GOP keeps its powder dry on Summers’ candidacy for Fed chairman

Many Democrats perceive Summers as too close to Wall Street and don’t trust him on financial regulation. Twenty of the upper chamber’s Democrats, in response to rumors that Summers would be the pick, signed a letter circulated by Brown that recommended Fed Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen for her pro-regulation views. Merkley and Warren also signed the letter.

But Republicans, who generally view current monetary policy as recklessly loose, are less likely to see such a distinction between the two candidates.

“I assume a lot of Republicans will be opposed to both,” said an aide to Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican and member of the Banking Committee.

None of the Republicans on the panel were willing to comment on Summers. But many of them have opposed nominations of Fed officials less activist and less partisan than Summers, who has been one of the top architects of recent Democratic economic policy as an adviser to Obama and Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton.

-Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer

 

GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE: NSA VIOLATED COURT-ORDERED PRIVACY RULES

The Obama administration released previously classified documents showing that National Security Agency employees routinely accessed a phone-records database without legal approval and misled a secret court about their actions.

The documents made public by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper show that NSA workers searched a database that held the phone records of Americans not connected to terror investigations. A judge on the top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ultimately ordered the NSA to make major changes to the program in 2009.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton wrote in the just-released opinion that he “lost confidence” in federal officials’ ability to properly oversee the program and was “deeply troubled by the incidents.”

Walton says that he even considered shutting down the program.

The data in question includes phone numbers dialed by Americans and the location of their calls but not the actual content of the conversations.

Just 2,000 of 17,835 phone numbers reviewed by NSA officials between 2006 and 2009 could be properly justified, officials acknowledged.

The admissions are the latest in a series of troubling disclosures from the NSA following leaks from former government contractor Edward Snowden, which revealed the extent of the agency’s secret surveillance programs.

The Obama administration has defended the NSA surveillance of phone and Internet traffic, arguing the programs have thwarted terror attacks and saved lives.

-Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent

 

HEALTH CARE: SEIU TO HELP WHITE HOUSE EDUCATE AMERICANS ON OBAMACARE

The nation’s largest healthcare workers union said it would help President Obama with the rollout of his signature healthcare reform law.

The Service Employees International Union will knock on doors and host community events to help people understand the Affordable Care Act before Oct. 1, when uninsured Americans will be asked to sign onto exchanges to purchase health insurance. The Obama administration has recruited companies, celebrities, sports teams and unions to help prepare the country as key components of the law go into effect, dubbing the consortium the “Champions of Change.”

“Let there be no doubt, the new healthcare law is working for working people,” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said.

Support from the SEIU comes as other labor leaders have pressured congressional Democrats and the White House to fix aspects of the law that they worry will hurt their members. In a letter to Obama and Democrats, some union leaders cautioned that the law incentivizes companies to cut employees to under 30 hours and that subsidies in Obamacare aren’t extended to nonprofit insurance plans used by many unions.

The law will “destroy the very health and well-being of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans,” they wrote.

Obama aides have met with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to discuss union concerns ahead of implementation. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., has introduced a bill that would bar the administration from making unilateral changes that would benefit Big Labor.

-Steve Contorno, Congressional Correspondent

 

SPORTS: NFL OWNERS SPEND BIG ON CAMPAIGNS AND PACS

The Washington Redskins’ season-opening 33-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was a new chapter in a longtime NFL rivalry. But off the gridiron, the teams’ owners have been butting heads in politics for years.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has given nearly $100,000 to Republican groups since 2009. His Eagles counterpart, Jeffrey Lurie, contributed nearly $20,000 to Democratic causes.

They are two of 27 NFL team owners who have been financially active in politics in the Obama era, according to a Washington Examiner analysis of federal campaign finance data.

Half of the 32 NFL teams have an owner who largely contributes to Republicans. Another 10 donate primarily to Democrats, and one has a mixed record.

The Republican-leaning owners threw their money around much more, averaging about $299,000 given per owner since 2009, compared with an average of nearly $32,000 for the Democratic contributors.

Much of that was the doing of Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who donated $3.4 million, most of it going to pro-Mitt Romney super PACs during the 2012 campaign. His contributions account for almost two-thirds of all political donations from NFL team owners.

-Elliot Smilowitz, Staff Writer

 

ENERGY: CANADA IMPLORES OBAMA FOR KEYSTONE DECISION

Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper has sent President Obama a letter that all but begs him to OK the Keystone XL pipeline project.

Citing high-level sources, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the letter indicates “the prime minister is willing to accept targets proposed by the United States for reducing the climate-changing emissions and is prepared to work in concert with Obama to provide whatever political cover he needs to approve the project.”

Obama has not responded to the letter.

The $7 billion energy project would build a pipeline from Canada’s oil sands through the plains states to the Gulf of Mexico. While privately funded, it requires the approval of both governments.

