House In No Hurry To Address Chinese Currency Manipulation

By Mike Hothi

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that he is not worried about the Chinese currency situation.

“I think its pretty dangerous to be moving legislation through the United States Congress forcing someone to deal with the value of their currency,” said Boehner, referring to actions yesterday in which the Senate came close to clearing a bill that would punish China for manipulating its own currency for economic gain.

The bill in question would allow the U.S. government to enact tariffs on countries that undervalue their currency. Some Republicans fear the bill may damage the U.S. economy.

While the Speaker expressed some concern over China’s currency manipulation, it appears that for now the bill is going nowhere in the House.

“This is well beyond what the Congress ought to be doing,” Boehner said.

Christie To Announce 2012 Intentions

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will address reporters at 1:00 pm today to officially announce whether or not he’ll run for president.

National Review reports: “New Jersey Republicans tell National Review Online that Gov. Chris Christie will not run for president. The governor, they predict, will make this clear at a press conference this afternoon.”

The New York Times’ Michael Shear also reports that the location of Christie’s press conference — the state capital of Trenton — could mean that he is not planning on running for the GOP nomination.

Obama's Statement On Pending Trade Agreements

President Barack Obama released a statement Monday announcing that he is submitting three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress.

“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports.  These agreements will support tens of thousands of jobs across the country for workers making products stamped with three proud words: Made in America.  We’ve worked hard to strengthen these agreements to get the best possible deal for American workers and businesses, and I call on Congress to pass them without delay, along with the bipartisan agreement on Trade Adjustment Assistance that will help workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition.”

South Carolina Moves Up Primary Date

A top South Carolina Republican Party official announced Monday that the state’s GOP primary will take place earlier than was previously planned.

The move comes in response to Florida’s decision to schedule its GOP primary on January 31 of next year.

In a statement, South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connell revealed the news that the Palmetto State will hold its primary on January 21.

“South Carolina Republicans have a thirty year track record of picking the eventual Republican Presidential nominee. We will continue that historic tradition on January 21, 2012,” Connell said.

The announcement likely means that Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada will all schedule their primaries in January, ahead of South Carolina and Florida.

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Senate Dems Put Jobs Plan On Hold For China Currency Bill

* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a procedural vote targeting China’s currency practices for Monday and Chuck Schumer expects it to get bipartisan support and sail to Obama’s desk

* Obama has been silent on it, says it’s reviewing the legislation

* Reid and Schumer say the best option for creating jobs is to level the US trade deficit with China - the bill’s important to senators from rust states which have lost a lot of jobs to China, and where Dems are trying to hold on to seats and the Senate majority

* Sherrod Brown Oh, Bob Casey Pa and Debbie Stabenow Mi have all been prominent supporters of the measure, which looks to pressure Beijing into letting the value of its currency rise - it’s believed China keeps its currency too low

* Bill would require US to treat currency manipulation as an anti competitive trade practice and take countervailing action to boost domestic companies, and set in motion govt studies of intnl monetary policy and currency exchange rates

* Republicans in the Senate are generally supportive — Jeff Sessions (Ala.) is a key ally of Senate Democrats on the issue

*** But Eric Cantor’s office says there are no plans to schedule a vote in the House - Cantor, Boehner and McCarthy, the Whip all voted against the measure last year

** Senate Dems could criticize the GOP House if the currency measure doesn’t move forward

*** Voters (6 in 10) want US officials to “get tough with China” but the conservative Club for Growth has weighed in on some Senate races where China could be an issue