By CAP Action War Room

A Day In The Life Of Progressive And Conservative Priorities

Today we saw snapshots of two very different visions for our country — two very different sets of priorities on how to help it get ahead.

On the one hand, this afternoon the Center for American Progress hosted Attorney General Eric Holder at an event recognizing the one year anniversary of the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. On the other, details of the anti-working families proposals in the House GOP budget continue to emerge. These two cases exemplify the stark contrast between the progressive vision for strengthening America and giving everyone an opportunity to succeed, and the conservative vision in which the wealthiest and corporations benefit, low- and middle-income families lose, and inequality gets even worse.

My Brother’s Keeper is an initiative launched by the White House in conjunction with cities, towns, businesses and foundations to address opportunity gaps faced by young men of color. “The fundamental idea behind this initiative,” Attorney General Holder said today, “is that every child in America should have the opportunity to grow, to succeed, and to contribute to their community and their country.” My Brother’s Keeper cuts across a diverse and complex set of of issues: education, poverty, health, the criminal justice system, racial bias, and more. But at it’s core, it is an example of a bold, inclusive initiative working to expand economic opportunity for some of the Americans that need it the most.

In contrast to this, we have the House GOP budget: a road map of what conservatives want to accomplish. Despite claims that the GOP is focusing on middle and working class Americans, House Republicans include major cuts to programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance that are essential in helping people escape poverty. Their budget would double the number of uninsured Americans by promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act yet again — even while they offer empty promises to come up with a “fix”. All this while giving tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and corporations; a choice that we know only makes rich even richer and increases inequality.

The Senate GOP Budget, released today, offers little different; it balances the budget on the backs of working class Americans, and uses sneaky accounting gimmicks to do so. Check out a more detailed analysis of the budgets from CAP here.

BOTTOM LINE: Through My Brother’s Keeper, community leaders around the country are taking steps to help some of our most vulnerable citizens escape hardship and injustice, and discover an opportunity to get ahead. And at the same time, Congressional Republicans, while rhetorically trying to address inequality, continue to push the same old policies that we know in reality only increase it.

MORNING MESSAGE

Robert Borosage

Dueling Visions: The CPC People’s Budget vs. the Budget for the 1%

The Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled its fiscal 2016 “People’s Budget: A Raise For America” one day after House Republicans released their “A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America” proposal. The CPC touted a $1.9 trillion investment in America’s future and over 8 million new jobs. The House Republicans bragged about cutting $5 trillion over 10 years. The sharp contrast between the two reflect stark differences in values and ideology – and a basic choice of whether government will serve the many or the few.

Senate budget to be released today, will largely track House version. McClatchy:“…a GOP aide said the Senate proposal would resemble the House plan in three ways. Both generally would balance the budget at the end of a decade, the aide said, and both would build in flexibility to increase military spending. They also envision the use of an arcane budget tool called reconciliation to make it easier to repeal the Affordable Care Act over Democratic objections.”

But Senate plan won’t spell out Medicare changes. Bloomberg:“The Senate will avoid the House’s plan on Medicare … With the federal deficit easing and entitlement cuts unpopular with voters, Republicans worry that such an approach would damage them politically in 2016 … ‘Let’s face it, these solutions will not be popular,’ [said] Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican whose seat is up in 2016…”

House GOP splits over defense spending, imperiling budget. Politico:“House Republicans who back a bigger defense budget are revolting against their leaders’ new proposal to use a separate war fund to add additional money to Pentagon coffers … Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio … vowed Tuesday to vote against the budget resolution and predicted many of the 69 House Republicans who joined him last month in signing a letter seeking a defense budget boost would do the same … a portion of the new war funding would be dependent on finding savings elsewhere in the federal budget [that may] never actually materialize …”

And Medicare “doc fix”. The Hill:“Some hard-liners in the GOP conference on Tuesday said they were infuriated to learn that Boehner had been talking for weeks with Democratic leaders about a plan to eliminate the automatic cuts to Medicare providers … The criticism doesn’t end with conservatives. Some liberal Democrats, as well as the AARP, are taking issue with the plan because it asks some seniors to pay more under Medicare.”

Permanent solution elusive, House may opt for temporary extension of highway trust fund. The Hill:“‘States have already notified the federal government that they will be delaying or postponing or canceling projects,’ [Rep. Peter] DeFazio [said]. ‘I expect the number of canceled or delayed projects will only grow over the coming weeks if we don’t have a short-term bill.’ … State and local transportation officials … told lawmakers Tuesday that another patch now would make it harder for them to plan long-range construction projects.”

Obama Ready To Fight GOP Budget

Obama to campaign against GOP budget in Cleveland today. The Hill:“Obama will deliver a speech at the City Club of Cleveland outlining a different approach, arguing that increased spending on domestic programs is needed to ensure that middle-class Americans see the benefits of economic growth … Obama [will] tout his budget’s emphasis on creating manufacturing jobs … The president’s $4 trillion budget plan includes a $350 million request to launch seven new manufacturing institutes next year … The House Republicans’ plan would slash $5.5 trillion in spending over the next decade…”

Rich get more tax breaks. NYT:“According to an analysis of $340 billion in tax subsidies for housing, education, retirement and savings in 2013, the top 1 percent received about $95 billion, more than the $90 billion received by the bottom 80 percent combined, said the Corporation for Enterprise Development…”

Breakfast Sides

“Rahm Emanuel’s Housing Agency Sitting On Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars With Massive Waitlist” scoops HuffPost:“Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s housing agency has been pulling hundreds of millions of dollars from a fund earmarked for its affordable housing program and using the money instead to boost its pension, purchase government debt and build up a staggering cash reserve. … The Chicago Housing Authority’s waitlist tops 280,000 … Some 15,000 families on the list are homeless.”

Obama quietly pursues global climate deal. Politico:“What he’s seeking out of the December U.N. climate talks in Paris would create the broadest, farthest-reaching deal in history, reworking environmental regulations for governments and corporations around the world and creating a framework for global green policy for decades. Republicans in Congress, sensing what he’s up to, are already saying no. And Obama’s already preparing to sign on without them.”

SEC chief backs rule on brokers to put clients first. NYT:“Registered investment advisers already fall under that higher bar, while brokers follow a looser ‘suitability’ standard that requires them only to mind customers’ needs and appetite for financial risk … The Obama administration backed a similar initiative by the Labor Department to create a higher standard for brokers who oversee retirement investments. A new standard from the commission would carry more weight, however, since it would encompass all brokers…”