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Energy
What if states just say ‘no’ to climate rule?
THE HILL
Timothy Cama
McConnell, a Republican from coal-rich Kentucky, reasoned in a column in the Lexington, Ky., Herald-Leader that states’ refusal to comply with the contentious rule could be a powerful display of protest against an administration he accuses of overreach. At the same time, he argues, states could avoid expensive impacts of a regulation that he thinks is doomed by either Congress or the federal courts. … Further, experts and supporters of the regulation contend, refusing to write a state plan would invite the EPA to impose its own system for reducing emissions, denying state officials the ability to craft rules in a way that best fits the state’s unique circumstances. The outcome, the say, could be a more expensive plan than could otherwise be achieved by the states themselves.
A Reckless Call From the Senate’s Leader
NEW YORK TIMES
Editorial
For all his partisan animus toward President Obama, it is still shocking to see the Senate’s majority leader, Mitch McConnell, urge the nation’s governors to undermine the Obama administration’s efforts to regulate power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
Tom Udall’s Unlikely Alliance With the Chemical Industry
NEW YORK TIMES
Eric Lipton
Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico has earned a reputation as an environmental champion. He helped lead the fight against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and pushed through legislation for a new federal wilderness area in his home state of New Mexico. … So environmental activists were stunned to learn that Mr. Udall’s political supporters now include the chemical industry, which has donated tens of thousands of dollars to his campaigns and sponsored a television ad that praised his leadership.
Wrecks Hit Tougher Oil Railcars
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Russell Gold and Paul Vieira
In a string of recent oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada, new and sturdier railroad tanker cars being built to carry a rising tide of crude oil across the continent have failed to prevent ruptures. … But the four recent accidents are a sign that the new tanker cars are still prone to rupture in a derailment. The ruptures could increase momentum for rules aimed at further reducing the risk of shipping crude by rail.
Technology
Netflix Recants on Obamanet
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Gordon Crovitz
Today Netflix is a poster child for crony capitalism. When CEO Reed Hastings lobbied for Internet regulations, all he apparently really wanted was for regulators to tilt the scales in his direction with service providers. Or as Geoffrey Manne of the International Center for Law and Economics put it in Wired: “Did we really just enact 300 pages of legally questionable, enormously costly, transformative rules just to help Netflix in a trivial commercial spat?” Ironically, Netflix could end up the biggest loser with a regulated Internet. The FCC did not stop at claiming power to regulate broadband providers. It will also review the interconnection agreements and network tools that allow the smooth functioning of the Internet—including delivery of Netflix videos, which take up one-third of broadband nationwide at peak times.
What Net Neutrality Means for the Comcast Deal
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
The Federal Communications Commission took a hard line on net neutrality, enacting tough regulations that dramatically expand its powers over Internet providers. Now, everyone is trying to read the tea leaves for what that means for the agency’s next big decision: Comcast’s $45 billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable.
Betting Against the Cable Bundle
NEW YORK TIMES
Emily Steel
Television groups have demanded significant rate increases from cable and satellite distributors in recent years. With their advertising businesses under pressure and the market for selling programs to streaming services more competitive, raising the so-called carriage fees they charge distributors is increasingly important to driving profits. But cable providers, especially the smaller ones, are making a calculated bet, and some are refusing to pay up. Their profits increasingly are tied to selling broadband Internet service rather than video, and they are watching to see how many customers they will lose if they don’t offer the traditional bundle of cable networks. Unlike the video business, where customers can switch to satellite and other offerings, cable companies can have an advantage in the broadband arena, because there is less competition for selling Internet service in the markets where they operate, analysts said.
Finance
Credit-Reporting Giants Agree to Overhaul
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Annamaria Andriotis
The three biggest companies that collect and disseminate credit information on more than 200 million Americans will change the way they handle errors and list unpaid medical bills as part of the broadest industry overhaul in more than a decade. Under an agreement set to be announced Monday with New York state, Equifax Information Services LLC, Experian Information Solutions Inc. and TransUnion LLC will be more proactive in resolving disputes over information contained in credit reports—a process federal watchdogs and consumer advocates have long decried as being stacked against individuals.
The Bank That Won’t Buckle
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
The Obama Administration has had a high old time forcing big banks into big-dollar settlements without ever going to trial. So it’s worth paying special attention to the executives of the U.S. unit of Japanese bank Nomura who are refusing to settle a similar case they believe is bogus. Don’t they know this isn’t the way Washington shakedowns are supposed to work? In 2011 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sued Nomura and 17 other financial institutions for allegedly misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about the risks in mortgage-backed securities prior to the financial crisis. The claim is that Fan and Fred—the government-created dominators of the mortgage market—were unwitting victims of the banks. To believe this fairy tale, you have to ignore the findings of a bipartisan congressional inquiry, as well as separate federal lawsuits in which the government is arguing that Fan and Fred did the misleading.
The folly of Fed bashing
WASHINGTON POST
Robert Samuelson
The danger is that it would exact a large economic cost. The Fed is the government’s preeminent economic institution. Despite mistakes, it still commands respect, especially in financial markets. A Fed under political assault adds to uncertainty and subtracts from confidence. Economic growth is unlikely to benefit.
