Biden To Unveil New Rules On Retirement Savings
Vice President Biden is set to unveil new regulations to protect workers’ retirement savings accounts. “These new safeguards will protect workers from conflicts of interest when it comes to financial advisers and their 401(k)s and IRAs,” an anonymous White House official told Reuters.
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10:35 a.m. ET, and the economic daily briefing at 11:05 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 11:35 a.m. ET with senior advisers. Obama and Vice President Biden will meet at 2 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At 4:40 p.m. ET, Obama will deliver remarks and sign an executive order for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will hold a Middle Class Task Force event at 10 a.m. ET. He will have lunch at 1 p.m. ET with a group of foreign policy experts at the White House. At 2 p.m. ET, he will meet with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Bunning Blocks Vote, Jeopardizes Unemployment Benefits
The Senate last night failed to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, which are scheduled to expire over the weekend, after Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) held up the vote. The Associated Press reports: “The Senate adjourned just before midnight with no further votes scheduled until Tuesday. To avoid an interruption in benefits, senators would have to act quickly when they return, a task made difficult by Senate rules that let a single senator slow the process. Bunning vowed to fight the extensions as long as they add to the deficit, though he acknowledged they will probably eventually pass.”
Hillary Clinton Blasts ‘Outrageous’ Alan Greenspan On Budget Deficit
Appearing yesterday before Congressional committees to defend the State Department’s budget request, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. “It breaks my heart that 10 years ago we had a balanced budget, that we were on the way of paying down the debt of the United States of America,” Clinton said, also adding: “I served on the budget committee in the Senate, and I remember as vividly as if it were yesterday when we had a hearing in which Alan Greenspan came and justified increasing spending and cutting taxes, saying that we didn’t really need to pay down the debt — outrageous in my view.”
Graham’s Talks With White House On Gitmo Frustrate House GOP
The Hill reports that House Republicans are angry at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for talking to the White House about closing the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. “I think it’s crazy to be negotiating with the White House on this,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI). Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL), whose district includes the Thomson prison facility where detainees could be relocated, also said: “If Lindsey Graham is involved in talks about moving detainees to Illinois, I hope he would talk to me first.”
Obama Administration Considering ‘High Road’ Contracting Policy To Promote Better Wages
The White House is considering a new policy to give an advantage on government contracts to businesses that give better pay to their workers, a policy called “high road” contracting that would promote higher labor standards overall. Republican lawmakers and business groups are strongly objecting to the idea, arguing that this would shut out small businesses and increase government procurement costs.
