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Obama Promotes Tax Cuts In Stimulus
In this weekend’s YouTube address, marking the weekend before Tax Day, President Obama promoted the stimulus program’s inclusion of targeted middle-class tax cuts.

“So far, Americans who have filed their taxes have discovered that the average refund is up nearly ten percent this year – to an all-time high of about $3,000,” said Obama. “This is due in large part to the Recovery Act. In fact, one-third of the Recovery Act was made up of tax cuts – tax cuts that have already provided more than $160 billion in relief for families and businesses, and nearly $100 billion of that directly into the pockets of working Americans. No one I’ve met is looking for a handout. And that’s not what these tax cuts are. Instead, they’re targeted relief to help middle class families weather the storm, to jumpstart our economy, and to bring the fundamentals of the American Dream – making an honest living, earning an education, owning a home, and raising a family – back within reach for millions of Americans.”

Kyl: Taxes Will Rise At End Of Year, Dems Should Renew Tax Cuts
In this weekend’s Republican address, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) warned of incoming tax increases that would come in 2011, due to the scheduled expiration of the Bush tax cuts.

“Under current law, unless Congress acts, taxes will rise dramatically on December 31st. Taxes will increase on families with children, on married couples, on income, on capital gains and dividends, and even after death,” said Kyl. “It comes to a total of $2 trillion in new taxes over the next 10 years. And that doesn’t include the more than $500 billion in new taxes in the health spending law. Since most small businesses pay taxes as individuals, the increase in marginal income tax rates will hit job creators hard. Businesses are reluctant to hire because they are unsure about their future tax costs. Congress and the President should act to prevent the coming tax increase. That would provide job creators with some much needed certainty so they can begin hiring again.”

ABC: White House Ready With Potential SCOTUS Nominees
ABC News reports that the White House was prepared for Justice John Paul Stevens’s retirement: “Stevens signaled in the fall that he was considering retirement, which gave White House lawyers plenty of time to rework the list of potential nominees that had been created when Justice David Souter announced his retirement in May 2009 and vet new possibilities.”

NYT: Stevens’s Retirement Is Political Test for Obama
The New York Times says that the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens presents a political test for President Obama: “In making his selection, Mr. Obama confronts a vastly altered political landscape from the one he faced just 11 months ago, when he nominated Sonia Sotomayor to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice David H. Souter. With the election of Senator Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, Democrats can no longer hold off a Republican filibuster. And while Democrats are emboldened by the health care vote, the passage of the legislation — which is already facing legal challenges from Republicans who say it is unconstitutional — has left the Senate more polarized than ever and created a climate in which the courts could easily become an election issue.”

WaPo: Midterm Elections Add Political Friction To Court Nomination
The Washington Post predicts a sharply divided political process in the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation, coming in the midst of a midterm election season. “In a way, it’s premature to say how this will unfold until we know who the nominee is going to be and what record they will bring to the process,” said presidential historian Robert Dallek. “But the one thing I am sure of is that it won’t be an appointment that flies through the Judiciary Committee and the Senate without some extremely contentious debate.”

Dems Want SCOTUS Confirmation To Move At Speed Of Sotomayor, Roberts
The Hill reports that Senate Democrats are aiming for a quick confirmation process for the eventual Supreme Court nominee: “Aides close to the process say they want the confirmation of Stevens’s successor to follow the same general schedule as last year’s debate over Sotomayor — which in turn was patterned after the timeline for Chief Justice John Roberts’s confirmation. Justice David Souter announced his retirement on May 1 of last year, and Sotomayor’s confirmation vote was held on Aug. 6 — a total of 97 days from the vacancy announcement to the final vote, compared to 90 for Roberts and 95 for Justice Samuel Alito in 2006.”

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