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In Memoriam
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, Influential Ex-President of Notre Dame, Dies at 97
NEW YORK TIMES
The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, the scrappy former president of the University of Notre Dame who stood up to both the White House and the Vatican as he transformed Catholic higher education in America and raised a powerful moral voice in national affairs, died late Thursday. He was 97.
Energy
Dems introduce bill to help ‘clean coal’
THE HILL
Timothy Cama
A pair of moderate Democratic senators introduced a bill Thursday that would increase federal support for “clean coal” technology. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said their legislation is meant to provide a viable path forward for coal-fired electricity as the country moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bipartisan Senate duo pushes for repeal of ethanol mandate
THE HILL
Laura Barron-Lopez
A bipartisan Senate duo is pushing to repeal a a piece of the renewable fuel mandate that requires refiners to blend a certain amount of ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. The bill, introduced by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would repeal the corn ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) set by the Environmental Protection Agency every year.
Dems’ climate probe brings ‘witch hunt’ turnabout
POLITICOPRO (Subscribe)
Alex Guillén
Now conservatives are the ones complaining about being the victims in a politically motivated “war on science.” In a turnabout from years of debate about intrusion into scientific research, Democratic lawmakers launched investigations this week into the funding sources of several scientists whose work is popular with skeptics of manmade climate change.
Technology
The new GOP split on net neutrality
POLITICO
Kate Tummarello and Alex Byers
But the FCC’s landmark vote Thursday to create net neutrality rules has left Republicans with a split over what to do next, with some conservatives wanting to use every tactic to fight the FCC, and more establishment GOP lawmakers trying to get Democrats to agree to an alternative, weaker set of rules.
Welcome to the Obamanet
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
Congress likely won’t be able to stop the FCC, so the best near-term response will have to come in the courts. In the best case, the lawsuits will delay the new rules until after the 2016 election. Then a new President less set on political control can appoint a new FCC and rewrite this effort to subject this great engine of American innovation to the untender clutches of the same folks who brought you ObamaCare.
Broadband Investors Should Wake Up to Net Neutrality
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Miriam Gottfried
But investors, beware: Broadband’s new status opens the door to the possibility of a future that is far less lucrative and more uncertain for the companies that provide it.
Conservatives lost on net neutrality. But they’re winning the broadband debate.
VOX
Timothy B. Lee
But while this week’s vote was a setback for conservatives, the right is winning the broader debate over internet regulation. Even after the vote, the government will take a more hands-off approach than it did during the Clinton years. Indeed, the approach Clinton’s FCC pursued has become politically toxic. And FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has emphasized that he has no intention of exercising the full authority granted to him by a Republican Congress in 1996.
Overturn FCC power grab
USA TODAY
Robert McDowell
What many in Silicon Valley don’t understand is that, according to the Supreme Court’s 2005 Brand X decision, nearly any “tech” company that builds a telecom-style network to deliver its content and apps has the potential to be captured by the FCC’s new rules. If the agency tries to exempt some companies but not others, it will be choosing the politically favored over everyone else.
Disregard anti-net neutrality howlings
USA TODAY
Editorial
The trick now will be for the FCC not to overregulate. Once it has classified broadband as utility-like “telecommunications services” under a 1934 law, it has given itself broad powers. Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday that the commission would stay out of the vast majority of issues, mostly notably pricing. There’s no reason to doubt his sincerity. But there’s reason for concern that future commissioners might be tempted to be drawn into these areas over time, as regulators are wont to do.
Dutch Offer Preview of Net Neutrality
NEW YORK TIMES
Mark Scott
Mr. Leenders’s digital life has not changed all that much in the two years since the Netherlands started demanding that Internet providers treat all traffic equally, the same sort of rules that the United States adopted on Thursday. His bill has gone up just marginally. He surfs, streams and downloads at the same speed — if not a little faster given the upgrades to Netherlands’ network, already one of the world’s best.
The Increasing Politicization of the FCC
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
“I do think it is more polarized than I’ve ever seen,” said Robert McDowell, a Republican who served as an FCC commissioner from 2006 to 2013. “Having said that, if we’re judging it purely from today, that probably skews the emotion of the moment.”
