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Today’s briefing covers all the top news you may have missed over the past week.
Energy
Expect nonstop energy drama in 2015
POLITICO
Erica Martinson
It should all add up to one of the most ambitious years in energy and climate policy in decades, from a president who is free to act with no more elections to face, no further concern over protecting the Senate’s moderate Democrats, and not much chance of compromise on these issues with the GOP-held Congress. But Republicans, with the Senate under their control, vow to wield their spending and investigative powers to ensure none of this goes down easily.
Meth Heads in the White House
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
The EPA hasn’t revealed details about its looming methane rule, but at best it will be expensive and redundant. The greens are demanding that the agency mandate CH4 reductions and impose technology performance standards like pneumatic controllers, with the inevitable result of throttling back production. Cap and trade for cows would make more environmental sense.
Democrats to Push Clean Energy, Export Limits in Keystone XL Pipeline Bill
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Amy Harder
Senate Democrats will introduce a series of amendments countering the GOP push to pass legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Sunday. The amendments are unlikely to change the ultimate outcome of the bill, which is expected to pass and face a potential veto from President Barack Obama. But the Democratic strategy will add more political tension to what’s expected to be a partisan showdown between Mr. Obama and Republicans pushing to approve the pipeline as their first item of business this upcoming Congress.
Obama sets stage for debate over US oil export ban
FINANCIAL TIMES (Subscribe)
Barney Jopson
The Obama administration has set the stage for a fierce debate over a US ban on crude oil exports by allowing more overseas sales of lightly processed oil as it grapples with the consequences of cheap crude. Last week’s decision will push the US’s 40-year-old export ban up the political agenda as environmental concerns over shale production crosscut with rising tensions between US producers and Saudi Arabia over the falling price of oil.
Oil’s swoon creates the opening for a carbon tax
WASHINGTON POST
Larry Summers
The case for carbon taxes has long been compelling. With the recent steep fall in oil prices and associated declines in other energy prices, it has become overwhelming. There is room for debate about the size of the tax and about how the proceeds should be deployed. But there should be no doubt that, given the current zero tax rate on carbon, increased taxation would be desirable.
Gasoline-Tax Increase Finds Little Support
NEW YORK TIMES
Patricia Cohen
Now the average price of regular gas has dropped under $2.50 a gallon, but in the antitax environment that pervades Washington there is still scant support for increasing the gas tax to finance upkeep of the nation’s roadways and public transit systems. The no-win dynamic is frustrating to advocates who hoped falling gas prices might reinvigorate the idea of raising the gas tax, which they view as one of the simplest, fairest and most efficient ways to pay for transportation repairs and improvements.
Interior secretary criticizes fracking bans
THE HILL
Timothy Cama
“There is a lot of misinformation about fracking,” Jewell told KQED of New York’s decision last month to ban fracking. “I think that localized efforts or statewide efforts in many cases don’t understand the science behind it, and I think there needs to be more science.”
Heavyweight Response to Local Fracking Bans
NEW YORK TIMES
Jack Healy
While the details vary — some municipalities have voted for outright bans, and others for multiyear suspensions of fracking — energy companies in city after city argue that they have a right to extract underground minerals, and that the drilling bans amount to voter-approved theft. They also say state agencies, not individual communities, are the ones with the power to set oil and gas rules.
Technology
Republicans Lay Plans to Fight FCC’s Net-Neutrality Rules
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Gautham Nagesh
In the House, a Republican staffer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC, said lawmakers won’t know what steps they will take until they see the agency’s final plan. But all options are on the table, he said, including legislation to block reclassification and cutting the agency’s budget. The FCC is already straining to complete the many outstanding items on its docket with its current resources. Lawmakers also could try to implement a seldom-used law, the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to void major rules issued by federal agencies. Another option is legislation to preserve net neutrality without resorting to utility regulation. However, such legislation would be anathema to many Republicans who oppose any regulation of Internet access.
February vote planned for new Internet rules
THE HILL
Mario Trujillo
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote on a new slate of net neutrality rules in February. FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler told other members of the commission he would circulate a draft proposal of the rules in February and vote on it later that month, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the news.
FCC’s sleeper issues: 5 things to watch in 2015
POLITICOPRO (Subscribe)
Brooks Boliek
The agency is delving into a series of under-the-radar issues that will also have far-ranging consequences for the way Americans communicate in the digital age. Here are five things to watch at the FCC this year.