Harper has been seeking Obama’s approval for years, but the president keeps delaying the decision and the earliest an approval could come would be next year.

Obama initially appeared willing to approve the project in 2011, but pulled back after environmental groups warned Democrats that they could lose campaign funding and votes.

The president has not definitively ruled it out, though, holding out hope to the project’s supporters that a deal is still possible.

-Sean Higgins, Senior Writer

 

GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY: LOBBYIST ASKS ISSA PANEL NOT TO QUESTION FORMER ENERGY OFFICIAL OVER EMAILS

A “disturbing” email put Jonathan Silver, former head of the Department of Energy’s green loan program, in the hot seat at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on email transparency in the government.

Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., read an email from an employee at Dickstein Shapiro, a major Washington law and lobbying firm, requesting that the committee not question Silver.

“I have in my possession a disturbing email that comes from an individual apparently working at Dickstein Shapiro that actually asks a member of this committee not to ask questions of you. Are you familiar with this? Can you consult with your counsel?”

“I’m sorry, sir, I am not at all familiar with this,” Silver said.

“The question of whether we refer this to the Bar Association, whether in fact it’s an interference with Congress — which I find it to be — and the like, that will need to be resolved with the ranking member and myself after this hearing,” Issa said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee’s ranking Democrat, also expressed concern, saying, “I hope this is not what it appears to be. It would really be out of bounds.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pointed to what he described as apparent collusion between government officials and employees at BrightSource Energy, which received a $1.6 billion loan through the green loan program Silver oversaw.

“Finally, we have your lobbyist saying to the committee just a couple days ago, ‘Don’t direct any questions to Mr. Silver,'” Jordan said. “You can mislead a member of Congress, you can help your friends, you can lose billions of taxpayer dollars and still have the gall for your lobbyist to ask members of Congress not to ask you any questions. Do you think taxpayers might take offense to that whole scenario?”

-Michal Conger, Staff Writer

 

MARIJUANA: BANKS HESITANT TO WORK WITH LEGIT POT BUSINESSES

Democratic lawmakers are concerned about how much trouble legitimate marijuana businesses are having trying to take out loans or even open checking accounts at banks.

Many financial institutions are hesitant to work with marijuana dispensaries in states where the drug is legal for fear of being targeted by a federal government that still considers cannabis a schedule 1 controlled substance, even though the Justice Department has said it will turn a blind eye to small-scale marijuana use in states that have approved it.

That creates a world where legal drug businesses are operating almost entirely in cash.

“That’s a prescription for problems — tax evasion and so on,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.

The Justice Department agrees it’s an issue. Assistant Attorney General James Cole said the department is working with the banking industry to address it.

“Obviously there is a public safety concern when businesses have a lot of cash sitting around,” Cole said. “There is a tendency that there is guns associated with that, so it’s important to deal with that kind of issue.”

-Steve Contorno, Congressional Correspondent

 

TAXES: IRS WANTS MORE DOUGH FROM RESTAURANT WORKERS

The Obama administration is proposing a new rule to collect more tax money from restaurant servers, after Obamacare’s employer mandates led major restaurant chains to cut their hours.

The IRS, beginning in 2014, will require restaurants to withhold the automatic gratuity added to large checks, rather than allow servers to take the tip money home with them each night.

“This new IRS rule is one more mandate to comply with and one more way to make sure the IRS extracts every possible penny out of hard-working waiters and small business people – the very folks who are suffering most in this weak economy,” Daniel Garza, executive director of the LIBRE Initiative (a right-of-center Hispanic group) said about the the rule.

The new rule could lead restaurants to stop mandating the tips for large groups.

Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden, the Capital Grille and Seasons 52, said it may eliminate its automatic 18 percent tip for groups of eight or more diners. The 2,100-restaurant company also tested cutting worker hours to less than 30 hours per week in response to an Obamacare regulation designed to force employers to provide health insurance coverage to more workers.

-Joel Gehrke, Commentary Writer

 

PENSIONS: HEALTHCARE UNION ‘FIX’ WOULD COST $187B OVER A DECADE, REPORT SAYS

An upcoming report estimates that taxpayers would fork out $187 billion over 10 years to cover a “fix” that labor officials want to spare multi-employer pension plans, which are provided by many unions to their members, from the higher costs they would face under the president’s health care law.

Multi-employer plans — also known as “Taft-Hartley” plans — are not eligible for federal subsidies under Obamacare. This has many unions worried, since it will raise the cost of the plans, pushing employers to limit coverage or pull out altogether.

Labor leaders have lobbied Obama and congressional leaders to extend subsidies to the plans, but so far the administration has not moved.

A study by American Action Forum, a nonprofit think tank founded by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Congressional Budget Office director, suggests why: It would cause Obamacare’s costs to skyrocket at a time when the administration is already struggling to keep them under control.

