Hoyer Has Low Expectations On Super Committee Success, Remains Hopeful

By Andrea Salazar

With a Nov. 23 deadline fast approaching, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that he has high hopes but low expectations for the president’s Joint Select Committee’s success in recommending at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings. 

“The human nature tends to procrastinate on tough decisions,” Hoyer told reporters at his weekly briefing. 

Despite the looming deadline, the Democratic Whip said his hope is derived from the fact that he hasn’t heard requests from members of the super committee to extend the deadline.

The Democratic Whip, along with 100 other representatives, sent the super committee a letter asking them to “go for the big deal,” find $4 trillion in savings and put both mandatory expenditures and revenues on the table.

“The stakes…are very much higher and, hopefully, that will compel us, even in light of the short time frame available to us, to come together and reach agreement and act in a manner that will be consistent with the American people’s desire that we face tough challenges and meet them,” Hoyer said.

Bipartisan Commission Tasked With Shaping Housing Recovery

By Adrianna McGinley

The Bipartisan Policy Center introduced a new Housing Commission led by former Cabinet members and senators that has been tasked with giving lawmakers policy suggestions for long-term housing wellness.

Former U.S. Senators Kit Bond, George Mitchell, and Mel Martinez; and Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary under President Clinton, will serve as co-chairs of the commission that was touted as an idea generator to solve the lingering housing issues plaguing the country. 

Mitchell jokingly said the bipartisan commission “does not have the luxury” of proposing solutions that will not be able to pass in Congress. Instead, Mitchell said he had high hopes that his new team will be able to “assist those in office by demonstrating that it’s possible to come up with a meaningful, practical solution that is deliberately bipartisan in nature.”

One notion that members of the commission came to consensus on was that the revival of the housing market and job creation are linked and should both be considered when designing a path to recovery. 

“I don’t think you can have a meaningful jobs recovery without improvement in the housing sector and I think the reverse is true as well,” Mitchell said.

Cisneros in addition emphasized the importance of addressing homelessness when debating housing policy.

“It’s an example of where we can’t allow other things to be eliminated because they involve real people and real pain,” Cisneros said.

He also acknowledged the role immigration reform could play in boosting the housing market saying he believes immigrant populations will provide the spark the housing market is looking for.

“I suspect that one of the really big surges in the market for housing going forward is going to be the immigrant population,” Cisneros said. “We’re blessed in this country to have that rich infusion of workers and talent and many of them completely believe in the American dream, their definition of the American dream is home ownership.”

Republicans Tout Massive Anti-Obamacare Petition

By Mike Hothi

A collection of Republicans from both chambers touted a massive online petition Wednesday as evidence that the American people are firmly in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

The petition, collected by RepealItNow.Org and presented to lawmakers this week, reportedly contains 1.6 million signatures.

Speaking during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) cited the outpouring of support as evidence that the health care reform law should be overturned immediately, before the Supreme Court weighs in.

“This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue,” DeMint, standing behind a stack of boxes containing the petition, said. “We cannot wait for the courts.”

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law last year and has been Conservatives’ go-to example for intrusive government under the Obama administration. The Supreme Court will likely determine the constitutionality of the law’s personal insurance mandate before the end of their current term. 

Bernanke: Economic Growth Is A Shared Responsibility

By Andrea Salazar

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out Tuesday that fiscal policy is not the only tool needed to fix the nation’s economic problems.

“Fostering healthy economic growth and job creation is a shared responsibility of all economic policymakers, in close cooperation with the private sector,” Bernanke said. “Fiscal policy is of critical importance…but a wide range of other policies - pertaining to labor, markets, housing, trade, taxation and regulation, for example - also have important roles to play.”

Bernanke told members of the Joint Economic Committee that “the recovery is close to faltering.”

Although the chairman would not comment on how, specifically, Congress should act, he did offer some advice.

“As you think about reducing our deficits and putting us on a sustainable path, it’s also important to think about how good is our tax system? How efficient, how effective is it? How equitable is it? How effective is our government spending? Is it producing the results we want. Is it supporting growth and recovery?”

Bernanke said that the financial crises in Europe, the housing market, the job market and consumer behavior are all factors that are hindering domestic growth.

“Consumer behavior has both reflected and contributed to the slow pace of recovery,” Bernanke said. “Households have been very cautious in their spending decisions, as declines in house prices and in the values of financial assets have reduced household wealth, and many families continue to struggle with high debt burdens or reduced access to credit.  

Bernanke’s complete testimony is available on the Federal Reserve website.

Cantor: American Jobs Act Is DOA

By Andrea Salazar

President Obama’s $447 billion jobs bill, as a package, is dead. 

That according to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who said Monday at his weekly briefing that the president’s “all or nothing approach is just unacceptable.”

Elements of that jobs bill are on the table, though. The House, over the next month, will pass bills to help small business owners, to make the 3 percent withholding provision permanent and to make free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, Cantor said.

“We’ve seen enough of the divide,” he said. “And that’s why I say that if nothing else, we should certainly focus on trying to put some wins on the board, stop magnifying the differences [and] try and focus on the commonalities.”

While emphasizing the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together, Cantor also pointed out that “we’ve got a terrible environment for entrepreneurs” and called for less government regulation on businesses. 

“Our country is being paralyzed by Washington over-regulation and a Washington-knows-best mentality coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,” the majority leader said.

The president, however, still expects Congress to pass his jobs bill.

“It’s been several weeks now since I sent up the American Jobs Act and, as I’ve been saying on the road, I want it back. I’m ready to sign it,” Obama said on Monday morning.