InsideSources is hosting a “Road to 2016” tax reform forum TODAY at 10 a.m. on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA), Chairman of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means will keynote the event.
Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston will moderate.
We hope you can join us. RSVP here.
Energy
Obama’s climate change plan faces crucial test
THE HILL
Timothy Cama
Regulations at the center of President Obama’s climate change initiative face a crucial test this week when opponents will attempt to block them before they’re even made final. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., will hear oral arguments Thursday in a high-stakes legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed emissions limits for existing power plants.
Lawmaker suggests ‘grand bargain’ to allow oil exports
FUEL FIX
Jennifer Dlouhy
“It is going to be difficult to lift the ban carte blanche,” [Rep. Joaquin] Castro said during a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on crude exports. “There are going to have to be safeguards in place, and I think we ought to consider whether there’s an opportunity to also support alternative energies if this is going to happen.” Castro floated the idea of a “grand bargain” on crude exports that could “allow for some partial lifting of the ban, but also an infusion of resources or supportive policies to develop alternative energies.”
U.S. Could Eliminate Net Energy Imports by 2030
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Alison Sider
The U.S. could soon export more energy than it imports, significantly changing the country’s appetite for foreign fuels starting as early as 2020, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration.
Report: Energy issues dominate congressional agenda – with little to show for it
FUEL FIX
Jennifer Dlouhy
The House and Senate have racked up dozens of votes this year on energy and environmental issues, with the Keystone XL pipeline, oil development on federal lands and related industry priorities trumping all other topics in Congress, even though none of the measures have become law.
Technology
FCC net neutrality rules hit with new telecom lawsuits
POLITICO
Brooks Boliek
The FCC’s net neutrality rules came under a new legal assault Tuesday, as AT&T and the major wireless and cable industry groups sued to overturn the order. AT&T and its trade group CTIA — The Wireless Association, which also represents Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, filed lawsuits in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, as did the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, whose members include Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision. The American Cable Association, which represents smaller cable operators, went to the same court.
Mark Zuckerberg on Oculus, net neutrality and more
USA TODAY
Jessica Guynn
On net neutrality: “I think net neutrality is important to make sure network operators don’t discriminate and limit access to services people want to use, especially in countries where most people are online. For people who are not on the internet though, having some connectivity and some ability to share is always much better than having no ability to connect and share at all. That’s why programs like Internet.org are important and can co-exist with net neutrality regulations.”
A Patent-Troll Bill With Bad College Grades
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Robert A. Brown and James P. Clements
To be clear, as university presidents we support efforts to address abusive patent practices. But Congress should avoid legislative changes that go beyond what is needed to protect legitimate businesses. As we work to address the abusive practices of bad actors in the patent system, let’s tread carefully to ensure that the ideas and inventions produced by university research continue to be nurtured and supported for the benefit of all.
Europe accuses Google of illegally abusing its dominance
FINANCIAL TIMES (Subscribe)
Alex Barker, Christian Oliver, Anne-Sylvaine, And Richard Water
The EU’s antitrust chief has formally accused Google of illegally using its dominance in internet searching to steer European consumers to its own in-house shopping services in the opening salvo of what is expected to be a defining competition case of the internet era.
Our wireless future will be decided by one obscure auction, and nobody’s quite sure how it’ll go
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
Coming next year is an incredibly important auction, and it’s like no art sale you’ve ever seen. Instead of selling off tickets to a ballgame or pricey antiques, this auction will sell spectrum — the invisible airwaves that carry voices, pictures and data over the air and into your home. It’s spectrum that makes your 3G and LTE connections work. Spectrum is behind WiFi and satellite communications. It’s what makes broadcast television possible.
Finance
Financial reform is working, kind of: GE doesn’t want to be a bank anymore
WASHINGTON POST
Matt O’Brien
For a long time, General Electric had a black box that always let it just beat its earnings targets. That black box got bigger and bigger, though, and in 2008 it almost killed GE. Despite that, they kept it because it normally made them so much money. Well, at least until now. The black box has so many new rules attached to it that it’s not worth keeping around anymore. In other words, GE is selling most of GE Capital—its black box—and going back to being an industrial company. Score one, kind of, for Dodd-Frank.
Regulators Call for Short-Term Loan Changes to Handle ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Katy Burne
Global banking regulators are sounding the alarm that trillions of dollars’ worth of short-term loans could complicate their efforts to handle a failing financial institution, said people familiar with the talks.
Ex-Freddie Mac Leaders Reach Deal With S.E.C.
NEW YORK TIMES
Ben Protess and Peter Eavis
A federal judge on Tuesday approved an unusual resolution to the case: The Securities and Exchange Commission and the former Freddie Mac executives agreed “that no party is the prevailing party.”
Politics
The tax revolt, RIP?
WASHINGTON POST
Robert Samuelson
Discontent with the income tax has ebbed. To buttress the point, Bowman cited intriguing survey data. A recent Gallup Poll found that only 1 percent of Americans rated taxes the nation’s top problem. In a Pew poll, respondents ranked “reforming” the tax system 16th out of 24 problems. Indeed, Gallup reports that roughly half of Americans think their income-tax burden is about right.
Obama Yields, Allowing Congress Say on Iran Nuclear Deal
NEW YORK TIMES
Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker
The White House relented on Tuesday and said President Obama would sign a compromise bill giving Congress a voice on the proposed nuclear accord with Iran as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in rare unanimous agreement, moved the legislation to the full Senate for a vote.
Senate panel takes up No Child Left Behind rewrite
WASHINGTON POST
Lyndsey Layton
The Senate education panel began marking up a bipartisan bill to replace No Child Left Behind on Tuesday, with Democrats and Republicans going to great lengths to hold together a delicately crafted consensus around the proposal.
Senate passes bipartisan ‘doc fix’ Medicare bill
USA TODAY
Erin Kelly
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Tuesday to prevent a 21% cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients just hours before that cut was to take effect. President Obama is expected to quickly sign the bill into law.
