Inside the Dome: April 23rd, 2010

April 23rd, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, the first showdown on Dodd’s Wall Street takeover bill is set for Monday, as Majority Leader Reid declared yesterday he will proceed to a cloture vote on the bill despite not reaching an agreement with Republicans. Reid, Majority Whip Durbin, and Sen. Schumer appeared at a press conference yesterday and accusing Republicans of lying about the effects of the current Dodd bill. Schumer stated that the Democrats allowed “too many lies” to be told by Republicans during the health care debate “and the minute these things come out of the mouths of some Republican colleagues, we rebut them. And we rebut them again and again. Fortunately, these lies are not taking hold.” Reid, speaking in front of a backdrop of a big-screen television replaying video clips of McConnell and others calling the Dodd bill a perpetual taxpayer bailout of Wall Street, stated “there is no question in my mind that the statements we’ve just seen here are untrue.”

At the same press conference, Reid indicated that ongoing negotiations with Sen. Shelby could still lead to a deal. Dodd and Shelby are set to meet again today.

Bottom Line: There is an air of inevitability on the Hill right now surrounding the Wall Street Takeover bill, but the more that is revealed about the bill’s impact, the more Americans are opposed, instead urging Congress to focus on the economy. Also, McConnell and other GOP members should minimize attacks on the $50 billion liquidation fund, since it’s still possible it could be removed, and focus on the dozen other harmful provisions of the bill, not the least of which is the greatly expanded executive branch power over every business in America.

In the House, in response to the Republicans challenge of Democrats yesterday to swear off earmarks for a year direct the savings to deficit reduction, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer offered a vigorous defense of the earmarking process and called a unilateral ban on earmarks a “fundamental error.”

Amid the unfolding scandal at the Securities and Exchange Commission where it has been discovered that dozens of employees have been regularly viewing porn from their federal government computers at work, Rep. Issa pointed to the incident as yet another reason not to empower the SEC with expanded oversight authority. Issa stated, “This stunning report should make everyone question the wisdom of moving forward with plans to give regulators like the SEC even more widespread authority. Inexplicably, rather than exercise its existing regulatory enforcement authority, SEC officials were preoccupied with other distractions.” The investigation, conducted at the behest of Sen. Grassley, uncovered 31 SEC employees who were “serious offenders,” 17 of which are senior staff who make between $100,000 and $222,000 annually.

Bottom Line: So long as Republicans effectively tie the out-of-control earmarking process to overall wasteful government spending and its negative impact on job creation and the economy, their earmark moratorium push is the right thing to do. It’s a simple, effective tool that Americans instinctively understand where the GOP can illustrate their differences with the Democrat machine in power.

At the other end of the Avenue, several press reports are calling Obama’s Wall Street speech at Cooper Union a “victory lap” on financial reform” rather than a last ditch effort at selling the package. Obama and the Democrats feel the wind at the back on the issue, and view passage of some version of Dodd’s Wall Street Takeover package is inevitable. Obama stated in his speech, “Ultimately, there is no dividing line between Main Street and Wall Street. We rise or we fall together as one nation.” On that point, Republicans would strongly agree, which is why most Republicans are pushing as hard against the current Dodd package and Obama is pressing for it.

While Obama is busy selling his latest government answer to America’s woes, more bad news has just been released about the just-signed-into-law healthcare reform package. A government report just released by the chief actuary of CMS states that ObamaCare could lead to higher healthcare prices and employers dropping coverage for their employees. The report states that ObamaCare will cost $828 billion over the next ten years, while “saving” $577 billion, and will still leave 23 million people uninsured.

Bottom Line: There is a concerted, fierce push by Democrats – and many in the media – claiming that the ongoing attacks and lawsuits against ObamaCare by Republicans (and Tea Party activists, and average Americans) are a waste of time and energy, and won’t yield results in November or in the years to come. Don’t you believe it. If it were true, the Left wouldn’t waste its breath claiming our efforts are in vain, they would gleefully watch and smile. They are watching, but they’re scared.

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