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Energy
Poll: Voters back oil exports to U.S. trade partners
FUEL FIX
Jennifer Dlouhy
More than two thirds of U.S. voters support allowing American oil producers to sell crude to foreign trading partners, according to a poll released Tuesday. The telephone survey, conducted by FTI Consulting for a group of oil companies lobbying for the freedom to export crude, found that support for those foreign oil sales cut across party lines — results that counter previous polls suggesting the public is more skeptical of selling U.S. oil overseas.

White House doubles down: Climate change more dangerous than terrorism
WASHINGTON TIMES
Ben Wolfgang
Speaking to reporters, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Americans no longer face the same threat of attack that they did prior to Sept. 11, 2001, crediting the administration’s efforts to degrade organizations such as al Qaeda. Today, Mr. Earnest said, climate change is a greater threat for everyday Americans.

Scientists see no magic bullet for climate change
POLITICOPRO (Subscribe)
Alex Guillén
Forget about sucking carbon dioxide from the air or reflecting sunlight back into space, the National Academies of Science concluded in a report out Tuesday. When it comes to fighting climate change, the NAS says the best strategy is to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA Annexes Sweden
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Holman Jenkins
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has more than once criticized what he has called “the growing power of the administrative state,” by which he presumably means arbitrary power. Here’s such a case: Sweden’s Volvo last month appealed to the high court to overturn EPA penalties imposed on Volvo engines not built in America, not sold in America, unlikely ever to end up in America, and not subject in any way to the EPA’s statutory jurisdiction.

Technology
Republican FCC Commissioner: Public Is Being Misled About Net-Neutrality Plan
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
The Federal Communications Commission is misleading the public about its 332-page plan to regulate the Internet, a Republican member of the commission said Tuesday. The net-neutrality plan could in fact open the door to new fees and taxes, as well as government control over the prices that Internet providers charge their customers, Commissioner Ajit Pai told reporters.

The GOP game plan on net neutrality
POLITICOPRO (Subscribe)
Alex Byers
GOP leaders are mounting a multipronged attack on Chairman Tom Wheeler’s rules, which would tighten regulation of Internet service providers to ensure all Web traffic is treated equally. They’ve launched investigations into alleged White House interference in the FCC process, drafted an alternative and weaker net neutrality bill, complained the agency is drawing up plans behind closed doors — and even used net neutrality as a political rallying cry to supporters.

Republicans are about to ‘Benghazi all over again’ on net neutrality
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
The two-pronged assault on the administration will be louder and far more combative than anything previously seen from conservatives on [Net Neutrality], officials from inside and outside the agency say. “It’s going to be Benghazi all over again,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president of the consumer group Public Knowledge.

Tim Cook’s big day: Apple hits $700 billion
USA TODAY
Jessica Guynn
By any measure, it was an epic day for Tim Cook. On Tuesday he was sitting on stage being interviewed by Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn when Apple became the first U.S. company to close at more than $700 billion in market value.

Lawmakers Not Briefed About Creation of Obama’s $35 Million Cyber Agency
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Dustin Volz
House lawmakers were not briefed on the creation of a $35 million federal agency intended to bolster the nation’s cyberdefenses, a GOP congressional staffer told National Journal. The Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, announced publicly Tuesday, is designed to better coordinate digital intelligence about potential cyber threats among various federal agencies, such as the FBI and National Security Agency.

Finance
The Paratroopers of Crony Capitalism
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Richard Trumka
This federal bribery statute doesn’t apply until the executive is sworn into government office. But Congress ought to take a close look at why these government-service golden parachutes can skirt the spirit of this law, why they are proliferating, and what it means for our democracy. In the shorter term, if financial institutions think this is truly beneficial to shareholders, they should have no problem with more disclosure and transparency.

Lawmakers: Tackle currency manipulation or risk trade agenda
THE HILL
Vicki Needham
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is ramping up pressure on the Obama administration to address currency manipulation or risk the completion of its trade agenda. Nine House and Senate members introduced legislation on Tuesday that would punish countries that alter their exchange rates to gain a global trading advantage, hurting U.S. workers and damaging competitiveness.

