Progressive Breakfast: House Stands Up To China

Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.

House Puts Pressure On China

House passes China currency crackdown bill. NYT: [1] "The House of Representatives sent an unusually confrontational signal to the Chinese leadership on Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to give the Obama administration expanded authority to impose tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports to the United States."

GOP splits on China bill. The Hill: [2] "Those Republicans voting aye largely hailed from states that have sizable manufacturing sectors, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania ... It is unclear whether the legislation will make it to President Obama’s desk, though Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to push for a vote in the Senate’s lame-duck session after the election. The White House has tried to keep the legislation locked up this year, but in recent weeks Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has suggested the administration’s patience with China is wearing thin."

Vote strengthens Obama's hand with China. McClatchy: [3] "Obama talked tough during a Wednesday visit to Iowa. 'The reason that I'm pushing China about their currency is because their currency is undervalued,' he said bluntly in response to a question. The Wednesday vote is expected to give Obama important political ammunition to use against China's policy when the world's 20 most industrialized nations meet in November for the G-20 summit."

OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson praises: [4] "The fact that Democrats are in the lead on currency and are being joined by many Republicans shows that the 'anti-protectionist' rap is no longer working. The public is extremely supportive of these actions. Taking these on is smart politics as well as good policy."

China reacts. Bloomberg: [5] "'We firmly oppose the U.S. Congress approving such bills,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters today in Beijing. 'We urge the U.S. congressmen to be clearly aware of the importance of China-U.S. trade and economic relations, resist protectionism so as to refrain from any damage to the interests of both peoples and people around the world.' ... The yuan weakened today for the first time in 13 days..."

Tax Cut Vote Officially Delayed Until After Election

House adjourns without addressing Bush tax cuts due to expire [6] reports NYT.

Some Democrats still pushing for a higher exemption on Bush tax cut extension. NYT: [7] "'I think the $250,000 level is too low,' said Senator James Webb, Democrat of Virginia. 'I’m asking that it be raised.' One proposal being discussed is a millionaires’ tax, which would create one or two additional tax brackets for the wealthiest Americans and eliminate the Bush tax cuts only for those who earn more than seven-figure incomes. But Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have thus far held firm to the dividing line of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families."

Congress avoids shutdown, passes stopgap spending measure [8] reports CNN.

New Faces At Fed

Senate confirms two of the President's Fed nominees. Bloomberg: [9] "'The ranks of the policy makers who are more willing to act and believe that quantitative easing can be effective just went up,' said Vincent Reinhart, the Fed’s monetary-affairs director from 2001 to 2007."

W. Post sums up four big questions Fed will soon face: [10] "How much 'quantitative easing'? ... Shock-and-awe or dribs-and-drabs? ... Treasuries or mortgage-backed securities? ... Cut the interest rate on excess reserves?"

Two Days Until We March

W. Post reports of breadth of Saturday's One Nation march: [11] "Gay rights groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign, will attend alongside socially conservative faith groups, including the National Baptist Convention and the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America. Along with environmental groups, a mine workers union has also endorsed the event."

USA Today profiles Americans traveling to One Nation: [12] "Laid-off New York City transit worker Sabrina Greenwood plans to march Saturday in Washington, D.C., for people like her who have lost their jobs in the recession. University of Wisconsin sophomore Max Love is marching for his friends who have had to drop out of college because they could not afford rising tuition. Jennifer Ibarra is marching for better education for her four school-age children and other working single parents struggling to raise their families on minimum wages."

Warren Reaches Out To Wall Street

Elizabeth Warren asks Wall Street to collaborate with her. HuffPost: [13] "...Warren also asked the lenders to work with her to create a new system of regulation designed to protect consumers -- one that relies on lenders to be proactive when offering products, rather than reactive when it comes to complying with regulation."

NYT adds: [14] "...Ms. Warren spoke favorably about what is known as a principle-based approach to regulation that starts with broadly agreed-upon concepts like 'fair treatment for consumers.' ... she said that simplification of credit card agreements — replacing pages of fine print with clear and easy-to-read terms — could benefit both consumers and card issuers."

