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. The Wonk Room is blogging and tweeting live from the Gulf Coast.
Economy
Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) have agreed to drop from financial regulatory reform a $50 billion fund, built by a levy on financial firms, that would have been used to unwind a failed bank. Instead, “the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would finance the liquidation of failed financial companies, using a new credit line with the Treasury Department.”
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said yesterday that he has received assurances that he will receive floor time for a $23 billion bill aimed at preventing school districts from laying off hundreds of thousands of teachers.
Time’s Stephen Gandel explains why JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is afraid of consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren.
Climate Change
“A massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has become the testing ground for a new technique where a potent mix of chemicals is shot deep undersea in an effort to stop oil from reaching the surface.” However, scientists are unsure of the ecological risk the dispersants may themselves carry.
“In a closed-door briefing for members of Congress, a senior BP executive conceded Tuesday that the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could conceivably spill as much as 60,000 barrels a day of oil, more than 10 times the estimate of the current flow,” The New York Times reports.
After weekend storms already claimed more than two dozen lives, flooding “overwhelmed utilities in downtown Nashville on Tuesday, knocking out power and water service to thousands.”
National Security
“It was 53 hours and 20 minutes from the moment” Faisal Shahzad left his failed car bomb in Manhattan until he was apprehended aboard a plane at Kennedy Airport. Those “53 hours included good breaks, dead ends, real scares, plain detective work and high-tech sophistication.”
The revelation that Faisal Shahzad was likely trained in a “remote tribal region of Pakistan” will likely prompt “U.S. officials to lean on Pakistan to deepen its fight against Islamist extremists, particularly in the militant hotbed of North Waziristan.”
“Israel said Wednesday indirect talks with the Palestinians were doomed to fail, hours before the US envoy was to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the stalled Middle East peace process.” Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Dan Meridor said that “indirect talks, proximity talks will not yield results,” suggesting that Israel and Palestine “need to go quickly to direct talks.”
Health Care
“Provisions in recently approved healthcare laws, including this year’s health reform act , will lead to a resurgence in primary care, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a meeting sponsored by Health Affairs in Washington.”
“The state Senate approved legislation Tuesday that could give Missouri residents a chance to vote on the federal health insurance mandate. Senators passed a bill 26-8 that would put the issue to a statewide vote in August.”
“Legislative leaders would have the authority to file a lawsuit against the federal government and Oklahomans could opt out of the federal health care plan under a measure that now heads to the governor. After nearly two hours of discussion and debate, Senators voted 25-17 to approve House Joint Resolution 1054.”
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