials from major environmental groups contend that simply building political momentum for climate change legislation is not an insignificant task, arguing that some lawmakers and voters still need to be convinced of the benefits of a cap-and-trade bill."

W. Post notes dispute on whether to emphasize carbon cap or green jobs: [18] "some groups have muted their alarms about wildfires, shrinking glaciers and rising seas. Not because they've stopped caring about them -- but because they're trying to win over people who might care more about a climate bill's non-environmental side benefits, such as 'green' jobs and reduced oil imports. Smaller environmental groups, however, say this is the wrong moment to ease up on the scare because that might send the signal that a weaker bill is acceptable."