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Energy
Crude exports in spotlight as House leaders urge slow approach
FUEL FIX
Jennifer Dlouhy
“Congress needs to be aware of all of the impacts before considering any modifications to energy policy,” said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., suggesting lawmakers should use the same “careful and deliberative approach” previously applied to liquefied natural gas exports. “We again are undertaking a thorough review and will consider all perspectives – including producers, refiners and consumers.”
‘Offensively Unapologetic’ at the EPA
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
The judge concludes that the EPA either “intentionally sought to evade Landmark’s lawful FOIA request so the agency could destroy responsive documents, or EPA demonstrated apathy and carelessness toward Landmark’s request. Either scenario reflects poorly upon EPA and surely serves to diminish the public’s trust in the agency.” He denied Landmark’s petition for punitive sanctions only because there is no conclusive proof the agency acted in bad faith. Judge Lamberth also notes that EPA hasn’t offered “any indication of regret” and is “offensively unapologetic.” The next time this happens, and it will, he should hold the EPA’s lawyers in contempt.
Republicans Plot Next Steps for Keystone
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Clare Foran
Even the most ardent supporters of the controversial project acknowledge that a Senate vote to override the White House veto slated for Thursday is likely to fail. So pipeline backers are looking past this week’s doomed vote and have begun to mull attaching Keystone to an appropriations bill, the transportation reauthorization bill, or broader energy legislation.
Technology
Upholding Internet Sales Tax Law, a Justice Invites a New Case
NEW YORK TIMES
Adam Liptak
The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a victory to a trade group challenging a Colorado law seeking to aid state authorities in the collection of sales taxes on out-of-state purchases made online. The legal issue in the case was minor, and the decision was unanimous. But it was nonetheless notable for a concurrence from Justice Anthony M. Kennedy saying that the Supreme Court went badly astray in a 1992 decision that said states may not collect taxes from companies without some local physical presence.
Why Comcast, AT&T and other Internet providers might not sue the FCC after all
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
All this adds up to a minor dilemma for Internet providers. Do you sue and potentially put your deals at risk? Or do you sit back and let others move on your behalf? For these reasons, “the trade associations most likely will be a little more front-and-center” on litigation, predicted one telecom industry official who asked for anonymity in discussing sensitive plans.
The FCC Has Ruled on Net Neutrality; Do States Get a Say?
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Kaveh Waddell
Among the many details of the FCC’s net-neutrality plan that remain vague is the role of states in implementing the regulations, setting in a modern context one of the oldest debates in American politics: the overlapping and sometimes conflicting roles of state and federal government.
Obama is upset that China wants tech companies to undermine their own security
WASHINGTON POST
Andrea Peterson
President Obama came out against back doors in encrypted communications — if the Chinese government can access them. But the president has avoided taking a position on whether tech companies should build in ways for U.S. law enforcement to access secure communications, a policy endorsed by some high-ranking administration figures.
Finance
Regional exports riding on many key regulatory decisions
THE OLYMPIAN (WA)
Jay Timmons and Kris Johnson
The Pacific Northwest plays a unique role in promoting trade and growing markets for manufacturers abroad. But it could do much better. Nationally, it is vital that the United States regain its mantle of trade leadership through passage of new Trade Promotion Authority legislation, so that we can open new markets in the Asia Pacific and beyond that will support higher-paying jobs throughout this region.
Americans Aren’t Saving Enough for Retirement, but One Change Could Help
NEW YORK TIMES
Eduardo Porter
Sendhil Mullainathan of Harvard and colleagues from M.I.T. and the University of Hamburg sent “mystery shoppers” to visit financial advisers. They found that advisers mostly recommended investment strategies that fit their own financial interests. They reinforced their clients’ misguided biases, encouraging them to chase returns and advising against low-cost options like low-fee index funds.
Yellen Says Effective Supervision of Big Banks One of Fed’s Top Priorities
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Victoria McGrane
“It is unfortunate that I need to underscore this, but we expect the firms we oversee to follow the law and to operate in an ethical manner,” Ms. Yellen said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Citizens Budget Commission in New York on Tuesday night. “Too often in recent years, bankers at large institutions have not done so, sometimes brazenly.”
GOP bill would overhaul consumer agency
THE HILL
Kevin Cirilli
Republicans are ramping up their efforts to restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), saying that the agency lacks transparency needed to regulate the financial industry. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) announced plans to introduce legislation this week that would replace the agency’s director position with a bipartisan, five-member commission appointed by the president.
