Washington News

At UNLV, Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rate Fix After finishing a fundraising swing through California, President Obama continued on to the swing state of Nevada on Thursday, where he pressed Congress to prevent the automatic doubling of the Stafford student loan interest rate. The President spoke before a crowd of about 2,500 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. An NBC News/Marist poll in late May showed the President leading Mitt Romney 48%-46% in the state.
Bloomberg News reports that in his speech, the President "said college costs are hindering middle-income families and ordered moves to ease the strain on those dealing with student debt." Obama "issued a presidential memorandum aimed at giving students and parents better access to tools to manage education loan payments and a program that caps payments based on discretionary income."
The Las Vegas Sun says the President used the speech to urge Congress "to hold down interest rates on federal student loans." The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the President noted that he and his wife finished paying off their own student loans just eight years ago. Obama added, "Now think about that -- I'm president of the United States! I need your help. You've got to tell Congress, 'Don't double my rate.'"
KTVN-TV Reno, NV reported that Obama said, "I know this an election year. That's not lost on me. But at this make or break moment for America's middle class, we can't afford to have Congress take five months off."
The New York Times reports that Obama's Nevada visit "was designated as an official appearance, as opposed to a campaign stop. But it again illustrated that everything is political in an election year." The President "campaigned not against Mitt Romney but against Republicans in Congress, saying they 'can't just sit on their hands' and ignore his job-creation proposals."
McConnell Says Obama Is "Delaying A Solution" The Washington Times says GOP congressional leaders "sent the president several proposals May 31 to pay for the $6 billion cost of subsidizing student loans. Ever since, administration officials have been virtually ignoring the offers." Senate Minority Leader McConnell said Thursday, "The President has yet to respond. One can only surmise that he's delaying a solution so that he can fit in a few more campaign rallies with college students while pretending someone other than himself is delaying action."

Bernanke Says Fed Is Prepared To Act, But Not At Present ABC World News reported, "Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a man who can move markets with a single word, spoke out today about the future of the economy. He said he is not ready to say that the economy is slowing down. Nor is he ready to trigger a new round of stimulus, though, he said, he will take action in the future if he needs to." Politico says Bernanke "didn't tip his hand to Congress" in his remarks.
The CBS Evening News reported, "With the economy clearly slowing," Bernanke "assured Congress the Fed stood ready to act." Fed Chairman Bernanke: "I wouldn't want to take anything off the table at this juncture."
The AP reports that while "slumping job growth has alarmed some economists who fear the US economy is in trouble," Bernanke "doesn't appear to be one of them." He "sketched a hopeful outlook" in testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, "and sent no signals that the Fed will take further steps soon to aid the economy."
USA Today reports Bernanke said he "expects the economy to grow moderately this year despite last week's disappointing report on May job growth." He "reiterated that more robust job gains likely would require stronger economic growth, adding that the Fed is prepared to provide further stimulus if the economic picture darkens."
The Washington Post says Bernanke "expressed worry...about the significant weakening in the nation's job market but gave no hint of whether he plans additional intervention by the Fed to spur more hiring."
Stock Rally Ends After Bernanke's Remarks The AP reports, "A rally in stocks on Wall Street mostly evaporated after investors didn't hear what they wanted to hear" from Bernanke. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 46.17 at 12,460.96, but it "had been up as much as 140" before Bernanke "gave no sign the Fed would help the economy in the immediate future despite signs of a slowdown."