Tech’s 2015 wish list
THE HILL
Mario Trujillo
Patent reform … NSA reform … Internet Tax Freedom Act … Electronic Communications Privacy Act … Immigration reform
Protect the Internet: Keep the contract with ICANN
WASHINGTON POST
Editorial
Commerce still holds a trump card: It can renew its contract with ICANN. The Obama administration has said it will insist on adequate protections for freedom of speech before it lets go, and it must stick to that commitment. That could be hard: The Snowden revelations have put pressure on the Obama administration. Yet the free and open Internet has thrived under existing arrangements. The United States should not allow other governments to use the leaks as a pretext to gain control of Internet governance.
Finance
Why New Credit Cards May Fall Short on Fraud Control
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Robin Sidel
This year, firms ranging from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to Discover Financial Services Inc. are expected to roll out more than a half-billion new credit cards embedded with computer chips that create a unique code for each transaction, making counterfeiting much more difficult. In a retreat for the industry, however, the new cards don’t use some technology that could prevent fraud if a card is lost or stolen.
Broken promise? Obama’s America better for Wall Street than Main Street, stats show
WASHINGTON TIMES
Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
A stream of statistics published over the holidays — while Mr. Obama vacationed in Hawaii — paints a clear picture of the gap that has emerged between the audacious promise of his first campaign and the economy’s performance since. Six years into his agenda, Wall Street is roaring higher than ever, with the Dow topping out over 18,000 for the first time recently and the top 10 percent of wealthy Americans amassing wealth at a double-digit pace. But on Main Street large numbers of Americans have dropped from the job market, middle-class wages are stagnant, and even larger numbers of Americans are now dependent on some form of government subsidy for disability, jobless benefits or food stamps.
The Elizabeth Warren Veto
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
You can forgive Antonio Weiss for wondering where he went wrong as a good Democrat. He supports higher taxes—more than $1 trillion in new revenue over 10 years for starters. He favors higher tax rates on capital gains and dividends, and he thinks personal tax rates on the wealthy can rise substantially with little damage to the economy. He also supports the Dodd-Frank law, including the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau it created. Despite adhering to such liberal Democratic orthodoxy, Mr. Weiss now finds himself the target of a campaign by Senator Elizabeth Warren to block his nomination to become President Obama ’s Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance. We doubt this is what Mr. Weiss anticipated when he was using his status and riches on Wall Street to bundle campaign cash for Mr. Obama.
CFPB Sets Sights on Payday Loans
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Alan Zibel
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is exploring ways to require payday lenders to make sure customers can pay back their loans, according to people familiar with the matter. The bureau is seeking to establish the first federal regulations for the $46 billion industry, which has historically been overseen by states.
Betting on Default
NEW YORK TIMES
Editorial
Speculative activity is likely to increase. Last month, Congress repealed an anti-speculation provision of Dodd-Frank that would have prevented federally insured banks from conducting several types of swap transactions. In addition, the Federal Reserve recently gave the banks two extra years to meet a Dodd-Frank provision requiring them to sell their investments in private equity funds and hedge funds. The next crisis will differ from the last crisis in its origins and effects. But it is probably safe to assume that sooner or later, poorly regulated credit derivatives will again play a role in damaging the economy.
2015 will be a make-or-break year for Bitcoin
VOX
Timothy B. Lee
In the past, fluctuations in Bitcoin’s value were largely driven by media attention, which in turn drove a speculative boom. People became convinced that the Bitcoin network would be big and important in the future, and so they bought bitcoins in hopes of cashing in on that expected future growth. But that kind of speculative cycle can’t drive the Bitcoin economy forever. Sooner or later, the Bitcoin community is going to have to find applications that appeal to ordinary people — like making everyday purchases or sending money around the globe
Politics
New Senate majority leader’s main goal for GOP: Don’t be scary
WASHINGTON POST
Paul Kane
The incoming Senate majority leader has set a political goal for the next two years of overseeing a functioning, reasonable majority on Capitol Hill that scores some measured conservative wins, particularly against environmental regulations, but probably not big victories such as a full repeal of the health-care law. McConnell’s priority is to set the stage for a potential GOP presidential victory in 2016. “I don’t want the American people to think that if they add a Republican president to a Republican Congress, that’s going to be a scary outcome. I want the American people to be comfortable with the fact that the Republican House and Senate is a responsible, right-of-center, governing majority,” the Kentucky Republican said in a broad interview just before Christmas in his Capitol office.
