Obama To Sign Financial Overhaul
President Obama will sign the financial reform bill this morning, in a high-profile signing ceremony. “These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history,” Obama will say, according to pre-released excerpts. “And these protections will be enforced by a new consumer watchdog with just one job: looking out for people – not big banks, not lenders, not investment houses in the financial system.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET, and Obama will receive the economic daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET. Obama will meet with Biden at 10:45 a.m. ET. Then at 11:30 a.m. ET, Obama will sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Obama and Biden will have lunch with House members at 12:45 p.m. ET. Obama will meet with senior advisers at 2:30 p.m. ET. Obama will receive a briefing at 3:45 p.m. ET on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden hosted a breakfast meeting with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), at 8 a.m. ET at the Naval Observatory. He will attend President Obama’s morning briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. He will hold a Recovery Act Implementation Cabinet meeting at 10:15 a.m. ET, and he will meet at 10:45 a.m. ET with Obama. He will attend President Obama’s signing of the financial reform bill at 11:30 a.m. ET. He will have lunch with Obama and House members at 12:45 p.m. ET. He will meet at 2:15 p.m. ET with Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. In the evening, the Vice President and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will host a barbecue for members of the Cabinet at the Naval Observatory.
Democrats Throw a Hail Mary On Jobs
CQ reports: “House Democratic leaders are launching an eleventh-hour bid to get on offense on jobs and the economy before they face voters in the November midterms. A retooled jobs initiative, which Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) on Tuesday dubbed the ‘Make It in America’ agenda, will be front and center for Democrats hoping to have something positive to take home during the August break. With the unemployment rate hovering near 10 percent and the bulk of the House Democratic agenda stalled in the Senate, rank-and-file Members have been clamoring for leadership to refocus their attention on jobs. Lawmakers want to be able to demonstrate that they are working to aid the manufacturing sector and keep American jobs from being shipped overseas.”
Energy Bill Options Narrow for Democrats
Roll Call reports: “Senate Democrats remain deeply divided over how or whether to debate energy and climate change legislation this month, with some suggesting Tuesday that the party should do little or nothing on the politically charged topic so close to the midterm elections. Senate Democratic sources said the only thing Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is likely to bring up during any potential energy debate next week is a narrow bill dealing with oil spill liability and possibly some modest provisions dealing with renewable energy and ‘green jobs.'”
Centrist Republicans Pin Their Political Hopes On The Class Of ’10
The Hill reports: “Centrist Republicans in the Senate are hopeful that victories in the November election will swell their ranks, reduce conservatives’ influence and make it easier to defy GOP leaders. Much attention is focused on the likely election of conservatives such as Rand Paul in Kentucky and Mike Lee in Utah, and possibly Sharron Angle in Nevada and Marco Rubio in Florida. But if centrists such as Reps. Mike Castle (Del.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.) win their races, it might soften the influence of conservatives in the 112th Congress.”
GOP Blues: Little Shot At Senate
Politico reports: “The Republican path to a Senate majority runs through a handful of hostile states, most of which are so deep blue that they haven’t sent a member to the upper chamber in more than a decade. Boiled down, the problem is this: The first six or seven seats of the 10 necessary for a takeover are within the GOP’s grasp. Winning the final three or four, however, will require something close to a historic wave. It’s that cold math that has even Republicans acknowledging that their dream of regaining the Senate is just that — even in an election year marked by impressive fundraising tallies, encouraging poll numbers and an exceptionally favorable election environment.”