Lawmakers Denounce Intelligence Leaks, Call For Action ABC World News reported "Republicans claim the White House has been leaking national security secrets to the press, to make President Obama look good." ABC added that on Thursday, "the top Democrats on the Congressional intelligence committees joined Republicans in denouncing the leaks" and that "Congressional hearings with tough questions for the Administration" will be the next step.
The AP reports, "Leaders of the Senate and House intelligence committees said Thursday they were drafting legislation to further limit who can access highly classified information and possibly impose new penalties for revealing it." House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R) said "his committee would formally investigate the leaks," while Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R) said that "it's our clear intention to put a stop to this." Currently there are "at least three investigations ongoing into disclosures of classified information."
Bloomberg News reports that "the CIA won't respond to a US House Intelligence Committee request for information about leaks of classified data." Asked to provide information about leaks regarding a stifled plan by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "the CIA told the committee the information wouldn't be provided because the matter is under investigation by the FBI." Rep. Rogers said that this response "shows the need for a formal, independent investigation." Lawmakers have also been angered by the fact that "President Barack Obama's administration briefed former counterterrorism officials who now work as TV analysts on the Yemen operation without first giving the congressional intelligence committees similar briefings."
The New York Times reports that "calls for a special counsel to investigate leaks of classified information by Obama administration officials gathered momentum on Thursday after the Justice Department's national security division partly recused itself from the inquiry."
The Hill reports on its website that "the White House on Thursday said it has no plans to appoint a special counsel to investigate national security leaks." White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "This is something that the president insists that his administration take all appropriate and necessary steps to prevent leaks of classified information or sensitive information that could risk our counterterrorism operations." Carney added "that 'any suggestion that the White House has leaked sensitive information for political purposes has no basis in fact and has been denied by the authors themselves.'"

Holder Clashes With House Republicans Over "Fast And Furious" Attorney General Eric Holder's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday generated heavy print media coverage, but was not mentioned on network newscasts. Coverage generally noted the adversarial give-and-take between Holder and House Republicans.
The AP reports that Holder "clashed Thursday with congressional Republicans seeking more information about a flawed gun-trafficking investigation in Arizona." The Attorney General "has faced off repeatedly with" House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa "and other Republicans in recent months over his handling of the aborted firearms investigation. Holder said the Justice Department has cooperated fully with congressional investigators and turned over 7,600 pages of material to Congress about the operation. 'Look, I don't want to hear about the 7,600,' snapped" Issa.
USA Today reports, "Lawmakers at a House Judiciary Committee hearing asked Holder what he knew in advance of public disclosure of a so-called gun-walking tactic in early 2011. As part of Operation Fast and Furious, agents were told to forego immediate arrests of suspected straw purchasers of guns and instead try to track the guns to higher-ups in gun-smuggling rings. Holder says he became aware of the gun-walking tactic at the same time as the public."
The Los Angeles Times reports, "One at a time," Issa "held up a thick wiretap application form and slammed it on his dais in the elaborate House Judiciary Committee hearing room. Each time" he "angrily read out loud the dates. ... All of them, he said, 'before Brian Terry was gunned down.' The packages were proof, Issa contended, that the" DOJ "and perhaps the Obama White House were aware of the flawed tactics in the ATF's Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation in Arizona that allowed more than 2,000 firearms to 'walk' into the hands of Mexican drug cartels." The Attorney General "said he had read the documents but told Issa, 'I disagree with the conclusion you've just reached.'"
The Washington Post reports that Issa "slammed onto the dais court-sealed wiretap applications in the case, which he said he had received from whistleblowers. He claimed that they showed that senior" DOJ "officials learned about the operation earlier than they had acknowledged. 'Have you and your attorneys produced internally the materials responsive to the subpoenas?' Issa asked. 'We believe that we have responded to the subpoenas,' Holder replied. 'No, Mr. Attorney General, you're not a good witness!' Issa shouted. 'A good witness answers the question asked.'"

