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Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, John Warner To Headline Committee Hearing
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing on climate change at 10 a.m. ET today, featuring an all-star line-up of guests: Former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and former Sen. John Warner (R-VA). Gore and Warner support various legislation to limit carbon emissions, while Gingrich was added at the last minute, at the request of Republicans, as an individual who is skeptical of the claimed human contribution to climate change.

Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will meet with Vice President Biden for lunch at 12:30 p.m. ET. Then at 1:30 p.m. ET, he will speak about higher-education costs, discussing his proposal to end the Federal Family Education Loans program, a government subsidy to banks, in favor of direct government financing.

Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend President Obama’s regular morning briefings, then meet with Obama for lunch at 12:30 p.m. ET. Afterwards, he will spend the remainder of the day in private meetings at the White House.

Bank Industry To Learn Results Of Stress Tests Today
Federal regulators will begin privately telling banks today about the results of the “stress tests,” plus a public announcement of the methodology used, ahead of a public release of the results slated for May 4. This whole situation must be carefully managed in terms of how it affects the market, as explained by Scott Talbott, a lobbyist with the Financial Services Roundtable: “I’m worried about the overreaction — people selling every bank short and pulling out all their deposits and hiding their money in the mattress.”

NYT: Cheney A “Vocal Leader Of The Opposition”
The New York Times examines Dick Cheney’s new status as a “vocal leader of the opposition” against President Obama, as he has set out to defend his own legacy. Said John Bolton: “It’s about time he had a chance to get his voice back,” explaining that Cheney is not bound to the Bush Administration’s official line, and adding that “There’s no cone of silence now.”

Former McCain Manager: GOP A “Shrinking Entity”
Speaking yesterday at the University of Delaware, former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt criticized the Republican Party’s current state of affairs as an opposition party: “As a matter of reality, in the first 100 days, [the Republican Party] has not done anything to improve its political position with regards to the fact that it has been a shrinking entity.”

Hillary Counters Israeli Stance On Palestinians And Iran
Hillary Clinton said yesterday Israel will need to better pursue peace with the Palestinians if it also wants to improve its position against Iran: “For Israel to get the kind of strong support it’s looking for vis-a-vis Iran it can’t stay on the sideline with respect to the Palestinian and the peace efforts, that they go hand-in-hand.”

WaPo: Critics Dismiss Obama’s $100 Million Budget Cutting
The Washington Post reports budget experts are largely dismissive of President Obama’s order that his Cabinet members cut a total of $100 million. “You’re cherry-picking the base of the tree on stuff that is not innovative,” said Paul C. Light, a scholar at New York University. “Purchasing in bulk? Wow, that’s a bold idea! Teleconferencing? Holy moly!”

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