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Energy
Judges Skeptical of Challenge to Proposed E.P.A. Rule on Climate Change
NEW YORK TIMES
Coral Davenport
A panel of federal judges appeared inclined on Thursday to dismiss the first legal challenge to President Obama’s most far-reaching regulation to slow climate change. But in the arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, lawyers for the nation’s two largest coal companies, more than two dozen states and the Environmental Protection Agency offered a preview of what is expected to be a protracted battle over a regulation Mr. Obama hopes to leave as his signature environmental achievement.
Obama’s climate-change rules could kill nearly 300K jobs: report
WASHINGTON TIMES
Ben Wolfgang
New research from the center-right American Action Forum released Thursday shows what the effects of implementation could be. The group says the EPA plan could cause more than 90 coal-fired power plants to shut down. The fallout from those closures could eliminate as many as 296,000 jobs, data show. Critics say higher electricity bills and a weakened electrical grid also are likely consequences.
Former Obama Economic Adviser Calls for Shift in Biofuels Mandate
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Amy Harder
In a report published Thursday, Harvard University professor Jim Stock, who served on President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers in 2013 and 2014, proposes several reforms to the biofuels mandate, known as the renewable fuel standard, including some requiring congressional approval. The report adds to a growing body of politicians and experts who are questioning the law’s effectiveness amid regulatory uncertainty and lower oil prices.
Technology
Patent reform hits snag with human trafficking standoff
POLITICO
Kate Tummarello
The trafficking measure, from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), has been a particular source of tension with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who has given scathing floor speeches criticizing Republicans for playing “political games” by inserting an abortion provision into the widely supported bill. Both Cornyn and Leahy are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and are heavily involved in patent negotiations with Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Uber becomes talking point in net-neutrality debate
THE HILL
Julian Hattem
Uber might be one of the better analogies for explaining new federal rules for the Internet — for both critics and supporters of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) regulations.
Telecom head ‘quite confident’ of defeating net neutrality in court
THE HILL
Julian Hattem
“I’m quite confident that the court is going to say what is clear on the face of the statute: There is no authority for the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to be regulating the Internet,” U.S. Telecom Association President Walter McCormick said in an interview on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators.” “Then, I hope that we can get Congress to expand the FCC’s authority to be able to address these issues that everybody agrees are important.”
Jackpots for Local TV Stations in F.C.C. Auction of Airwaves
NEW YORK TIMES
Rebecca Ruiz
“I’ve told broadcasters: Your spectrum is your seed corn,” said Gordon H. Smith, president of the National Association of Broadcasters, which is holding the conference, and a former Republican senator from Oregon. “If you sell that, you have no harvest next year. You can’t plant.” Still, Mr. Smith said he had recently warmed to the idea. “Why is it exciting?” he said. “Billions of dollars.”
Finance
Deal Reached on Fast-Track Authority for Obama on Trade Accord
NEW YORK TIMES
Jonathan Weisman
Key congressional leaders agreed on Thursday on legislation to give President Obama special authority to finish negotiating one of the world’s largest trade accords, opening a rare battle that aligns the president with Republicans against a broad coalition of Democrats. In what is sure to be one of the toughest fights of Mr. Obama’s last 19 months in office, the “fast track” bill allowing the White House to pursue its planned Pacific trade deal also heralds a divisive fight within the Democratic Party, one that could spill into the 2016 presidential campaign.
A Lift for Free Trade
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
With the world’s economies hitting stiff headwinds, more free trade is the one big lever available to produce a lift for consumers, job-seekers and entrepreneurs. Passing Hatch-Wyden-Ryan as early as next week would also lift Congress’s sunken reputation.
House Votes to Repeal Estate Tax
NEW YORK TIMES
Peter Baker
President Obama and the Republicans in Congress clashed over taxes and wealth on Thursday, a day after many Americans sent checks to the Internal Revenue Service, as the House voted to repeal the federal tax levied on multimillion-dollar estates. Republican leaders hailed the vote as a victory for farmers and small-business owners who may otherwise be forced to sell assets after the death of a spouse or a parent to pay taxes on property that has already been taxed.
