Welcome to The WonkLine, a daily 10 a.m. roundup of the latest news about health care, the economy, national security, immigration and climate policy. This is what we’re reading. Tell us what you found in the comments section below. You can also follow The Wonk Room on Twitter.
Climate Change
“Strong earnings from Exxon Mobil and bullish comments from coal analysts boosted the energy sector Monday” as climate negotiators say a global deal on climate change in 2010 is “all but impossible.”
“At a time when our country is struggling with a deep economic recession, the last thing I want the EPA to do is start regulating greenhouse gases without specific direction from Congress,” Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) said about the EPA budget plan that allocates $56 million for global warming regulation.
Indiana officials will not require insurance companies to complete a nationally approved climate risk survey, because it seems to advance a “politically driven agenda,” said Doug Webber, the state’s acting insurance commissioner.
Economy
President Obama will announce a new program today that will “invest $30 billion from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in community banks to encourage them to lend to small businesses.”
According to a new study, “U.S. consumers have tightened their belts in the wake of the global financial crisis, which if sustained would break a trend of steady increases in the consumption rate since the 1980s.”
The Senate voted 60-32 last night to invoke cloture on the nomination of Patricia Smith for Department of Labor Solicitor, “breaking the stranglehold Republicans had put on her to be the nation’s top labor lawyer.”
Immigration
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) criticized the Obama administration for not pushing harder for legislation that would provide an opportunity for legalization for some immigrants.
The Hispanic Federation slammed possible New York Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., “alleging that his record on immigration isn’t up to par for New York City.”
Indian workers have brought a civil rights lawsuit against a marine oil-rig company in Mississippi, claiming they were victims of human trafficking and labor abuse.
Health Care
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) “urged his Democratic colleagues over the weekend to unite around a plan that would allow them to move forward with health care legislation using a process that requires only 51 votes.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that “[w]ith the fate of a national health care overhaul unclear, state legislators are pushing their own bills aimed at expanding coverage, though tight budgets are likely to hinder many of these efforts.”
Lawrence O’Donnell suggests that “we’re now witnessing reform’s death throes – and Democrats know it.”
National Security
China has warned U.S. President Barack Obama not to meet with Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying such a meeting would harm bilateral relations.
Israel’s account of its conduct during the Gaza war was challenged on Monday after evidence emerged apparently contradicting one of the army’s key findings, The Guardian reported.
Iran said Tuesday that the strengthening of U.S. missile defense systems in Gulf Arab countries is aimed at sowing regional divisions and that Tehran’s neighbors should not be drawn into believing the country poses a threat. U.S. military officials said over the weekend that the systems – involving upgraded Patriot missiles on land and more U.S. Navy ships capable of destroying missiles in flight – is intended to counter a potential Iranian missile strike.
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