Your daily briefing for all the top news in Energy, Technology, Finance, and Politics.
Energy
The Democrats’ favorite denier
POLITICO
Elana Schor and Alex Burns
Jim Inhofe isn’t a scientist — and when it comes to climate change, he doesn’t give a damn. The longtime Oklahoma senator is the Hill’s most flamboyant critic of climate research, denouncing the concept of man-made global warming as a “hoax” and a “conspiracy.” Now that he’s about to take charge of the committee that oversees environmental policy, Democrats aspire to make Inhofe the face of GOP know-nothingism, while at least one Republican consultant says his style of skepticism could create headaches for candidates up and down the ticket in 2016.
Liberal Dems gird for energy battle in the Senate
POLITICOPRO (Subscribe)
Darren Goode
The most ardent defenders of Obama’s energy agenda on Capitol Hill have no intention of rolling over for the GOP’s new Senate leadership on issues like the Keystone XL pipeline, opening new stretches of coastline to oil rigs and expanding exports of natural gas. Instead, they‘re planning a counter offensive that they hope will fend off Republicans as they head toward a Democrat-friendly 2016 electoral map.
Republicans Vow to Fight E.P.A. and Approve Keystone Pipeline
NEW YORK TIMES
Coral Davenport
At this point, Republicans do not have the votes to repeal the E.P.A. regulations, which will have far more impact on curbing carbon emissions than stopping the pipeline, but they say they will use their new powers to delay, defund and otherwise undermine them. Senator James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, a prominent skeptic of climate change and the presumed new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is expected to open investigations into the E.P.A., call for cuts in its funding and delay the regulations as long as possible.
Senate panel to vote on natural gas exports
THE HILL
Timothy Cama
A Senate committee will vote this week on a bill that would speed the federal government’s approval of applications to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), would set a limit on the time the Energy Department could take to consider whether a proposed export project is in the country’s interest.
A Tricky Transition From Fossil Fuel
NEW YORK TIMES
Justin Gillis
Denmark, a tiny country on the northern fringe of Europe, is pursuing the world’s most ambitious policy against climate change. It aims to end the burning of fossil fuels in any form by 2050 — not just in electricity production, as some other countries hope to do, but in transportation as well. Now a question is coming into focus: Can Denmark keep the lights on as it chases that lofty goal?
Technology
Boehner Kills Internet Sales Tax Bill
ROLL CALL
Steven Dennis
Tax-free Internet shopping is safe for now thanks to Speaker John A. Boehner. A bill granting states the ability to force out-of-state websites to collect Internet sales tax is dead, according to the Ohio Republican’s spokesman. “The speaker has made clear in the past he has significant concerns about the bill, and it won’t move forward this year,” said spokesman Kevin Smith. “The Judiciary Committee continues to examine the measure and the broader issue. In the meantime, the House and Senate should work together to extend the moratorium on internet taxation without further delay.”
U.S., China to Drop Tariffs on Range of Tech Products
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Bob Davis
The U.S. and China reached an agreement to drop tariffs on a wide range of technology products, in a deal that its backers say could cover $1 trillion in trade and that marks a significant accomplishment amid strained ties between Beijing and Washington. The two countries late Monday reached a deal to expand the Information Technology Agreement, a global technology trade pact, to cover semiconductors, medical devices, Global Positioning System devices and other newer products, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Tuesday in Beijing.
The Department of the Internet
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Andy Kessler
The president might think he’s doing a favor for Americans, but utilities are utopias only on paper. With no competition to stimulate investment, capabilities will wither. Eventually a federal bureaucracy will be needed to help allocate the scarce broadband resources. In that vaguely neutral world, everybody gets access to the same resources. Well, except for the government—it of course will need special, superfast access. You want cheap, ubiquitous and naturally neutral broadband? Promote competition and outlaw utilities.
Obama vs. the Internet
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
If the FCC caves under White House pressure, Congress has every right to defund this regulatory overreach before it becomes a clear and present danger to the U.S. economy and global freedom.