Fed Is Expected to Shift on Muni Bonds
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Andrew Ackerman and Victoria McGrane
In a change of heart, the Federal Reserve will allow big U.S. banks to use some municipal bonds to meet new rules aimed at ensuring they have enough cash during a financial-market meltdown, according to people familiar with the matter. The Fed and two other bank regulators had excluded debt issued by cities and states when approving liquidity rules in September, part of their post-2008 efforts to fortify banks against market turmoil.
Fed Shies Away From June Rate Hike
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Jon Hilsenrath
A patch of soft economic data has created uncertainty inside the Federal Reserve about when to start raising short-term interest rates, dimming the chances of a move as early as June. Recent reports showed a slowdown in U.S. hiring in March, tepid growth in consumer spending at retail stores, a big drop in industrial output and softer-than-expected home building, reinforcing a view the economy downshifted in the first quarter and didn’t have great momentum moving into the second.
Hillary Clinton campaign hires former Wall Street regulator for top finance post
POLITICO
Gabriel Debenedetti and Annie Karni
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is getting a prominent Wall Street regulator atop its finance structure, shortly after Clinton made waves by going after hedge funds and executive compensation in Iowa this week. Gary Gensler, the former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman who gained a reputation as an advocate of bank regulation, will serve as the campaign’s chief financial officer, a source with knowledge of the move confirmed to POLITICO on Thursday.
Politics
A necessary and bipartisan safeguard on the Iran deal
WASHINGTON POST
Sen. Bob Corker
A nuclear-armed Iran would lead to a less safe and secure world, which is why the stakes are so high in the pursuit of a strong agreement that is fully enforceable and verifiable and will keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. With Congress serving as a backstop, this approach can help empower our negotiators and lead to a better result in the talks and a stronger outcome for our national security.
The Nuclear Deal With Iran Needs Work—Lots of It
WALL STREET JOURNAL
James Baker III
I hope that the administration will use the current dyspepsia in Tehran as a fulcrum to convince our negotiating partners to demand a deal from Iran that satisfactorily resolves the weaknesses of the April 2 framework regarding the phasing out of sanctions, the verification mechanisms, the snapback of sanctions in the event of an Iranian breach of the agreement, and the historical record of Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities.
Republican Hopefuls Swarm New Hampshire for Its First Candidate Forum
NEW YORK TIMES
Jonathan Martin
With every major Republican presidential hopeful descending on New Hampshire this weekend for the state’s first candidate forum, attention will turn for the moment from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s entry into the campaign to the fluid Republican race. Few of New Hampshire’s influential Republican activists will commit to a candidate based solely on what they see at the two-day gathering in Nashua. But the audition there offers a chance for one of the 19 prospects expected to attend to break out of the pack in a state where there is no clear favorite.
Businesses Seek Guidance on New Labor Board Rule
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Melanie Trottman
The rule, which was completed in December, streamlines union elections in part by allowing certain documents to be filed electronically instead of by mail. It also generally delays legal challenges from employers—such as whether certain workers are eligible to vote—until after workers have cast their ballots. Unions say it is needed to hasten elections they contend employers too often drag out with litigation to try to prevent a vote. Business groups, however, say it will leave employers with inadequate time to counter union campaigns and state their case to workers. The business community is worried unions will seek to hold a rush of elections in the coming weeks and months that could be easier to win.
Ambushing Employers’ Speech Rights
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Thomas M. Johnson Jr.
The Constitution does not give unions such special protections from the marketplace of ideas. And those concerned with a “corporate takeover” of the First Amendment should recall that Citizens United protected the speech of unions and corporations alike. The same cannot be said for the NLRB, where companies are uniquely disfavored and unions are singled out for special treatment—to the detriment of the employees they purport to represent.