The report obtained by the Washington Examiner found: “If subsidies were extended to union workers and their families enrolled in Taft-Hartley plans, it would bring 3 million more households onto the rolls and cost an additional $16 billion in 2014 alone. Beyond that if the number of union members in Taft-Hartley plans remains constant (it would likely increase), this estimate grows to $187 billion within the first 10 years.”

-Sean Higgins, Senior Writer

 

NEW YORK MAYOR’S RACE: WEINER GETS FEISTY ON MSNBC

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell challenged former disgraced Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.’s attempt to regain his political standing by running for mayor of New York City.

“What I find strange about your campaign is what seems to be your absolute desperate need for elective office and what seems to be your inability to live outside of it,” O’Donnell said, repeatedly asking Weiner the question, “What is wrong with you?”

Weiner quickly grew hostile with O’Donnell.

O’Donnell explained he didn’t have a problem with Weiner’s embarrassing personal behavior but said it was irresponsible for Weiner to seek elected office again when he knew that his personal history would continue to damage his political career.

“What are you going to do after you lose, Anthony?” O’Donnell asked.

“I don’t plan on losing,” Weiner replied. “Maybe I’ll come on this show and kick your ass every night like I’m doing tonight.”

-Charlie Spiering, Commentary Writer

 

UNIONS: JUDGE SLAPS DOWN NLRB ‘POSTER RULE’

The National Labor Relations Board has been slapped down by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a bid to revive its so-called “poster” ruling.

The rule, which the NLRB adopted in 2011, would have required all businesses to prominently place posters in the workplace explaining workers’ rights to join a union.

Failure to do so would itself be evidence of a hostile work environment towards union activities, the NLRB said. The posters would not include other information, such as how to decertify a union or how workers can opt out of paying dues.

Employers have pushed back and won a several court battles. The D.C. Circuit Court vacated the NLRB’s ruling in May, saying it violated the First Amendment. In June, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against the board, saying it exceeded its authority under the National Labor Relations Act.

National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons said the poster rule is “a prime example of the aggressive agenda pursued by the NLRB in recent years, and the court has correctly decided that that the board has overstepped its authority.”

A spokesman for the NLRB declined to comment.

-Sean Higgins, Senior Writer

 

MILITARY VETERANS: VA OFFICIALS REGRET PATIENT DEATHS BUT KEEP BONUSES

Top health care officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs apologized for a recent string of preventable patient deaths, but not for the big performance bonuses paid out afterward.

The apologies followed tearful testimony during a congressional field hearing in Pittsburgh from the families of veterans who died at VA facilities there and in Atlanta, and from agency whistleblowers who described cover-ups and retaliation by hospital administrators when they tried to expose wrongdoing.

Yet, despite acknowledging the “deeply compelling and very upsetting” stories of how VA failures led to the deaths, Robert Petzel, the department’s under-secretary for health, maintained that the bonuses paid to top administrators were justified and in some cases legally required.

That includes the nearly $63,000 bonus paid to Michael Moreland, director of the VA health care region that includes Pittsburgh, where at least five patient deaths resulted from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease between July 2011 and November 2012.

Moreland collected the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award three days after the agency’s inspector general issued a report concluding improper maintenance and mismanagement at Pittsburgh-area VA medical facilities led to the Legionnaires contamination.

“I can’t express more sincerely my apology and appreciation for the suffering that the family faces,” Moreland told the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

As to the bonus, Moreland said the presidential award recognized his entire 30-year career.

“The timing of it was very bad, and I understand the families that would look at that and make the connection and be upset about that,” Moreland said. “I received the award. I’m proud to have received it.”

-Mark Flatten, Watchdog Reporter

 

RETAILERS: KROGER WORKERS’ UNION OKS MOVING SPOUSES INTO OBAMACARE

Union officials representing employees of Kroger agreed to let the 2,419-store grocery chain drop insurance coverage for spouses because of the imminent opening of the Obamacare exchanges.

Kroger officials point to Obamacare as the reason for their decision to drop the coverage.

“The Affordable Care Act creates a very good, viable source for health care that has never been available before,” Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey told the Marion Star. “We wanted to find a shared solution with the union to address skyrocketing health care costs, and we wanted to ensure spouses had access.”

Local United Food and Commercial Workers union officials said the “safety net” of Obamacare was a key part of the latest contract negotiations.

“The Affordable Care Act is an issue for every employer that provides health care,” UFCW spokeswoman Brigid Kelly said. “There are a lot of great benefits, but all those things come with a cost.”

The UFCW is a member of the AFL-CIO labor federation, whose president, Richard Trumka, worries that Obamacare creates an incentive for companies to cut hours for their employees since employers must provide health coverage for employees who work at least 30 hours a week.

Employers are “restructuring their workforce to give workers 29 and a half hours so they don’t have to provide them healthcare,” Trumka said.

-Joel Gehrke, Commentary Writer