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.
National Security
“Britain’s Conservative Party was pressing for an outright victory as voters went to the polls here Thursday, following a hard-fought campaign that could produce this nation’s most fragile government in a generation.”
“American officials said Wednesday that it was very likely that a radical group once thought unable to attack the United States had played a role in the bombing attempt in Times Square… evidence was mounting that the group, the Pakistani Taliban, had helped inspire and train Mr. Shahzad.”
“Greece’s government told parliament on Thursday there was no alternative to the deep budget cuts in its austerity bill and vowed to press ahead with it despite opposition from other parties and violent protests.”
Economy
The Senate voted 93-5 yesterday for an amendment crafted by Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) that removed a $50 billion resolution authority fund from the Democrats’ financial reform bill. Four Republicans and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) voted no.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) clarified yesterday that her plan for stronger derivatives regulation “would allow large banks to spin off their derivatives operations into an affiliate under the same parent company.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) “anticipating deep financial cuts from Albany, plans to cut the number of city teachers by 6,700 to help close a projected $5 billion deficit under his latest budget proposal.”
Immigration
At a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden yesterday, President Obama stated that “work” must start on immigration reform in 2010, though he didn’t give a timeline for when a bill should move.
The Hill reports that “Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-NY) rocky relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has become one more obstacle to passing immigration reform this year.”
The nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, the National Council of La Raza, has called a press conference to launch an economic boycott of Arizona. “The announcement comes on the same day that the Phoenix basketball team, the Phoenix Suns, is planning an unusual protest on the floor of tonight’s playoff game.”
Health Care
“A House panel plans to take up a trio of bills aimed at increasing transparency and clarity in healthcare pricing, tackling an issue that has bedeviled the industry for decades and handcuffed efforts to turn everyday people into better purchasers of care.”
“Next spring we get the official report on how the nation collectively fared in reaching the goals included in Healthy People 2010, an every-decade governmental assessment of various health indicators. If preliminary results hold, we’ll scrape by with a low C.”
“Facing an intense public outcry, Charlie Crist confronts possibly the toughest decision of his term as governor: whether to sign or veto a bill antiabortion advocates call the “most significant pro-life measure that’s ever happened in Florida’s history.”
Climate Change
“Congressional Democrats are pushing their first legislative response to the Gulf Coast oil spill, proposing to vastly raise the liability cap on companies that are responsible for offshore disasters” from $75 million to $10 billion,” The Hill reports.
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “are planning to forge ahead with or without Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and introduce an energy bill next week.”
As BP is “using submersible robots and other futuristic technology to stem a hemorrhaging leak,” the approach along the Louisiana shoreline, by contrast, “seems almost primitive.” “Thousands of yards” of floating orange boom protect the marshes and shoreline from “encroaching oil.”
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