In a stunning upset, the Democrats beat the Republicans 13-5 in the 49th annual Roll Call Congressional baseball game. The game was held on Tuesday at Nationals Park.
To read a Roll Call article, please click here:
http://www.rollcall.com/news/47942-1.html
Jim Sutliff
Senator Robert Byrd passed away at the age of 92. Having served 51 years, the Democrat from West Virginia was the longest serving Senator in American history. He became the longest serving Senator on June 12th, 2006. Byrd was the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee during Democratic majorities between 1989 and 2009.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-28/robert-byrd-longest-serving-u-s-senator-dies-at-92.html
Jim Sutliff
The House and Senate
The House and Senate conference reached an agreement earlier today on financial reform that dilutes the original bill. This came as great news for the banking sector that was concerned about a number of provisions in the bill. The measure still requires approval of the full Congress but that is expected.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Three Senators are pitching the idea of a billionaire surtax that would raise the levy to 65% of their estate. The three Senators are Sanders of Vermont, Harkin of Iowa, and Whitehouse of Rhode Island. The propsed tax would apply to estates over $500 million dollars.
To read a related Forbes article, please click here:
Jim Sutliff
Roll Call Policy Briefings are an invaluable resource that provides in depth information on specific topics. The transportation and energy report states that it looks at roads, rails, and alternative fuels.
To visit the Transportation & Energy Briefing, please click here:
http://www.rollcall.com/policybriefings/transportationenergy.html
Jim Sutliff
New Jersey Democrats are expected to vote Monday on the millionaire tax. The millionaire tax has already faced a veto from Governor Chris Christie and is not expected to have enough votes for an override. The tax would be for 10.75 percent and would effect 16,000 New Jersey residents. Democrats would need 8 more votes to get to the 54 number required to override a veto.
To read a related Yahoo! News article, please click here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100620/us_nm/us_newjersey_millionaires
Jim Sutliff
There has been a great deal of discussion on the stimulus and how it relates to job creation. A recent focus has been on Ohio where the topic has been raised at a number of events. Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor, is quick to point out that 17,000 jobs may have been created but 16,800 of them were government jobs.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aIvL98Q.PFkU
Jim Sutliff
Congressional Quarterly has an article by Stuart Rothenberg that addresses the anti-incumbent hype in the election news coverage. Rothenberg does an exceptional job breaking down recent high profile elections. His article provides analysis that can be enjoyed by all readers and not just political junkies.
To view the CQ Politics article, please click here:
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003684719&topic=Rothenberg
Jim Sutliff
Recently. there has been a great deal of attention on lobbying efforts related to the financial reform bill. Closed door meetings are reported as playing a major role in attempts to change the legislation. Televised conference hearings are one of the few ways that the public can get information on this issue.
To read a related Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65D40R20100614
James Sutliff
Reuters has some background on the financial reform conference committee. The committee has 12 Senators and 31 House member and a party breakdown weighted towards the Democrats. The Senate portion has seven Democrats and five Republicans and the House contigency is made up of 20 Democrats and only 11 Republicans.
To read the Reuters article, please click here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65D4FW20100614
Jim Sutliff
The administration is pushing for a jobs bill which will require almost $50 billion dollars. Increased taxes on buyout funds managers and an increased levy on oil companies are part of the plan.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0nxraWvl33w&pos=8
Jim Sutliff
Congressional Quarterly politics is rating the Nevada Senate race between Reid and Angle as a toss-up. Democratic majority leader Harry Reid trails Republican Sharon Angle by double digits in recent polls. The Angle primary win over Sue Lowden benefits the Democrats but they are still in danger of losing the seat.
To read a CQ Politics article, please click here:
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003680861
Jim Sutliff
Real Clear Politics has news, analysis and opinions about politics and world events. RCP is a great recource for information on politics and elections. Real Clear Politics has an Election 2010 breakdown which offers multiple polls on several key races.
To visit the Real Clear Politics site, please click here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
Jim Sutliff
Meg Whitman wins the Republican Gubernatorial nomination in Califonia. Whitman is the former CEO of eBay and will face Jerry Brown in the general election in November. This is expected to be one of the highest spending campaigns for Governor in history. Lower taxes and environmental issues are key points in this race.
To read a Congressional Quarterly Politics article, please click here:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/06/whitman-wins-in-california.html
Jim Sutliff
It is expected that the Senate will lower the House tax increase on fund managers. The increase will still be substantial with assets held longer than seven years being taxed at 33% and shorter than that taxed at 31%. Carried interest has been a heated debate and the current tax rate for assets held over one year is only 15%.
To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAhjvg88AyuA&pos=9
Jim Sutliff