At Goldman Sachs, Stress Test Results Could Endanger an Important Profit Source
NEW YORK TIMES
Nathaniel Popper
Concerns have emerged that Goldman Sachs — long the leader on Wall Street — may lose an important engine of profitability. On the Federal Reserve stress tests last week, Goldman performed poorly compared with other big banks. Now analysts and investors are worried that the bank could be barred by regulators from buying back its own stock or increasing dividends.
A deal worth getting right
WASHINGTON POST
Larry Summers
Any international agreement must be judged not just against our aspirations, but also against our alternatives. No plausible TPP deal will achieve all that we want. But it should be possible to negotiate an agreement that is much better than the alternative of growing trade shaped only by agreements that exclude the United States. I hope and expect that when it is presented for approval, the TPP will meet this test.
Politics
Jeb Bush turns heads in first Iowa swing
DES MOINES REGISTER
Jennifer Jacobs
Bush did six events plus several one-on-one meetings in two markets — Des Moines and Cedar Rapids — in 24 hours. He turned some heads on Friday and Saturday, describing himself as the most successful conservative governor in Florida history and saying his record of accomplishment “is what’s necessary right now for our country to get back on track.” … “No one expected or assumed that everybody would go from zero to 60 in one weekend,” said Des Moines Republican influencer David Oman, who helped organize Bush’s two-day Iowa swing. “But he demonstrated great knowledge and a level of detail that impressed people.”
The Iowa Ag Summit: 10 takeaways
POLITICO
James Hohmann
The politics of ethanol have shifted enough over the last 15 years that several Republican presidential candidates felt comfortable – at an agricultural summit in Iowa Saturday – expressing their disagreement with special government supports for corn growers. Philosophically, that is. Back in 2000, John McCain skipped the Iowa caucuses altogether on the grounds that he could not win while opposing the federal ethanol subsidy. But the GOP has shifted rightward during the age of Barack Obama, and as the 2016 race gets underway a thousand spectators gathered at the state fairgrounds to watch the party’s top contenders try to thread the needle on farm policy, especially when it comes to ethanol mandates.
Will Clinton’s experience be a liability?
WASHINGTON POST
Anne Gearan
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state was supposed to be a central argument for her forthcoming run for president. Her globe-trotting record as the nation’s chief diplomat, her role championing women’s empowerment and gay rights, and her experience on tough national security issues were all supposed to confer credentials that none of her possible GOP opponents would possess. But over the past two weeks, with back-to-back revelations that she was working with foreign countries that gave millions of dollars to her family’s charitable foundation and that she set up and exclusively used a private e-mail system, that argument has been put in peril.
Is Martin O’Malley ‘Ready for Hillary’?
WASHINGTON POST
John Wagner
As the media spotlight started to turn his way, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley left New Hampshire this weekend with a crucial question still unanswered about his 2016 political ambitions: Is he ready for Hillary? During a two-day swing, O’Malley repeatedly deflected questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton and the burgeoning controversy over her use of personal e-mail while secretary of state, raising new doubts about his resolve to take on the Democrats’ heavy favorite.
Skipping the test
WASHINGTON POST
Editorial
A MARYLAND state delegate may be right that he’s found a loophole that would allow newly installed Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to withdraw Maryland from the standardized tests that are aligned with the Common Core. That, though, raises the question of why Maryland would want to pass up the opportunity to know how its students are achieving and identify areas for improvement. Such accountability has served Maryland well, helping to make it a national leader in education, so we urge Mr. Hogan to reject out of hand this ill-advised suggestion.
G.O.P. Is Divided as Budget Bills Start Piling Up
NEW YORK TIMES
Ashley Parker
In their first major test of governing this year, Republicans stumbled, faltered — and nearly shut down the Department of Homeland Security. And that vote may have been the easy one. In April, physicians who treat Medicare patients face a drastic cut in pay. In May, the Highway Trust Fund runs dry. In June, the charter for the federal Export-Import Bank ceases to exist. Then in October, across-the-board spending cuts return, the government runs out of money — and the Treasury bumps up against its borrowing limit.
GOP newbie Sasse driving Obamacare off-ramp
WASHINGTON TIMES
Tom Howell Jr.
Freshman Sen. Ben Sasse insists he’s not a leading man in the GOP’s script to replace Obamacare, but he’s playing a key set-up role just three months into his tenure on Capitol Hill. The Nebraska Republican filed legislation last week — the plainly titled “Winding Down Obamacare Act” — that would fill the gap should the U.S. Supreme Court rule the Obama administration is wrongly paying billions of dollars in tax subsidies to health care insurance customers in two-thirds of the states.
Rand Paul, McConnell Forge Unlikely Partnership
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Janet Hook
When Rand Paul first ran for the Senate, he faced a powerful home-state antagonist in Sen. Mitch McConnell. Now, as Mr. Paul prepares to run for president, a five-year effort to bury the hatchet has forged an odd-couple partnership that is an unseen force in both the 2016 presidential campaign and the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Clears First Copycat Biotech Drug, Jolting Sector
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Jonathan D. Rockoff and Peter Loftus
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first copy of a biotechnology drug for the U.S. market, firing the starting gun on a new industry that could help the U.S. curb its $376 billion in yearly drug spending.
