Daily Policy Note for November 5, 2012
GOP Weekly Address
Mitt Romney on the Election: In this week’s GOP Weekly Address, Mitt Romney discussed the coming election. “The question of this election comes down to this: do you want more of the same or do you want real change?" Romney asked in his remarks. "President Obama promised change, but he could not deliver it. I promise change, and I have a record of achieving it."
Senate GOP Committee News
Senate Committee on the Budget: Sessions Comments On Budget Committee Finding On Jobs And Food Stamps Growth: “Simply put, the President’s policies have not produced jobs. During his time in office, 14.7 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Over that same time, only 194,000 jobs were created—thus 75 people went on food stamps for every one that found a job.”
Today’s Headlines
Reuters: The Consequences of Obama’s Debt: The large budget deficits and expansion of the national debt under President Barack Obama, unprecedented since World War II, have him set to bequeath an immensely costly legacy. Each of his deficits as a percentage of gross domestic product has been larger than the previous post-World War II record, for which Democrats excoriated President Ronald Reagan. Between the debt already racked up and what Obama’s FY13 budget projects, each income-tax-paying family will owe more in Obama debt than a new mortgage on a median-priced home and four years of college costs.
Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Law Spurs a Shift to Part-Time Workers: Some low-wage employers are moving toward hiring part-time workers instead of full-time ones to mitigate the health-care overhaul's requirement that large companies provide health insurance for full-time workers or pay a fee.
Wall Street Journal: Christopher DeMuth: A Referendum on ObamaCare and Liberty: On Tuesday, Americans will go to the polls to choose whether or not to nationalize their health-care system. The choice for president will have numerous other consequences. But in most cases we will be choosing between tendencies shrouded in uncertainty.
Fox News: McCain Calls for Special Committee on Libya, Says Public Outcry Will Lead Charge: Sen. John McCain stepped up his request Saturday for the Obama administration to give a complete account of the fatal attacks last month on U.S. outposts in Libya, urging the chamber’s top Republican and Democrat to create a special committee to investigate the matter.
Key House Action
The House is not in session.
Speaker Boehner: Boehner Calls on Obama to Personally Order the Release of Info on Delphi Pension Scandal: While President Obama keeps talking about the taxpayer-funded corporate bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, Speaker John Boehner says there’s one part he won’t discuss: the Delphi pension scandal.
National Journal: Boehner Expects 'Bridge' On Fiscal Cliff: House Speaker John Boehner doesn't expect a grand bargain avoiding the fiscal cliff to materialize in a lame duck session of Congress, but that doesn't mean the country is headed over the edge. Instead, Boehner said Sunday, he thinks Congress and the White House will find a way to punt the looming deadlines on the debt ceiling, the Bush tax cuts and the budget sequester into 2013.
Red Tape Review
National Journal: Obama Administration Sits on Key Regulations: The Obama administration roared into office four years ago with an openly ambitious regulatory agenda, releasing a higher-than-usual number of major regulations in the first two years. In 2012, the number of new regulations has plummeted in a year in which the president's regulatory policies have emerged as a major campaign theme.
Politico: Post-Election Flood of ‘Obamacare’ Rules Expected: The bottled-up rules to set up President Barack Obama’s health care reform law are going to start flowing quickly right after Election Day. But how long will that last? That depends on who wins the presidency.
The Washington Examiner: November Surprise: EPA Planning Major Post-Election Anti-Coal Regulation: President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency has devoted an unprecedented number of bureaucrats to finalizing new anti-coal regulations that are set to be released at the end of November, according to a source inside the EPA.
Polling Numbers
The Public Notice: National Survey of Voters: Headed into the elections on Tuesday, the issue of government spending will play a strong role in helping voters make their voting decisions. A majority (53%) say government spending will be a major factor in their vote decisions, while another 34% say it will be a minor factor.
Economic News
Wall Street Journal: Service-Sector Expansion Slows: The U.S. nonmanufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in October, according to data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management.
The Heritage Foundation: Heritage Employment Report: October Report Sees Unemployment Rate Rise: In October, the labor market continued its slow recovery by adding 171,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate climbed to 7.9 percent according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Job growth continues to be sluggish, given the length of time out of the recession. At the current rate of job growth, a return to full employment is not expected until 2017 at the earliest.
The Washington Post: Middle Class Faces Quick Impact from Fiscal Cliff in Form of Alternation Minimum Tax: The best hope for a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” may lie with the alternative minimum tax, an obscure provision of the tax code that is about to become alarmingly relevant to millions of middle-class taxpayers.
Floor Schedule for Tuesday, November 13
At 2:00 p.m., the Senate will convene.