AIG board approves plan to wind down bailout. Bloomberg: [15] "AIG was 'nearing the conclusion' of talks with regulators about the proposal, Chairman Steve Miller said yesterday at a conference in New York. Treasury may begin converting its $49 billion preferred stake into common stock for sales next year..."

Some banks holding out as TARP nears official end. WSJ: [16] "...more than 600 banks are sitting on about $65 billion in government bailout funds. The situation is frustrating federal officials who believe some larger institutions can repay the government but have chosen not to because it would require them to raise additional capital and weaken existing shareholders..."

Debt Commission Faces Gridlock

WH debt commission having difficulty reaching consensus. CQ: [17] "...co-chairman Erskine Bowles said prospects for bipartisan agreements will 'change dramatically however the election comes out.' He was not suggesting the task would be easier ... major gains in November could make Republicans on the commission less willing to cut bipartisan deals ... Rep. Joe L. Barton, R-Texas, said that if the GOP captures the House, any commission recommendation that includes raising taxes would face certain rejection."

FT's Edward Luce underscores the flaws in the GOP's plan to balance the budget [18]: "...the pledge would bring about a crisis in US sovereign creditworthiness ... Either the Republican Party believes what it is saying, in which case it has no further useful intellectual contribution to make. Or else it thinks the US electorate is intellectually challenged and will mistake this fantasy for a plan."

OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow rips conservative commissioners for pushing tax cuts: [19] "You read that right: 'Deficit' commissioners who won't allow any new tax revenues. Oh, they'd cut benefits for the elderly, alright, but they'd use the money to reduce corporate taxes - and capital gains taxes, too. That will make the deficit worse and it will widen income disparity..."

GOP Health Care Attack Could Provoke Shutdown

GOPers plotting to defund health reform, provoking government shutdown. Bloomberg: [20] "John Murray, a spokesman for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking Republican in the House, said that if control of the House flips, possible targets for defunding may be the insurance exchanges, the new agency set up under the law to compare different drugs’ effectiveness and any added staffing that may be sought to manage coverage expansions. By vetoing spending measures that don’t include money for the law, Obama may set up a situation similar to the 1995 government shutdown ... That shutdown hurt the Republicans, who lost congressional seats in 1996. James T. Walsh, a former Republican [Appropriations subcommittee] chairman ... said Republicans could dodge blame this time by portraying Obama as the instigator."

McDonald's threatens to drop health coverage over requirement for premiums to be spent on actual health care. WSJ: [21] "... a senior McDonald's official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain's insurer won't meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.. McDonald's and trade groups say the percentage, called a medical loss ratio, is unrealistic for mini-med plans because of high administrative costs owing to frequent worker turnover ... The health law expands Medicaid and offers large subsidies to lower-income people to buy coverage, but those provisions don't kick in until 2014 ... The government is waiting for the association of state insurance commissioners to draft recommendations."

GOP Sen. Pat Roberts lashes out at fellow Kansan, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius. McClatchy: [22] "'She's keeping a list,' the senator said. 'Some have called this gangster government in the press. As a former newspaper man, I am shocked. I am really stunned by my former governor's actions.' ... Roberts was referring to a recent letter that Sebelius sent to America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group. She wrote that some companies were 'falsely blaming' increases in customer premiums on the health care reform law."

Congress Prepares To Tackle Climate in "Chunks"

Warm Senate reception to President's suggestion of addressing climate crisis in "chunks." Politico: [23] "From John Kerry to Lamar Alexander, the reaction on Capitol Hill to the president's remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine interview suggest there's room for compromise on energy and environmental issues when Congress returns next year." ALSO in Politico: GOP Sen. Scott Brown suggests support for Cantwell-Collins "cap-and-dividend" climate bill. [24]

After Obama suggests climate will be addressed in "chunks," Grist's Glenn Hurowitz offers some: [25] "One of the brightest possibilities is permanent tax credits for carbon sequestration through the protection and restoration of forests and wetlands and shifts to sustainable agriculture ... Banning previous generations of F-gases such as CFCs is the equivalent of keeping 11 billion metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere ... There have been several proposals for coming up with the $100 billion pledged by rich countries to reduce deforestation [and] finance a clean technology revolution in developing countries..."

