IF THERE WAS ANY DOUBT: U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief executive Suzanne Clark did not mince words this morning when asked about Democrats' multitrillion-dollar reconciliation plans, which have become intricately linked with passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and begun to drive a wedge between the party's centrist and liberal wings. "I think it's really important that we separate out this really crucial infrastructure bill that does a lot of good work for Americans and America without raising taxes from this $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree that they're calling reconciliation," Scott said in an interview on CNBC, differentiating the bipartisan bill that the Chamber fiercely supported from the party-line package Democrats are assembling now. — Scott echoed concerns that the bill's price tag could trigger further inflation, calling the bill — which is expected to be funded by a series of tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, and include a major health care expansion — "a record tax increase on employers and investors" and a "takeover of our health care system." The Chamber boss pledged to form "the biggest coalition businesses ever put together" to work to defeat the reconciliation bill, which she characterized as a "real threat" to the country's economic recovery. RELIEF FOR MOTORCOACHES FINALLY FLOWS: "The Treasury Department has started disbursing the $2 billion allocated for motorcoach, school bus and passenger vessel operators enacted in a December 2020 Covid relief law intended to help the country weather the financial impacts of the pandemic," industry sources tell POLITICO's Sam Mintz. — "Disbursements have been delayed for months as Treasury worked on developing a complicated funding formula, a source of major frustration for its would-be beneficiaries," which had long lobbied for the funds. "It's also a relatively small sum of money to help bolster industries which have faced huge losses during the pandemic, losing billions in revenue and hundreds of thousands of jobs." — The industry is still operating at only around 50 percent capacity and Peter Pantuso , president of the American Bus Association, "said he's been getting calls for weeks from members worried about even more financial hits from the rapidly spreading Delta variant," noting that the roughly 20 percent of lost revenues intercity buses are receiving "'clearly helps, but more is needed to help build these guys a bridge to get out.' Pantuso said they'll take another crack at getting more relief in the budget reconciliation process, despite how long it took for members of Congress to pay attention the first time around." BIDEN, PHARMA SQUARE OFF OVER DRUG PRICES: "President Biden stepped up his battle over drug costs on Thursday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would let Medicare negotiate directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers and penalize drugmakers that increase prices faster than inflation," The Washington Post's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Amy Goldstein write. — The push "comes at a delicate time, as drugmakers have earned some of their best headlines in years for the lightning-fast development of coronavirus vaccines." But the president "had harsh words for the industry. 'Too many pharmaceutical companies don't use the profit nearly enough to innovate or on research,' he said. 'Too many companies use it to buy back their own stock, inflate their worth, drive up CEO salaries and compensation and find ways to box out the competition.'" — "In response to Biden's effort Thursday to focus attention on the issue, PhRMA issued a 'myth vs. fact' statement, contending that government-negotiated Medicare drug prices would be accompanied by 'a harsh reality: reduced access to prescription medicines and choices for patients.' PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl argued that Biden's proposals, by wringing money out of Medicare, would only hurt its beneficiaries and vulnerable patients. 'Many in Congress know that access to medicine is critical for millions of patients and Medicare is not a piggy bank to be raided to fund other, unrelated government programs,' Ubl said in a statement. 'This is a misguided approach.'" MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK: "Disclosure filings submitted last year — stating that Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was lobbied at least twice by a Buffalo firm representing Delaware North Companies — contained incorrect information, the firm maintained on Thursday. Delaware North Companies is the major Buffalo-based food, hospitality and gaming company where Hochul's husband, William Hochul, has been a high-ranking official since 2016," The Times Union's Chris Bragg reports. "Kathy Hochul, scheduled to assume the governorship Aug. 24, is already facing questions about whether her position running the state, and her husband's job, present a conflict-of-interest." But lobbying firm O'Donnell and Associates, which represents Delaware North, told the paper that disclosure filings showing O'Donnell and Associates lobbyists contacted Hochul's office last year were incorrect. — Elsewhere in Albany, "even after his resignation takes effect in less than two weeks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will still control the largest pot of campaign cash in New York politics, an $18 million war chest amassed in apparent preparation for a run at a fourth term next year." The New York Times' J. David Goodman breaks down what Cuomo can do with all that cash. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment