President Obama announced that the U.S. was expanding sanctions against senior Russian officials following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and warned of further “severe actions” against the Kremlin if it did not stand down.
“The world is watching with grave concern,” Obama said from the South Lawn of the White House, announcing that he signed an executive order giving him the authority to “impose sanctions not just on individuals but key sectors of the Russian economy.”
The first round of sanctions from the White House against Russia was shrugged off by Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising questions about whether Obama had the tools and the will to deter the Russian leader.
For the second round, Obama said that in addition to expanding the list of those being sanctioned, his administration penalized a bank that conducts business with the officials in question.
Russia retaliated by issuing sanctions against White House officials and members of Congress.
“Proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin’s aggression,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, noted on Twitter.
“I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, my Gazprom stock is lost, and my secret bank account in Moscow is frozen,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “Nonetheless, I will never cease my efforts on behalf of the freedom, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea.”
The Obama administration originally froze assets and issued travel bans against 11 senior Russian and Ukrainian officials. Analysts, however, say that anything short of sanctions against Russian banks and energy companies won’t command Putin’s attention.
Putin has claimed to have little interest in taking over any part of Ukraine beyond Crimea but also added that the Kremlin would act to preserve Russian interests across the country.
Obama ruled out military intervention, a prospect dismissed by Democrats and Republicans alike in Washington.
However, conservatives argue that the administration should step up military aid to Ukraine and work with partners to shore up the Eastern European nation’s economy.
Amid the turmoil, however, Obama insisted that Putin still has an exit ramp from the crisis.
“Diplomacy between the United States and Russia continues,” he said. “The Ukrainians should not have to choose between the West and Russia.”
Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent
Federal Reserve opens door to raising interest rates
The Federal Reserve revamped its stimulus program in the first meeting run by new Chairwoman Janet Yellen, continuing the “taper” of its bond-buying program while abandoning a benchmark for its policy of zero-percent interest rates that had become obsolete.
As expected, the central bank for the third meeting in a row reduced the size of its monthly bond purchases, from $65 billion to $55 billion.
The Fed also retired the 6.5 percent unemployment rate threshold for considering interest rate increases that it set under former Chairman Ben Bernanke in 2012. Instead, it issued a more general statement indicating rates will remain low.
The promise to forgo rate hikes until employment fell to at least 6.5 percent had lost meaning as the unemployment rate fell faster than expected from 7.9 percent to February’s 6.7 percent, even as other indicators continue to show the labor market in poor health and the economy below its potential.
The Fed’s monetary policy committee dropped the numerical benchmark, instead stating that it will simply “assess progress — both realized and expected — toward its objectives,” taking into account “a wide range of information,” including both labor market and financial indicators.
The committee also maintained that it wasn’t changing its intended stimulus, writing in the statement that “the change in the committee’s guidance does not indicate any change in the committee’s policy intentions as set forth in its recent statements.”
The Fed’s target rate has been zero percent since late 2008.
Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer
House Energy and Commerce to take up natural gas exports bill
A House subcommittee plans to hold a hearing Tuesday on Rep. Cory Gardner’s bill to expedite natural gas exports in a move that underscores increasing congressional pressure to take aim at Russia as the Ukrainian crisis escalates.
The House Energy and Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee has pushed the Colorado Republican’s bill as a tactic for weakening Russia’s grip on energy supplies in Central and Eastern Europe.
Republicans say Gardner’s bill would require the Energy Department to immediately approve all applications on file to build natural gas export terminals.
House Republicans have long criticized the pace of approvals coming from the Energy Department for export terminals to nations that lack free-trade status with the United States. The DOE must determine that such exports are in the public interest. It has given the green light to six projects, with 24 pending.
The bill would change that process for future natural gas export applications. All World Trade Organization members would be eligible for the less stringent review process for exports that is currently reserved for nations that have a free-trade agreement with the U.S.
The House looks poised to fast track the bill to the floor, not least because it would help Gardner in his Senate race against incumbent Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
In the Senate, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Hoeven, R-N.D., are pushing the Obama administration to rule on the outstanding applications within 60 days and expand preferable natural gas export status beyond free-trade nations.
U.S. natural gas exports would not help Ukraine right now. Only one U.S. export terminal is slated to be ready before 2017, and Ukraine doesn’t have a facility to convert it from its liquefied form. Plus, most U.S. natural gas is likely headed to Asia, where the price difference is greatest.
Some Democrats, including Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez, of New Jersey, have raised that point. And other Democrats have urged caution because they’re concerned that exporting too much natural gas would raise domestic prices, undercutting a competitive advantage for manufacturers.
Environmental groups also are urging Obama to block new export terminals of natural gas, a fossil fuel, on climate change grounds.
But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pointing to Ukraine as a cautionary tale of what could happen if Russia’s role as predominant energy supplier continues unabated.
Said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “We should be using [natural gas exports], and that’s a long-term strategy we should be figuring out right now.”
Zack Colman, Energy & Environment Writer
Ted Cruz: Justice’s refusal to appoint special prosecutor ‘height of hypocrisy’
The Justice Department refused Sen. Ted Cruz’s request for a special prosecutor to investigate the Internal Revenue Service’s illegal targeting of conservative groups, a decision the Texas Republican said was hypocritical and politically motivated.
The DOJ is already investigating the tax agency for singling out groups for special scrutiny that included the conservative buzzwords “Tea Party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their names.
But Cruz wants a special prosecutor to lead the case after accusing the Obama administration of slow-walking the probe and falling short of its promise to hold accountable those responsible for wrongdoing.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik said a special prosecutor wasn’t necessary because the department has faith in its process and the agents handling the case.
“This investigation has been and will continue to be conducted by career prosecutors that are designed to ensure the integrity of an ongoing criminal investigation,” Kadzik wrote in a letter to Cruz.
Kadzik added that the department has stayed above politics during the probe. “Any other approach would be inconsistent with the fundamental principles to which this department is dedicated,” he said.
But Cruz called Kadzik’s decision the “height of hypocrisy” because Barbara Bosserman, the lead attorney in the department’s investigation, has donated more than $6,700 in recent years to President Obama’s political campaigns and the Democratic National Committee.
“The investigator is a partisan Democrat,” the freshman lawmaker said.
Cruz, a Tea Party favorite and possible candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, said former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton appointed special prosecutors and that Holder should do likewise.
“The integrity of the Department of Justice deserves better. The American people deserve better,” Cruz said.
The Justice Department has said that removing Bosserman from the probe because of her political contributions would violate department policy and possibly federal equal opportunity law.
Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent
Examiner files lawsuit against CFPB for withholding documents
The Washington Examiner filed a federal lawsuit seeking 335 pages of public documents withheld by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about its costly renovation of an office building near the White House.
The Examiner filed a civil complaint against the CFPB under the federal Freedom of Information Act following eight months of bureau refusals to release its financial and design records of the renovation of its Washington headquarters.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judicial Watch, the nonprofit government watchdog group, filed the complaint on behalf of the Examiner.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the CFPB to show that its search methods were responsive to the Examiner‘s request and to compel the bureau to release by a certain date all the documents that are permitted under the FOIA law.
The suit also asks the court to instruct the CFPB to compile a “Vaughn index” of all withheld documents. The index identifies specific documents that were withheld and explains how release of the records could damage a party. The bureau previously refused to release a Vaughn index.
“Documents to explain why a government bureau is spending so lavishly on renovations to its headquarters are exactly the kind of information the FOIA is meant to make available to taxpayers,” said Examiner Executive Editor Mark Tapscott.
The bureau’s plans have come under fire in Congress as costs for renovation have soared from $55 million to $139 million.
The building is at 1700 G St. NW, across the street from the White House complex. The structure was built between 1974 and 1976.
Richard Pollock, Senior Watchdog Reporter
Obama library requests proposals from potential sites
The Barack Obama Foundation said it is soliciting proposals from institutions and organizations that hope to host the president’s future library.
“The Barack Obama Foundation released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), soliciting responses from institutions and other parties interested in hosting President Obama’s future Presidential Library,” the group said.
“The foundation envisions a library that reflects President Obama’s values and priorities throughout his career in public service, including expanding economic opportunity, inspiring an ethic of American citizenship, and promoting peace, justice, and dignity throughout the world,” the statement added. “The foundation is also seeking to build a facility that will cultivate a strong relationship with the surrounding community and be an anchor for economic development.”
The request for qualifications asks interested groups to provide information on how their proposal will “fulfill the guiding principles” of the library. It is looking for information “including site details, transportation access and community information.” The foundation said it would issue a request for proposals to the “most competitive applicants” this summer ahead of selecting a site early next year.
“Our goal is to build a library of which the whole country, and hopefully the whole world, can be proud,” said Martin Nesbitt, a member of the foundation’s board and the treasurer for Obama’s presidential campaigns.
Hawaii, where the president was born, and Illinois, where he first entered political office, are two likely states to host the library, and organizations and officials have already begun lobbying for the prize.
Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor
State officials rail against plan to extend jobless benefits
State officials say a Senate proposal to restore unemployment insurance benefits to more than 2 million long-term jobless would do more harm than good, warning that some states may ignore the legislation if it is passed into law.
The National Association of State Workforce Agencies, in a letter to the Senate’s party leaders — Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — said the legislation would “substantially increase the administrative burden on states” by increasing costs and causing delays in the jobless receiving benefits.
