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Political Bulletin
       
  
POLITICAL BULLETIN
All the Day's Political News From Newspapers, TV, Radio, and Magazines
 
Bulletin News
MEMORANDUM FOR SUBSCRIBERS

SUBJECT: TODAY'S POLITICAL NEWS

DATE: FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 - 8:00 AM
INSIDE
 

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."