The Early Word: Number Crunching
By ASHLEY SOUTHALLIn The Times:
- Discouraging economic reports have brought heightened urgency to bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement on reducing the deficit and raising the debt ceiling, Jackie Calmes writes. Some Democrats are calling for smaller spending cuts and even some fiscal stimulus. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is scheduled to meet Thursday with six Congressional leaders for debt talks aimed at reaching a deal by July.
- A new survey by the Federal Reserve shows that the economy grew unevenly in April and May, Christine Hauser reports. She writes that economic activity in the United States continued to grow during that time, but higher food and energy prices, severe weather conditions and supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan put pressure on consumers.
- House Democratic leaders began an orchestrated effort on Wednesday to force Representative Anthony D. Weiner of New York to resign his seat, Raymond Hernandez reports. Other Democrats say that Mr. Weiner?s sexually explicit Internet messages and subsequent lies about them were making him, and the party, the subject of ridicule.
- Helene Cooper writes that President Obama is on a mission to shore up the public?s waning confidence in his ability to revive the economy. On Wednesday, he visited� Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Va., which has an automotive services program that is a model for training programs developed through partnerships between schools and manufacturers.
- On Capitol Hill, merchants won out over banks on Wednesday in a legislative dispute over how much consumers should pay to use debit cards. Ed Wyatt explains that the Senate rejected a measure to delay new rules that would sharply cut the fees that banks can charge retailers to process debit card transactions.
- Elisabeth Bumiller and Brian Knowlton report that lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have taken up Ryan C. Crocker?s nomination to serve as the ambassador to Afghanistan. On the Hill on Wednesday, Mr. Crocker, a veteran diplomat who served most recently as President George W. Bush?s ambassador to Iraq, warned lawmakers against a hasty pullout from Afghanistan. While acknowledging the excruciating difficulty and high costs of the American mission there, Mr. Crocker said the situation was not hopeless.
- The fight over Democrats? health care overhaul has moved to a federal appeals court in Atlanta, where lawyers representing the 26 states challenging the law are joining forces to take on the Obama administration. Kevin Sack describes the opening arguments on Wednesday, as a three-judge panel considered whether the federal government could legally require individuals to purchase medical insurance.
Around the Web:
- Fitch Ratings has threatened to downgrade the credit rating of the United States if Congress does not raise the federal borrowing limit, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move follows similar threats by the ratings agencies Moody?s Investors Service and Standard & Poor?s.
- Gov.� Rick Perry of Texas has so far resisted entreaties to jump into the Republican race for the White House, but people close to him tell The Washington Post that he?s warming to the idea.
Happening in Washington:
- The Senate Armed Services Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. to consider the nomination of Leon Panetta to be Secretary of Defense. Mr. Panetta is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- Half an hour later, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will receive a top-secret briefing on the mission in Libya.
- President Obama is expected to meet at 4:45 p.m. with President Ali Bongo of Gabon.
Democrats Take Aim at House Republicans on Medicare
Democrats are once again singling out Republicans on the Medicare issue this week in a series of automated calls across the country.
Weiner Scandal Is a Case of Bad Timing for Democrats
For President Obama and his Democratic allies, the latest sex scandal involving a congressman from New York is a politically damaging moment that has come at an inopportune time.
Democrats Take Aim at House Republicans on Medicare
Democrats are once again singling out Republicans on the Medicare issue this week in a series of automated calls across the country.
Live Blog: The Panetta Confirmation Hearing
Leon E. Panetta, the director of the C.I.A. ? and President Obama?s choice to lead the Department of Defense ? appears on Capitol Hill today for his confirmation hearing.
Live Blog: The Panetta Confirmation Hearing
Leon E. Panetta, the director of the C.I.A. ? and President Obama?s choice to lead the Department of Defense ? appears on Capitol Hill today for his confirmation hearing.
Weiner Scandal Is a Case of Bad Timing for Democrats
For President Obama and his Democratic allies, the latest sex scandal involving a congressman from New York is a politically damaging moment that has come at an inopportune time.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/the-early-word-number-crunching/
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