Cruz’s dilemma
WASHINGTON POST
Jennifer Rubin
Moderate Republicans and business interests find Cruz wholly irresponsible, if not obnoxious. His gender gap is large, given that his brand of firebrand politics tends not to appeal to women. And he is offering very little in the way of substance for middle- and lower-class voters who are looking for more than red meat. Even conservatives who appreciate his style of slash-and-burn politics may seriously doubt whether he is electable.
Republicans Say They’ll Act Fast to Push Agenda
NEW YORK TIMES
Carl Hulse
In taking control of Congress on Tuesday, Republicans say they will quickly advance energy and health care legislation that stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate as they try to make good on claims, and address doubts, that they can govern effectively. “We have sort of laid down the marker, and we need to follow through,” said Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Republican, as the 114th Congress prepared to convene.
The Obama-McConnell Dance Begins
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Fred Barnes
The harder GOP tactics will stir slugfests. Mr. McConnell intends to use what he calls “the single best tool we have” to cut spending and curb Obama policies. So-called riders will be attached to appropriations bills that Democrats may be eager to pass. One example: defining full-time work as 40 hours a week, instead of the current 30 hours, when ObamaCare kicks in and an employer is required to provide health insurance. To kill this rider, would the president veto a bill that funds student loans? Maybe not.
Republican contest for 2016 race is heating up quickly
WASHINGTON POST
Chris Cillizza
Less than two months after the 2014 elections, the 2016 Republican presidential race is taking clear shape — with several major players moving quickly to carve out their space (and maybe keep others from carving it up) in the contest.
Top Iowa Democrats Slow to Rally Around Hillary Clinton
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Reid J. Epstein and Peter Nicholas
Iowa Democratic leaders say they are troubled by the prospect that Hillary Clinton could win the state’s 2016 presidential caucuses without a serious challenge, a view primarily rooted in a desire for a more liberal candidate or at least a robust debate about the party’s policies and direction. Interviews with more than half of Democratic chiefs in Iowa’s 99 counties show a state party leadership so far reluctant to coalesce behind Mrs. Clinton. County Democratic officials also voiced qualms about Mrs. Clinton’s ability to win a general election and her fundraising ties to Wall Street firms and corporations, which remain a target of liberal ire.
Why Bob Corker is the senator to watch in 2015
WASHINGTON POST
George Will
Standing at the intersection of three foreign policy crises and a perennial constitutional tension, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), incoming chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, may be the senator who matters most in 2015. Without an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) tailored to novel circumstances, the United States is waging war against an entity without precedent (the Islamic State). Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons during negotiations that should involve congressional duties. And Russia is revising European borders by force and, like Iran, is the object of a U.S. experiment testing the power of economic sanctions to modify a dictator’s behavior. As Congress weighs its foreign policy role regarding these three matters, Corker treads the contested terrain between deference to presidential primacy in foreign policy and the need for collective wisdom and shared responsibility.
Democrats’ 2016 Senate Hopes Turn on Three Candidates
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Alex Roarty
In North Carolina, Democrats are publicly and privately pleading with outgoing Sen. Kay Hagan to run again. In Wisconsin, party insiders are buzzing at the prospects of former Sen. Russell Feingold returning to action. And in New Hampshire, Democratic leaders are declaring that Gov. Maggie Hassan is their first-choice nominee for the Senate.
Gohmert set to challenge Boehner
POLITICO
Lauren French
Gohmert’s bid is unlikely to derail Boehner’s bid to serve a third term as speaker. Gohmert doesn’t enjoy broad support from within the Republican caucus, but the entrance of the Texas Republican and Yoho could force the vote — scheduled for Tuesday — to a second ballot, exposing the deep mistrust some conservatives have with Boehner following contentious debates on immigration and the budget.
Doctors face big cuts in Medicaid pay
USA TODAY
Phil Galewitz
Andy Pasternak, a family doctor in Reno, saw more than 100 new Medicaid patients last year after the state expanded the insurance program for the poor under the Affordable Care Act. But he won’t be taking any new ones this year. That’s because the law’s two-year pay raise for primary care doctors like him who see Medicaid patients expired Wednesday, resulting in fee reductions of 43% on average across the country, according to the non-partisan Urban Institute.
