“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
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| HIDDEN IN THE ATTIC |
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| VETERANS |
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| REPUBLICAN PARTY |
The word from the Pentagon: "Consistent with President Trump's commitment and
in concert with our Republic of Korea ally, the United States military has
suspended all planning for this August's defensive 'wargame' (Freedom
Guardian)," spokeswoman Dana White said Monday in a statement, adding,
"We are still coordinating additional actions. No decisions on subsequent
wargames have been made." [The D Brief, June 19, 2018]
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| JUDICIAL MATTERS |
ON SECOND THOUGHT: The
Massachusetts Supreme Court on Monday blocked a ballot question that would have
charged a surtax to annual income north of $1 million, in what The Boston Globe
called a "stinging rebuke" to liberal activists and unions. The court largely
accepted the argument of the business groups that challenged the proposal,
which said that the ballot question's multiple parts — it also included
spending on education and transportation — violated a state constitution that
said that all parts of a ballot measure must be "mutually dependent."
[POLITICO's Morning Tax, June 19, 2018]
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| READ |
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| U.S. MILITARY |
"Tariffs will harm American and Chinese businesses and
consumers, and will put economic growth in both countries at risk," Senate
Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a statement. "Ill-conceived
trade actions that weaken the American economy, alienate allies, and invite
retaliation against American businesses, farmers and ranchers, undermine our
nation's ability to successfully confront China's unfair trade policies."
[POLITICO's Morning Trade, June 18, 2018]
NDAA WATCH — CONGRESS TURNS TO CONFERENCE AS SENATE APPROVES
BILL, reports our colleague Connor O'Brien:
"The Senate on Monday easily passed a $716 billion defense policy bill
that aims to continue Republican-led efforts to build up the U.S. military but
could set up a clash with defense hawks in the House over how best to do it.
"The massive legislation would authorize more warships and
fighter jets, more troops and the largest pay raise for them in nearly a
decade, but in some cases it would still lag behind a House version passed in
May and the Pentagon's own designs.
"The vote was 85-10 to pass the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization
Act, H.R. 5515 (115). Next, the House and Senate
will work out the differences in their competing versions of the bill in a
joint conference committee."
The legislation is named for Senate Armed
Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), who remains at home in
Arizona. And though McCain, who is fighting cancer, wasn't present to lead
debate, his fellow senators say the bill nonetheless reflects his aggressive
approach to reining in Pentagon weapons programs and bureaucracy.
After Monday's vote, McCain said in a statement he was "deeply humbled"
by the "undeserved honor." [Politico’s Morning Defense, June 19,
2018]
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| IMMIGRATION |
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| U.S. AGRICULTURE |
INDIA REJECTS U.S. CLAIM OVER UNDERREPORTED FARM SUBSIDIES AT
WTO: India has rejected a U.S. claim that New Delhi is providing
inaccurate information to the World Trade Organization about its market price
supports for wheat and rice crops, according to a Geneva trade official.
During a WTO agriculture committee meeting on Tuesday, the U.S.
formally accused India of substantially underreporting its subsidies, a move it
called inconsistent with India's WTO obligations, the official said. In
response, India rejected the U.S. "counter notification," arguing
that New Delhi has done a better job on transparency than the U.S. and has
maintained a methodology that's consistent with WTO rules, the official added.
Last month, USTR said its own calculations demonstrated that India underreported
the subsidies for the two crops, causing New Delhi to exceed the domestic
support it's allowed to offer under the WTO membership rules. WTO members are
required to periodically notify the body of new subsidies and other domestic
support programs. [POLITICO's Morning Trade,
June 15, 2018]
And on the farm bill: Environmental Defense Fund Action and the National
Wildlife Federation Action Fund released the first phase of ads thanking Senate
Agriculture Committee members for maintaining a bipartisan farm bill process.
See the ads here.
[POLITICO's Morning Energy, June 18]
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| UNIONS |
GETTING READY — "Labor 'tightening their
belts' in preparation for Janus decision" by Campaign Pro's Maggie
Severns: "Public sector unions are readying for a
slump in membership and shrinking political budgets as they await a
near-certain decision against them in the Janus v. AFSCME case
before the Supreme Court. Unions have been bracing for months, and in some
cases years, for the decision, which could come as soon as Monday. The Supreme
Court deadlocked 4-4 in 2016 when it considered a similar case, regarding the
mandatory collection of fees from non-union members, and public sector unions
have tried to storm-proof in the years since, anticipating another challenge.
AFSCME has held close to a million one-on-one conversations between union
representatives and members about the value of union membership; the American
Federation of Teachers set aside money in a rainy-day fund in case it sees a
drop in revenue." Full story. [POLITICO's Morning Score June 15, 2018]
UAW MEMBERS SLAM TRUMP: President Trump
carried rust-belt states like Ohio and Michigan in 2016 partly by talking tough
on trade and promising to renegotiate NAFTA to bring jobs back to the United
States. But several United Auto Workers members said at their convention in
Detroit on Thursday that they don't consider Trump a friend to the working man.
"They're putting agendas in place that
are not building up the middle class," Jerry Hodge, a member of UAW Local
3520 in Cleveland, N.C., told POLITICO's Doug Palmer. "I think that those
tax breaks that he did for the corporations — billions and billions of dollars
for the corporations, as well as the wealthy — is only taking away what needs
to happen at the ground floor with education, fighting poverty and the
infrastructure."
Sean Yeats, a casino worker who is a member of
UAW Local 1005 in Cleveland, Ohio, said he was troubled by Trump's political
appointments and policy decisions. "Trump's clearly not in favor of unions
or workers' right because he's tried to destroy them throughout his time in
office," Yeats said. He compared Trump's promise to renegotiate NAFTA to a
"magic trick. 'Look at my hand, while I take something else away'."
Some auto workers thought that imposing a
25 percent tariff on car imports — as Trump appears to be considering — would
help the industry, but others weren't sure. "I don't really understand
whether the tariffs would work or not," said Steve Noffke, a member of UAW
Local 600 in Dearborn, Mich. "I do know there's already backlash and the economy's
so globalized when you start to mess in one area, I'm not so sure you don't get
bitten in the ass by the other area." [POLITICO's
Morning Shift, June 15, 2018]
THE UNION PERSPECTIVE: John O'Grady, the president of AFGE Council #238 that
represents more than 8,000 EPA workers, told reporters this week the
administration is "just beginning to start the real attacks on the
unions," citing recent executive orders weakening the influence of government unions and making
it easier for agencies to fire civil servants. Asked about Pruitt, O'Grady said
people within the agency are "disgusted " by the administrator, and the "almost daily"
drip of scandals that would get any one else fired. "It's discouraging
that the person that's supposed to be leading the agency that is dedicated to
protecting human health and the environment is a person that apparently lacks
basic ethical values," he said. "He is making a laughingstock out of
his own party as far as I'm concerned and certainly out of this country."
[POLITICO's Morning Energy, June 15, 2018]
Too soon for federal help: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters
Friday the agency has not decided on how it may assist farmers in the event of
greater trade losses. "We've been talking about mitigation for several
months," Perdue said. "But it's still too early to talk about
mechanisms or quantification of that." [POLITICO's Morning Agriculture,
June 18, 2018]
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