Currency Warriors Get Boost at G-20 Meeting
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ian Talley and Brian Blackstone
The world’s top finance leaders on Tuesday in effect backed currency depreciation as a tool for promoting growth by signaling strong support for aggressive easy-money policies aimed at boosting the fragile global economy.

Federal Reserve Works to Cultivate Stronger Ties to GOP
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Kate Davidson
As the Federal Reserve prepares to begin raising interest rates later this year, it is readying for what may be another big challenge in 2015: the shift to a Republican-controlled Congress. The Fed’s only Republican governor, Jerome Powell, has begun making the central bank’s case to the GOP, in public and private, against proposals Fed officials say could limit its independence. And the bank has hired and promoted Republicans within its Congressional Liaison Office since the November midterm elections, when the GOP won enough seats to take control of the Senate from the Democrats and expand its House majority.

Politics
Obama to Seek War Power Bill From Congress, to Fight ISIS
NEW YORK TIMES
Jeremy W. Peters
The Obama administration has informed lawmakers that the president will seek a formal authorization to fight the Islamic State that would prohibit the use of “enduring offensive ground forces” and limit engagement to three years. The approach offers what the White House hopes is a middle way on Capitol Hill for those on the right and left who remain deeply skeptical of its plans to thwart extremist groups.

Jeb Bush’s Foreign Policy Seen Leaning Toward His Father’s
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Patrick O’Connor
Jeb Bush faces a unique dilemma as he builds a Republican presidential campaign—whether to follow in the foreign-policy footsteps of his father or his brother. One early indication suggests he is leaning toward his father’s more pragmatic and restrained philosophy. The former Florida governor is considering naming Meghan O’Sullivan as his top foreign-policy aide; several people familiar with the deliberations describe her as the front-runner for the post.

The Bobby Jindal Contradiction
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Josh Kraushaar
The Louisiana governor is one of the most accomplished candidates in the Republican field. But as a presidential candidate, he’s been shamelessly pandering to the base.

Harry Reid: ‘I’m running’ in 2016
POLITICO
Manu Raju
Sen. Harry Reid summoned dozens of staffers to the Senate’s Mansfield Room Tuesday and delivered a clear message: He’s running for reelection next year. The comments are in part aimed at putting to rest growing speculation inside the Senate that the 75-year-old Nevada Democrat — badly hurt from a painful injury to his right eye — would call it quits after nearly three decades in the chamber. The Senate minority leader faces what could be a difficult reelection race next year, plus his would-be successors are ready to run the Democratic Caucus the moment he calls it quits.

Public employee unions under fire again
POLITICO
Brian Mahoney
Three years after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker curtailed collective bargaining and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut pension benefits for public employees in the name of budget austerity, state and local politicians once again are moving to curtail public-sector unions. The most aggressive moves are coming from Illinois’ newly inaugurated Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Conflicts Mount Between State and Federal Courts
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Joe Palazzolo
When Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered probate judges to disregard a federal court order striking down the state’s ban on gay marriage, he said that federal courts have no dominion over state courts. His viewpoint isn’t fringe: On a range of issues, such as search and seizures, state courts across the nation increasingly have asserted their independence from federal courts, ignoring all sorts of opinions except for those from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Can the Postal Service cling to hope that people still want paper bills?
WASHINGTON POST
Josh Hicks
Many Americans still opt for paper billing despite a preference for online payments, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general’s office. The analysis, which covered three consecutive months of 2014 billing data for a major U.S. utility company, found that 91 percent of customers chose to receive their statements by mail, even though only one-quarter of them pay that way.

Federal Ratings of Colleges Tied to U.S. Aid Hit Bump
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Josh Mitchell and Douglas Belkin
President Barack Obama called in 2013 for the federal government to rate colleges based on affordability and quality by the start of the 2015-2016 school year, and said he ultimately wanted to limit federal aid to persistent laggards. The administration plans to release its ratings criteria this summer but appears to be running into major obstacles, both technical and political, in completing the system.