How the Broadband Industry Hopes to Kill Obama’s Net-Neutrality Plan
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
The major broadband providers issued statements Monday saying that they’re ready to continue the fight in Congress and in the courts. “If the government were going to make such a momentous decision as regulating the entire Internet like a public utility, that decision is more properly made by the Congress and not by unelected regulators without any public record to support the change in regulation,” Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s top lobbyist, said in a statement. “If the FCC puts such rules in place, we would expect to participate in a legal challenge to such action.” Comcast claimed Obama’s plan would violate decades of decisions by the FCC and the courts and that such a “radical reversal” in policy should only be made by Congress. Verizon also warned that Obama’s plan would “face strong legal challenges.”
The new war over net neutrality
POLITICO
Kate Tummarello, Brooks Boliek and Alex Byers
Net neutrality was divisive before. Now it’s explosive — and more political than ever. President Barack Obama on Monday offered his strongest endorsement to date for rules that would treat all Internet traffic equally, and Federal Communications Commission officials are now discussing net neutrality options with a divided Internet industry and Capitol Hill audience.
Why Obama waited so long to take a stand on net neutrality
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
It’s impossible to talk about Obama’s decision without referring to the midterm elections. Had Obama come out a few months ago calling for rigorous regulation of Internet providers under Title II of the Communications Act, it could have been a disaster for any number of reasons.
State legislator group disagrees with Obama on net neutrality
WASHINGTON POST
Niraj Chokshi
President Obama’s statement on Monday that Internet service providers should be treated like public utilities is too heavy-handed, according to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislators. In a late-Monday statement, NCSL Executive Director William Pound said while his group supports an “open, accessible and vibrant” internet, it believes in promoting that ideal with limited regulation.
Protesters descend on FCC chairman’s house over net neutrality
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
The protesters demanded that Wheeler “reclassify” broadband providers under Title II of the Communications Act — a move that’d allow the FCC to regulate the behavior of ISPs more closely. At first, Wheeler responded by repeating what he’d previously said in public: That “everything is on the table” when it comes to net neutrality, including Title II. But the protesters refused to leave, prompting a visibly exasperated Wheeler to complain that they were “blocking my driveway and prohibiting my rights.” “I think you’ve all made your point — can I get out of my driveway now?” he said. Both Wheeler and the protesters appeared to be recording the incident. “[The problem] just goes away once you reclassify,” one protester said, off-camera. “It’s just gone.”
Obama’s gone ‘old-school net neutrality’: A Tim Wu Q&A
WASHINGTON POST
Nancy Scola
Tim Wu is the Columbia law professor who first coined the phrase “net neutrality” back in a 2003 law journal article, and he has since become one of the most influential voices in favor of applying greater regulation to portions of the broadband Internet. We talked about what he made of President Obama’s call Monday for the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband as a more heavily-regulated Title II service, a move that has infuriated Internet service providers but that has Wu thrilled.
Tech’s political reality: Big money, little payoff
POLITICO
Tony Romm
The heightened tech engagement this year offers the latest affirmation that Silicon Valley no longer is apathetic about Washington. But it also serves as a reminder that politics is as much about strategy as it is dollar signs — a crucial lesson for the industry with the next presidential election already looming.
Finance
Scalia’s Insider-Trading Invitation
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
Here’s hoping that Justice Antonin Scalia lives forever. The latest case for his perpetual Supreme Court service is his three-page statement Monday all but declaring that he’s looking for the right case to clarify federal insider-trading law. Justice Scalia joined the rest of the High Court in refusing to hear hedge-fund manager Doug Whitman ’s appeal of his insider-trading conviction. But joined by Justice Clarence Thomas , Justice Scalia made clear he isn’t happy with the way the law is being interpreted.
Dissenting From an SEC Windfall For Lawyers
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Daniel M. Gallagher and Michael S. Piwowar
We strongly object to the SEC’s reported recommendation to set up a fair fund, for a number of reasons. Fair funds can play an important role in returning money to defrauded investors, but in this case it will be incredibly difficult and expensive to identify and compensate the victims. In fact, it may not be possible to know who was harmed. The only guaranteed winners will be administrators who distribute the fair fund and class-action lawyers who will take a significant cut of any funds paid to their clients.
‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ Rule Would Raise Bar for Bank Capital
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Victoria McGrane, James Sterngold and Viktoria Dendrinou
Global financial regulators on Monday claimed significant progress in ending “too big to fail” and ensuring the world’s largest banks can collapse without taxpayer bailouts. The regulators said banks must change the way they fund themselves to better weather a crisis, a proposal that could require some firms to issue billions in new debt and possibly dent profits. The proposal from the Financial Stability Board, a group of global regulators, aims to ensure the cost of a giant bank’s failure is borne by its investors, not taxpayers, by forcing the 30 biggest global banks to have big financial cushions that can absorb losses as a bank is failing and recapitalize the firm after it is seized by the government
As Federal Reserve Selects New Top Officials, Coalition Calls for Public Input
NEW YORK TIMES
Binyamin Appelbaum
A coalition of community groups and labor unions wants the Federal Reserve to change the way some Fed officials are appointed, criticizing the existing process as secretive, undemocratic and dominated by banks and other large corporations. … The Fed’s chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, has agreed to meet on Friday with about three dozen representatives of the groups to hear their concerns.
More Bank Settlements Coming in Widening Currency Case
NEW YORK TIMES
Ben Protess and Jenny Anderson
As authorities in the United States and Britain ready actions this week against giant banks suspected of manipulating the foreign currency market, both the number of government agencies involved and the cost of settling the cases continues to grow. The banks learned on Monday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington was planning to announce its own settlements in the case, according to people briefed on the matter.
Politics
Obamacare may not have enough enrollees to stay solvent
WASHINGTON TIMES
Tom Howell Jr.
The administration on Monday said fewer than 10 million Americans will enroll in Obamacare’s health exchanges this go-around, well short of the 13 million target congressional scorekeepers deemed critical to its economics, suggesting another rocky rollout in the law’s second year of full operation.
ObamaCare architect: ‘Stupidity’ of voters helped bill pass
THE HILL
Elise Viebeck
In a clip unearthed Sunday, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Jonathan Gruber appears on a panel and discusses how the reform earned enough votes to pass. He suggested that many lawmakers and voters didn’t know what was in the law or how its financing worked, and that this helped it win approval. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” Gruber said. “And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass.”
Why Obamacare risks falling into a ‘death spiral’
WASHINGTON POST
Dana Milbank
So it turns out there is an Obamacare death panel after all. It has nine members and it operates out of a marble building directly across the street from the Capitol.
The GOP wave did not propel openly gay Republicans to victory
WASHINGTON POST
Sean Sullivan
In fact, all three openly gay Republican congressional contenders fell short in 2014. … Their defeats, taken together, were a setback for Republicans who seek a more inclusive roster of party leaders. At the same time, some social conservatives were pleased with the outcome, revealing a party that remains divided between those who encourage gay candidates and those who want to keep them away from the corridors of power.
Republicans make inroads with women voters
WASHINGTON POST
Karen Tumulty
Republicans traditionally have had a problem appealing to women. The results of Tuesday’s midterm elections show that they still are at a disadvantage. But although the GOP lost the female vote nationally by 11 percentage points in 2012, the party ran only 4 percentage points behind Democrats this year.
Republicans can prove their cooperative spirit by confirming presidential nominees
WASHINGTON POST
Editorial
It shouldn’t take months to assess Ms. Lynch’s competence. Even more important, her hearings should not turn into a trial of Mr. Holder or the president. That would be insulting to a woman who has her own record on which she can and should be judged. Republicans should cooperate with Democrats to process as many pending nominations as possible before this Congress ends and then behave responsibly when they take over.
U.S. to Focus on Equity in Assigning of Teachers
NEW YORK TIMES
Motoko Rich
The Obama administration is directing states to show how they will ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality teachers, with a sharp focus on schools with a high proportion of the poor and racial minorities. In a letter to state superintendents released Monday, Deborah S. Delisle, an assistant secretary at the Department of Education, said states must develop plans by next June that make sure that public schools comply with existing federal law requiring that “poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field teachers.”