NYT's Andrew Revkin reacts to Hurowitz [26]: "I’d ... put Obama’s proposed permanent research tax credit and Re-Energyse program way ahead of the tax credit for carbon-storing agriculture ... Kevin Gurney of Purdue, a specialist in the carbon cycle ... recently told me that in this arena, 'the policy is way ahead of the science.'"

Coal-state Sen. Jay Rockefeller concedes his bill to handcuff EPA on climate can't become law. Politico: [27] "'The point is the message,' Rockefeller told reporters."

Bingaman-Brownback renewable energy bill faces competition in post-election Senate session. Politico: [28] "...a number of lawmakers have indicated that they aren’t ready to accept the standalone Bingaman-Brownback bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is planning to introduce his own legislation Wednesday that threatens to draw support from the Bingaman-Brownback approach. [Graham] would set a nationwide 'clean energy standard' that also allows nuclear power and 'clean coal' power plants to qualify ... . 'There would have to be some things that would mitigate the impact on a state like mine to prevent electric rates from going up,' [Dem Sen. Evan] Bayh said ... [GOP Sen. Bob Corker] said the RES was the 'worst part' of the proposal because it didn’t include nuclear power."

Kansas could use the renewable energy bill to woo European wind companies. Wichita Eagle: [29] "As the number of wind farms in the U.S. develops, the much-larger European wind energy industry is slowly expanding into the U.S. They are searching for sites to build and suppliers to manufacture ... One of the last key pieces to spark a large move to the U.S. ... is passing a national electricity standard, a requirement that a certain percentage of electricity come from sources such as wind."

"China leading the world in clean energy investment" [30] headlines W. Post.

Grist's Brad Johnson says John McCain has become a climate conspiracy theorist [31]: "In a little-noted appearance stumping for Senate candidate (and fellow denier) Kelly Ayotte in Nashua, N.H., this March, McCain gave credence to the outlandish Climategate smear campaign against climate science..."

What comes after drilling moratorium? W. Post: [32] "Thursday, Salazar will receive recommendations from Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement ... key industry and administration officials are struggling with the larger questions: not when drilling will resume, but how and where ... Oil and gas executives are steeling for a slower and more costly permitting process ..."

New mileage standards in the works for heavy-duty vehicles. NYT: [33] "The new standards would make it likely that technologies used in cars — aerodynamic bodies, low-rolling-resistance tires, variable valve timing and hybrid electric propulsion — would be introduced in box trucks, garbage trucks, cement mixers, school buses and tractor-trailers. But since heavy trucks are so varied, each of the technologies would be useful only in some types of vehicles."

Will The Tea Party Blow It?

Grover Norquist warns Republicans they may blow their chances for taking over Congress by wallowing in the fringe, in FT oped: [34] "The party and its energised Tea Party activists have a habit of becoming distracted by 'shiny' things – issues that captivate radio talk show hosts but fail to move voters. Arizona’s restrictive immigration law and the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan are obvious examples. Speculating on the precise location where Mr Obama was born is another. Some social conservatives are trying to push to the fore the issue of gay marriage or gays in the military, and that too is a distraction. Worse, some loyal to the previous administration suggest that a good night for the GOP will be a rehabilitation of the presidency of George W Bush."

Dem enthusiasm emerging? W. Post: [35] "One Democratic strategist e-mailed Wednesday morning to say, 'I don't want to overstate the trend, or suggest it is happening everywhere, but in several places I definitely have seen Democrats starting to come home and feel more strongly about the importance of preventing a Republican takeover of the Congress.' This strategist said he had seen several new polls in competitive races where Democratic Party identification had started to rise - and in places where it had previously declined."

State ballot initiatives dominated by fiscal issues, not social issues. Stateline: [36] "For the first time in more than a decade, gay marriage is absent from any statewide ballot and the only abortion measure this November is in Colorado ... A nationwide effort to nullify a key element of the new federal health care law will be on fewer November ballots than many had expected ... Anti-labor measures in four states constitute a preemptive strike in case Congress passes legislation making it easier for unions to organize."