“Some states have indicated they might decide such changes are not feasible in the short time available, and therefore would consider not signing the U.S. Department of Labor’s agreement to operate the program,” wrote the group’s president, Mark Henry.
The Senate on March 13 announced a bipartisan compromise to restart for five months the program for long-term unemployed workers whose jobless benefits stretched beyond state limits, which are about 26 weeks in most locations. The program expired Dec. 28 after lawmakers failed to reach a deal.
The Senate is expected to pass the proposal, brokered by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., after it returns Monday from a weeklong recess.
Henry said his organization doesn’t have a position on whether to extend the benefits program because member states hold varying opinions on what to do. But he said that since most states are “struggling with antiquated and rigid computer systems,” it would be “very hard to implement program changes quickly and effectively.”
Henry also said the Senate plan isn’t clear on how states would pay for administration costs. And a provision to backdate claims to Dec. 29 would be “nearly impossible” to implement in many states.
He added that the plan’s “millionaire provision” — which would cut off unemployment insurance payments to anyone earning at least a $1 million annually — also would be difficult to administer.
Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent
Obama picks Michigan St. to win NCAA bracket
President Obama unveiled his picks for the men’s NCAA College Basketball Championship, picking Louisville, Florida, Arizona and Michigan State to be the last teams standing.
In a yearly tradition for the first fan, Obama shared his predictions for the tournament with ESPN in a video, picking Michigan State to win it all.
Florida and Arizona are both No. 1 seeds, while Louisville is the defending champion. Obama sees Florida topping Kansas in the Elite Eight round.
“Great matchup, but I think Florida. They play like a team, great defense, great offense. [Coach Billy] Donovan knows what he’s doing. I think they’ll end up winning,” he said.
Obama’s bracket shows him picking Michigan State’s Spartans over Villanova in the East. The president praised Spartans coach Tom Izzo as a “great tournament head coach.”
Out West, Obama said he was going with Arizona, joking that, “I know these are not imaginative picks, but I think they are the right ones.”
In the South region, Obama picked coach Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals, saying that “they know how to win.”
Obama has picked the national champion correctly only once, according to ESPN, when he predicted the University of North Carolina would win in 2009.
The administration hopes to use March Madness to raise enrollment in Obamacare’s health exchanges. In recent weeks, the administration has made a drive to sign up young, healthy consumers for the insurance exchanges ahead of the March 31 deadline for open enrollment.
The White House unveiled a “16 Sweetest Reasons to Get Covered” bracket online to press young people on getting covered. New ads featuring basketball stars encouraging enrollment also will air during the tournament.
Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor
Banks better positioned to withstand crisis, Fed says
U.S. megabanks are better poised now to survive a crisis than they were in 2008, the Federal Reserve announced, although they would suffer massive losses in another panic.
The Fed announced the results of the stress tests it conducts as required by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, in which it assesses how banks would perform in a crisis. In a scenario in which the U.S., Europe and Japan all fell into a recession, asset prices fell by half and house prices fell to 2001 levels, the 30 largest banks would suffer collective losses of $501 billion, the Fed said.
Nevertheless, even after those losses, U.S. banks would be better positioned than they were during the financial crisis, according to the Fed’s modeling. Banks’ aggregate capital ratio would fall from 11.5 percent in the most recent measurement to 7.6 percent in the crisis scenario. In the beginning of 2009, those same banks’ capital ratio fell to 5.5 percent.
Fed Governor Daniel K. Tarullo, who leads the central bank’s committee on financial oversight, said that “each year we are making substantial improvements, which have helped make the process even stronger than when we first conducted the stress tests in the midst of the financial crisis five years ago.”
Only one of the 30 banks, Zions Bancorp., based in Salt Lake City, saw its capital drop below regulators’ mandated minimum level in the stress test. Other banks, however, such as M&T Bank, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Ally Financial saw their capital fall to near the critical level.
Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer
Darrell Issa demands documents on White House political office
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is pressing the White House to provide documents for his probe into potential Hatch Act violations.
In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Issa raised questions about whether the White House political office is improperly using taxpayer money to promote the Democratic party and its candidates.
Issa asked McDonough to “produce all documents and communications, including e-mails, related or referring to the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach or the reopening of the Office of Political Affairs, as soon as possible, but by no later than noon on April 1, 2014.”
In a separate letter to Carolyn Lerner, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, Issa also asked for information about whether former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis violated the Hatch Act during the 2012 election.
Issa raised questions about Solis attending a fundraiser for Obama in March 2012 and requested all documents “related to any OSC investigation” into her involvement with the event.
President Obama closed the White House political office in 2011 after the Office of the Special Counsel released a report finding that officials during the George W. Bush administration had broken federal laws prohibiting them from engaging in political activity.
