Obama Says Expanding US Exports Essential To Job Creation
The
AP
reports that in
his
speech to the Export-Import Bank Annual Conference, President Obama
sought to "put some detail behind his lofty drive to double US exports over the
next five years, calling the effort imperative to putting people back to work.
But doubts remain about how many net jobs his trade agenda will create -- and
how he will get it done." The President "outlined steps to flesh out his trade
initiative. Among them: creating a mini-Cabinet of officials to focus on
exports, seeking more financing to support trade efforts, beefing up enforcement
of existing trade deals and pushing for the completion of stalled
ones."
The
Los
Angeles Times reports the President "launched a new effort to rebuild
the nation's long-term economic strength by sharply boosting exports, and he got
a lift from government data showing that the gap between what Americans sell
abroad and what they import narrowed unexpectedly in January." However, the new
trade report showed that, "while imports declined, US exports lost momentum as
well, slipping for the first time since last spring."
AFP
reports the Commerce Department "said the trade deficit shrank to a seasonally
adjusted 37.3 billion dollars, from a downwardly revised 39.9 billion dollars in
December." The figures "surprised most analysts who had expected the trade
shortfall would increase to 41.0 billion
dollars."
On its front page, the
Washington
Post says the President "acknowledged the formidable barriers to his
goal: doubts in Congress over new free-trade agreements, misaligned currencies
that make Chinese products cheaper on global markets, and continued weakness in
global demand, all problems that could dwarf efforts to promote US products and
services abroad." The
New
York Times says the President "framed his plan as a means of
jump-starting the sluggish
economy."
McClatchy
reports the President "strived anew to reassure Americans who are anxious about
losing jobs to overseas competitors that pay lower wages and lure away US
factories." The
Washington
Times calls it "an all-out effort by the US government to increase
exports to create more jobs amid record-high
unemployment."
Democrats Nearing Final Healthcare Reform Package
ABC World News reported on "the Democrats and their race to gather enough
votes to make it to the finish line on healthcare reform. The margin between
success and defeat is razor thin, so the leadership has been engaged in a kind
of persuasion decathlon." Senior House Democrats say Speaker Pelosi "won't call
a vote on the bill unless she believes she has enough yes votes to pass it. And
she's not there yet. Intense pressure tonight is on the 37 House Democrats who
voted no on the House healthcare bill in November and are now being pushed hard
to vote
yes."
The
Los
Angeles Times reports that on Thursday, Democratic leaders in
Washington searched for "intraparty agreements over abortion, federal insurance
subsidies, and other issues in a healthcare package they hope to send President
Obama before the end of the
month."
However, while "House and Senate Democratic leaders struggled Thursday to stitch
together pieces of a final healthcare bill," the
New York
Times reports, "rank-and-file Democrats demanded more information about
the contents of the bill and its cost." After a meeting of the House Democratic
Caucus Thursday, lawmakers said "they were not given the text of the latest
legislation drafted by House and Senate Democratic leaders and the White House
to address widespread concerns about the bill passed by the Senate in
December."
House Leaders May Abandon Compromise With Anti-Abortion Democrats
The
AP
reports, "House Democratic leaders Thursday abandoned a long struggle to strike
a compromise on abortion in their ranks, gambling that they can secure the
support" for President Obama's healthcare legislation "with showdown votes
looming as early as next week." The House Democrats are "all but counting out"
the lawmakers who were pushing for changes in the Senate bill's abortion
language.
In a story headlined "House Leaders Call Pro-Life Group's Bluff," the
Washington
Times reports House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman
"questioned whether all 12" Democrats who oppose the bill's abortion language
"are willing to vote against President Obama's chief legislative priority."
Politico
reports that in their "final push" for healthcare reform, House leaders "made
their task even more difficult by moving toward writing off anti-abortion
members who voted for the bill the first time in the
House."
Senate Parliamentarian Rules Obama Must Sign Healthcare Bill Before Reconciliation
The
Hill reports that the Senate parliamentarian "has delivered a blow to
Democrats" by ruling that President Obama "must sign the broader Senate
healthcare legislation before the upper chamber can take up changes demanded by
the House." The ruling "surprised even top House Democrats," who "acknowledged
Thursday that the parliamentarian's ruling was a setback but argued it does not
deliver a fatal
blow."
Bloomberg
News says House Democrats "are seeking assurance that the reconciliation
changes will become law. Lawmakers in the chamber originally sought to have the
Senate act first on reconciliation; then they wanted Obama to delay signing the
10-year, $875 billion Senate bill until the changes were
passed."