Amazon Hires Jay Carney, Former Obama Press Secretary
NEW YORK TIMES
David Streitfield
Amazon, a technology company obsessed with secrecy, is hiring a former press secretary for President Obama, whose administration has been widely criticized for its aggressive leak investigations. Jay Carney, who resigned as the president’s chief spokesman last spring, is joining Amazon as senior vice president for global corporate affairs, a new position, the retailer said Thursday.
Finance
Credit card switch to chips moves slowly
USA TODAY
Charisse Jones
The push to boost credit card security by switching to those with a microchip is off to a slow start, according to two surveys released Thursday. As of January, 31% of cardholders had the microchip-enabled technology that would make fraud more difficult, according to CreditCards.com.
White House heads for battle over pensions reform
FINANCIAL TIMES (Subscribe)
John Authers
When the Obama administration launched its attempt to clamp down on pension mis-selling this week, it was making more than a populist gesture. The apparently dry issue of regulating sales of retirement products cuts to the heart of the western world’s central difficulty in managing long-term investments.
U.S. Presses China on Bank-Technology Rules
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Carlos Tejada
The U.S. amped up pressure on China over proposed rules for technology in the Chinese banking industry that have become the latest flash point over cybersecurity between Washington and Beijing. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman criticized the regulations Friday as favoring Chinese companies over foreign technology firms and said they would violate China’s trade commitments. The rules call for Chinese banks to sharply increase their use of secure technology, but U.S. and European business groups have said the rules are intrusive and require turning over proprietary information to Chinese authorities.
Obama Promotes Benefits of Trade Deals to Workers and Smaller Businesses
NEW YORK TIMES
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
President Obama, facing an uphill climb in persuading Congress to grant him the authority to complete significant trade deals, sought to ease concerns on Thursday that such agreements would help corporations at the expense of American workers. The public relations push includes a series of programs to promote exports from rural areas and help more small and medium-size American businesses sell their goods and services overseas.
Politics
The Republican curriculum on Common Core
WASHINGTON POST
Editorial
It is true that the Education Department encouraged states to adopt rigorous college- or career-ready standards in awarding discretionary Race to the Top funds, with Common Core as the predominant choice. But nothing was mandated, and states had the option of developing alternatives. What makes Mr. Christie’s born-again criticism of Common Core so rich is how ferociously he promoted New Jersey’s adoption of Common Core in twice going after Race to the Top funds. Mr. Christie’s political expediency is not unique among GOP presidential hopefuls. Similar hypocrisy has been shown by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. In contrast, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have not wavered in their support of carefully developed standards that spell out the skills and knowledge that students should have by the end of each year from kindergarten through 12th grade. They know the standards don’t dictate curriculum, teaching methods or instructional materials.
GOP’s 2016 hopefuls test their messages on conservative activists
WASHINGTON POST
Robert Costa, Matea Gold and Jose A. DelReal
Speaking to thousands of activists gathered for the opening day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, Walker said the commander in chief should “do everything in their power to ensure that the threat from radical Islamic terrorists does not wash up on American soil.” “If I can take on 100,000 protesters,” Walker added, referring to his fight against labor unions in his state, “I can do the same across the world.”
Boehner Has a Plan to Avoid a DHS Shutdown—But It Might Not Pass
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Daniel Newhauser, Sarah Mimms and Rachel Roubein
With just one day left until funding runs dry for DHS, Boehner urged his conference to pass a three-week extension of current funding and try to force Senate Democrats into a conference committee to resolve their differences. The only alternatives, he told his members behind closed doors, would be to let the department shut down or capitulate to the Senate by passing a clean full-year funding bill.
House leadership wrestles with No Child Left Behind votes
POLITICO
Jake Sherman and Maggie Severns
House Republican leadership was working Thursday evening to figure out whether there are enough votes to pass their proposed rewrite of No Child Left Behind, several GOP aides and lawmakers said. The House is scheduled to vote on final passage of the Student Success Act on Friday. But in the days leading up to the House taking up the bill, the Republican whip team has been working hard to turn ‘no’ votes.
The fatal flaw in the Iran deal
WASHINGTON POST
Charles Krauthammer
Consider where we began: six U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding an end to Iranian enrichment. Consider what we are now offering: an interim arrangement ending with a sunset clause that allows the mullahs a robust, industrial-strength, internationally sanctioned nuclear program.