A Recovery Waiting to Be Liberated
WALL STREET JOURNAL
John Taylor
The U.S. economy is not a turtle, but a caged eagle ready to soar if released from the captivity of bad government policy. By putting the right policies in place—particularly personal and business tax reform with marginal rate cuts—the U.S. can turn the economy around quickly.
World’s biggest banks still €300bn short of safe assets, says regulator
FINANCIAL TIMES (Subscribe)
Caroline Binham
The world’s biggest banks are still short of €300bn worth of safe assets to comply with new rules designed to reduce their vulnerability to panics, fresh data from the global banking supervisor have revealed.
Politics
Obama needs to provide real answers to Netanyahu’s arguments
WASHINGTON POST
Editorial
“Iran’s nuclear program can be rolled back well beyond the current proposal by insisting on a better deal and keeping up the pressure on a very vulnerable regime,” [Netanyahu] said. Is that wrong? For that matter, is it acceptable to free Iran from sanctions within a decade and allow it unlimited nuclear capacity? Rather than continuing its political attacks on Mr. Netanyahu, the administration ought to explain why the deal it is contemplating is justified — or reconsider it.
Netanyahu’s Challenge
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
Given Mr. Obama’s reaction, the Prime Minister knows his real audience is Congress and the American people. His speech raised serious doubts about an accord that has been negotiated in secret and which Mr. Obama wants Americans to accept without a vote in Congress. Now maybe we can have a debate worthy of the high nuclear stakes.
John Boehner ends stalemate
POLITICO
Lauren French, Jake Sherman And John Bresnahan
The House approved a nine-month funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, breaking a lengthy stalemate over President Barack Obama’s immigration policies that exacerbated the rift between Speaker John Boehner and the conservative wing of his conference. The measure passed 257-167, with 182 Democrats and 75 Republicans voting to beat a Friday midnight deadline for DHS funding to expire. Voting against the measure were 167 Republicans, many in protest to the lack of language to block Obama’s immigration policies.
Another GOP meltdown bodes ill for 2016
WASHINGTON POST
Kathleen Parker
This week marked Episode 2, Season 2 in the series “Homeland Security Face-Off.” Subtitle: “How Republicans Forfeit the White House in 2016.”
Using Private Email, Hillary Clinton Thwarted Record Requests
NEW YORK TIMES
Michael S. Schmidt and Amy Chozick
In 2012, congressional investigators asked the State Department for a wide range of documents related to the attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The department eventually responded, furnishing House committees with thousands of documents. But it turns out that that was not everything. The State Department had not searched the email account of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because she had maintained a private account, which shielded it from such searches, department officials acknowledged on Tuesday.
White House Plans No Rescue if Court Guts Health Care Law
NEW YORK TIMES
Michael D. Shear
There are no contingency plans in place if the court invalidates the Affordable Care Act subsidies that 7.5 million people in 34 states are receiving, administration officials said. No one is strategizing with governors or insurance company executives or lawmakers. There is no public relations plan to reassure people who might suddenly have to pay more for insurance. … In the current health care case, legal experts said the White House was savvy in making clear that the situation was dire. They said the justices regularly considered the broader effect of their decisions and often took into account how the executive branch or Congress might respond to a ruling.
Insurers’ Biggest Fear: A Health-Law Death Spiral
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Anna Wilde Mathews
The ruling could come in June—but insurers must make regulatory filings before then about their 2016 plans. Utah’s Arches Health Plan, for one, says it may propose an array of insurance product designs this spring. Then, depending on what the court decides, the insurer would be poised to drop some of them before they’re finalized with regulators and offered to consumers. The insurer may also come up with two different sets of rates for next year, one for each potential court outcome. “We’re hedging our bets right now,” says Ferris W. Taylor, chief strategy officer.
Voters Want Congress to Take Action if Health-Law Tax Credits Are Voided
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Louise Radnofsky
In the WSJ/NBC poll, 54% of voters said that if the credits are struck down, Congress should pass a law to ensure that low- and moderate-income people in all states can be eligible for government financial help to buy health insurance. Around 35% said Congress should not pass such a law.
For Petraeus, the right outcome
USA TODAY
Editorial
The saddest outcome here is that someone who showed such outstanding leadership talents has been sidelined during perilous times. For that, Petraeus has no one to blame but himself, and his punishment is a valuable demonstration that no one’s above the rules — especially the head of the CIA.