The White House re-opened the unit under a new name — the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach — in January to better coordinate with Democrats on messaging and fundraising ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.
The office is headed by David Simas, a longtime Obama adviser who helped formulate the administration’s Obamacare messaging strategy.
Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor
White House creates climate data initiative
The White House announced a new effort to share data and work with businesses to help communities prepare for climate change.
President Obama’s Climate Data Initiative is “a broad effort to leverage the federal government’s extensive, freely available climate-relevant data resources to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in support of national climate-change preparedness,” the White House said.
A new website, climate.data.gov, will be the central host for the government’s climate data and will provide information and maps to help residents and experts learn more about climate change and to prepare.
The White House said the website would “initially focus on coastal flooding and sea level rise in its beta phase” and already contained more than 100 datasets, web services and tools.
“Over time, these data and resources will expand to provide information on other climate-relevant threats, such as to human health, energy infrastructure and our food supply,” the White House said.
John Podesta, counselor to the president, and John P. Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a blog post on the White House website that it was “impossible” for state and local leaders to ignore the consequences of climate change.
‘While no single weather event can be attributed to climate change, we know that our changing climate is making many kinds of extreme events more frequent and more severe,” they wrote. “Rising seas threaten our coastlines. Dry regions are at higher risk of destructive wildfires. Heat waves impact health and agriculture. Heavier downpours can lead to damaging floods.”
Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor
Ellen DeGeneres apologizes to Obama for breaking his Twitter record
Ellen DeGeneres reminded President Obama that she beat his Twitter record with her Oscars “selfie” with a group of celebrities.
“I don’t know if you know this but I was aiming to break your record of retweets and I apologize for doing it, but I broke your retweet record,” she said.
Obama joked that her selfie was a “cheap stunt,” pointing out that she surrounded herself with celebrities and fed them pizza.
Ellen’s tweet has more than 3.4 million retweets while Obama’s has 780,330.
Charlie Spiering, Commentary Writer
White House shifts strategy for surgeon general nominee after NRA opposition
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama administration officials are “recalibrating” their approach to the president’s nominee for surgeon general after the National Rifle Association’s strong opposition siphoned off key Democratic support.
Carney predicted Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, a Harvard and Yale-educated former emergency room doctor, eventually would be confirmed as surgeon general but said the White House is reassessing its approach to the nomination after several pro-gun Democrats indicated they would oppose it.
“We’re recalibrating our approach,” Carney told reporters during his daily press briefing.
Carney also declined to comment on the NRA’s opposition. The group has taken issue with Murthy’s vocal support of gun-control measures.
In February, the NRA sent a letter to Senate leaders, arguing against his confirmation.
“Dr. Murthy’s record of political activism in support of radical gun-control measures raises significant concerns,” they wrote, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Carney said President Obama continues to back Murthy for surgeon general but would not say whether the White House’s shift in strategy to get him confirmed would mean postponing the vote until after the midterm elections or appointing him during a congressional recess.
Susan Crabtree, White House Correspondent
New Washington memorial is first for living Americans
One thing has been carved in stone — literally — when it comes to Washington landmarks: National memorials are for the dead.
Until now. Later this year, the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial at the base of Capitol Hill will be dedicated. President Obama has been invited to participate.
In the works for 15 years, the Clinton administration-approved memorial is a tribute to the 3 million veterans living with disabilities and millions of those who have died. The dedication is set for Oct. 5, the memorial foundation announced.
“This memorial will serve to remind all of us now, and for generations to come, about the human costs and sacrifices made in war,” said Lois Pope, the Florida philanthropist who conceived the memorial nearly two decades ago.
The memorial will feature granite and glass, four bronze sculptures and a ceremonial flame.
Paul Bedard, Washington Secrets Columnist
Ted Cruz: Young people don’t need ‘condescension’ from Washington
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, suggested that young people in America didn’t need “condescension and patronizing” from Washington in a continued effort to get them to sign up for Obamacare.
Cruz made his comments after radio host Ben Shapiro asked him about the line from first lady Michelle Obama in a recent ad reminding young people that “we nag you because we love you.”
Cruz responded that the comment reminded him of the first lady referring to young people as “knuckleheads” during a “Tonight Show” appearance with comedian Jimmy Fallon.
“You know, I think young people can do without the condescension and patronizing from Washington,” Cruz said.
Cruz said President Obama refused to recognize that he had jeopardized the entire U.S. economy and health care system.
“My strongest reaction is that the president is doing a lot of pop culture, he’s sitting between a couple of ferns, he’s hanging out with basketball stars, he’s trying to say that everything is hip and hunky dory without taking responsibility to the over 6 million people who have had their health insurance policies canceled because of Obamacare,” Cruz said.
Charlie Spiering, Commentary Writer
