Fireworks Expected As Gov. Walker Heads To Hill To Talk Unions
The Hill reports: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) could be in for a rowdy welcome from unions and liberal groups when he comes to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify about his work on reducing the state’s budget deficit. A coalition of liberal groups including People for the American Way, Common Cause and Public Campaign is scheduled to give a press conference outside the hearing room before Walker testifies, and union members are traveling in from Wisconsin to attend.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10 a.m. ET with senior advisers, and Obama and Biden will meet at 10:45 a.m. ET with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. Obama will hold a bilateral meeting at 2 p.m. ET with Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar, and the two will deliver statements to the press at 2:50 p.m. ET. Obama will depart from the White House at 4:05 p.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 4:20 p.m. ET, arriving at 6:10 p.m. ET in Chicago, Illinois. He will deliver remarks at a DNC event at 7:25 p.m. ET, deliver remarks at another DNC event at 8:35 p.m. ET, and deliver remarks at another DNC event at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President will attend President Obama’s daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. Obama and Biden will meet at 10:45 a.m. ET with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. Biden will meet with senior advisers in the afternoon.
House To Vote On Budget-Cutting Deal Thursday
CNN reports: “The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on about $40 billion in budget cuts for fiscal year 2011. Then within 24 hours, the package must pass the Senate and be signed by President Obama. Representatives are expected begin making speeches on the budget package Thursday morning, with a final vote likely by early evening, according to the website for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia. The vote was originally scheduled for Wednesday.”
As Spending Plan Details Emerge, So Does Dissent
The New York Times reports: “House Republican leaders sought on Wednesday to contain growing conservative opposition to the new 2011 spending deal as the House prepared for contentious back-to-back votes on budget measures. With the compromise struck last week coming under greater scrutiny, several Republicans inside and outside Congress rejected the agreement as insufficient, given the modest immediate impact of its $38 billion in cuts. That amount, achieved in part with the aid of budgetary maneuvers, is well below initial Republican aspirations for $61 billion.”
If Congress Refuses To Raise The Debt Ceiling: A Look At The Consequences
The Hill reports: “Congress doesn’t have to raise the debt limit. But refusing to do so would have huge consequences for the economy and the Constitution. If the debt ceiling is not raised, Congress would be left with $120 billion per month in red ink, forcing the administration to take a hatchet to government programs authorized by Congress.”
Nancy Pelosi Fades As Power Player
Politico reports on the declining presence of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who formerly presided over a large Democratic majority as Speaker: “Her diminished stature has affected the way she is perceived in Washington’s power game and the way she handles her duties as head of the House Democratic minority. It all adds up to this: At times, the once-omnipresent Pelosi seems practically invisible in the Capitol. When President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hammered out a deal last week to avert a shutdown and fund the government for the rest of the year, Pelosi was delivering a speech at Tufts University near Boston.”
