Welcome to The WonkLine, a daily 9:30 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.
Immigration
California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R) “really goofed” her debate against Jerry Brown (D) on Saturday, “adhering to a campaign script that now has cast her in the role of hypocrite” on immigration.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) indicated yesterday that he introduced an immigration bill just before Congress’ midterm elections break so he could get “lame-duck movement” on the legislation after the midterm elections.
A senior Democratic Senate aide said White House officials have indicated a willingness to push through piecemeal changes to immigration law, instead of a comprehensive bill.
Climate Change
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has sent a letter to Bob Dudley, BP’s new CEO, “requesting he appear before the Energy and Environment Subcommittee in Congress in order to discuss the ongoing issues and challenges still facing the families living and working in the Gulf region.”
After the warmest summer on record, Ohio farmers are eligible for “natural disaster assistance to help cover losses from severe weather-related crop damage in 79 of the state’s 88 counties.”
The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza takes a comprehensive look at the collapse of climate legislation in the Senate, and quotes an environmental lobbyist: “Everybody is going to be thinking about whether Barack Obama was the James Buchanan of climate change.”
Economy
Americans are “becoming increasingly hostile” to free trade, with 53 percent saying in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll that free-trade agreements have hurt the U.S.
“As many households and small businesses are being turned away by bank loan officers, large corporations are borrowing vast sums of money for next to nothing — simply because they can,” according to the New York Times.
Federal bank regulators “have told the nation’s largest lenders to review their foreclosure guidelines after evidence that shoddy and missing paperwork may be causing troubled borrowers to be evicted from their homes prematurely, if not illegally.”
Health Care
“It’s a centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable. But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn’t living up to expectations.”
“3M Co. confirmed it would eventually stop offering its health-insurance plan to retirees, citing the federal health overhaul as a factor. The changes won’t start to phase in until 2013.”
“The Obama administration has agreed to a plan to infuse $435 million into Massachusetts hospitals, the largest portion of which is intended to help avert a significant financial crisis at Boston Medical Center, the city’s primary provider of care to the poor.”
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