Campaign News

Romney, RNC Outraise Obama, DNC For First Time The AP reports Mitt Romney outraised President Obama in May, "the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus." Romney and the RNC "raised more than $76 million last month," while Obama and the DNC raised $60 million. The AP says the numbers "illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary. ... 'We got beat,' Obama campaign manager Jim Messina wrote bluntly in an email to supporters, urging contributors to step up their giving."
The New York Times reports that "the financial comparisons underscore the concern that Mr. Obama's campaign has expressed to supporters over the last several months about the need for stepped-up financial contributions. Democrats have warned that despite the president's fund-raising prowess, he could be outspent during the coming months as Mr. Romney's spending is supplemented by historic levels of fund-raising by outside political groups, including 'super PACs.'"
The Washington Post says Romney's "monthly haul serves to undercut Obama's reputation as the nation's preeminent political fundraiser and signals growing confidence among Republicans" that Romney can win. USA Today notes, however, "Independent campaign-finance analysts say it is not unusual for a challenger to outraise an incumbent president at this stage in an election year." In 2004, Sen. John Kerry outraised President George W. Bush "during the spring only to have the Bush campaign overwhelm him through a combination of cash on hand and superior fundraising later in the year."
The Boston Globe reports, "Romney's May total is almost double the $40.1 million he raised in April, when he came within $3.5 million of matching Obama." The Los Angeles Times reported on its website, "The combined Republican organizations now have $107 million cash on hand, while Obama and the DNC have yet to release their total."
Axelrod: "We Anticipated This" CNN reported on its website that yesterday on CNN, Obama campaign senior strategist David Axelrod "said he's 'not surprised' his campaign" was outraised by Romney in May. Axelrod "attributed Romney's May haul of $77 million to the end of the Republican primary season, allowing the presumptive GOP nominee to shore up cash that was previously going to a crowded field of contenders." Said Axelrod, "You pick up all the money that you couldn't raise in the primary from Republicans who were supporting other candidates. So we anticipated this."
Obama, Romney Campaign Ads Largely Focused On Nine Battleground States The New York Times reports that the campaigns of Obama and Romney "and their allies are" focusing "mainly on nine swing states, bombarding them with" ads "in the earliest concentration of advertising in modern politics. ... Much of the heaviest spending has not been in big cities with large and expensive media markets, but in small and medium-size metropolitan areas in states with little individual weight in the Electoral College: Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in Iowa (6 votes); Colorado Springs and Grand Junction in Colorado (9 votes); Norfolk and Richmond in Virginia (13 votes)." The Times adds, "Given the volatility of the electorate, the map could easily expand or contract from the current nine - Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia - in the weeks and months ahead."

Mack Up Big In Florida's GOP Primary; Nelson Comfortably Leads All Rivals A Public Policy Polling (D) survey of 642 Florida voters taken May 31-June 4 shows Sen. Bill Nelson (D) comfortably leading all of his potential GOP challengers. According to the poll, Nelson leads Rep. Connie Mack 49%-36%, ex-Sen. George LeMieux 48%-35%, Mike McCalister 47%-43%, and ex-Rep. Dave Weldon 47%-31%. PPP noted that Mack "trailed by just 10 points in April, signaling that Nelson may be pulling away from his most threatening challenger." In the GOP race, the survey of 448 Florida Republican primary voters shows Mack leading with 34%, followed by LeMieux with 13%, McCalister with 10%, and Weldon with 6%.

North Dakota Senate Poll Shows Heitkamp Leading Berg 47%-46% KVLY-TV Fargo, ND reported on its website that a Mason-Dixon poll of 625 North Dakota voters taken June 2-6 "shows Democrat Heidi Heitkamp holding a very slim lead over likely Republican nominee Rick Berg" in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Kent Conrad (D). Heitkamp leads Berg 47%-46%, and leads Duane Sand 46%-38%. In the GOP primary, Berg leads Sand 73%-16%, according to the poll.

At Texas GOP Convention, Perry Touts Dewhurst, Drawing "Loud Boos" The AP reports, "A chorus of boos erupted Thursday at the Texas Republican Convention when Gov. Rick Perry repeated his support for US Senate candidate David Dewhurst - an endorsement that has drawn the ire of tea party backers who contend the lieutenant governor is too moderate." Dewhurst is battling ex-Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz (R), a Tea Party favorite, in the July 31 GOP runoff election. The AP notes that there were "sustained boos from a large chunk of the audience when the governor said, 'We need more conservative Texans in Washington D.C., including my friend David Dewhurst.'" The San Antonio Express-News reports that Perry's remarks "drew a gush of 'boos' and, perhaps, a drawn-out 'Cruz' - neither a good sign for the lieutenant governor."