Economics/Trade

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) objected to proceeding to a plan from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to replace the 2013 sequester cuts.

“What is happening in the Senate is phenomenal,” Coburn said Tuesday. “We’re going to discomfort and inconvenience thousands of America people for a political point because we cannot cut any spending in Washington.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he would oppose the online sales tax bill being debated in the Senate.

“For me, the issue boils down to that fact that the legislation we’re considering would create an enormous compliance burden for a lot of small businesses out there, making them tax collectors for thousands of far-away jurisdictions,” McConnell said. “Just as importantly, this legislation would increase the tax burden on Kentuckians.”

The fight on who is to blame for sequestration continued on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) blamed President Obama and his administration for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) furloughs that will cause long delays for travelers at airports this summer.

The Senate voted 74-20 on Monday to end debate on proceeding to a bill that would allow states to collect online sales tax.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Monday that the online sales tax bill would create a new tax.

Wyden said the Marketplace Fairness Act being considered by the Senate this week, leads America down a “dark path.”

“This will be seen as a new tax,” Wyden said. “This is money that is going to come out of the pockets of American families … an additional $22 billion in sales taxes they have never had to pay before.”

Dozens of House Democrats on Monday introduced a resolution that rejected President Obama's proposal for calculating growth in Social Security benefits.

The resolution, H.Con.Res. 34, was sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and co-sponsored by 81 other Democrats. It says it is the sense of Congress that "the Chained Consumer Price Index should not be used to calculate cost of living adjustments for Social Security benefits."

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said Friday that some senators are “trying to muscle” through a “disastrous” bill that would allow states to collect online sales taxes.

"Supporters of this online sales tax bill are trying to muscle it through before senators find out how disastrous it would be for businesses in their states," Ayotte said. "I will fight this power grab every step of the way to protect small online businesses in New Hampshire and across the nation."

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he would object to reducing debate time on the Senate’s next legislative matter, the Marketplace Fairness Act.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed cloture on a motion to proceed to S. 743, a bill that would allow states to collect online sales taxes. The Senate is likely to begin votes on that bill next week, but Wyden said he’d oppose the measure.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Thursday again pressed Republicans to drop plans for passing a bill that would prioritize federal payments in the event that the debt ceiling is reached.

Earlier this month, the chamber's majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), said the GOP would soon move a bill that would require the federal government to prioritize interest service payments on the national debt if the debt ceiling is hit. The goal of the bill would be to ensure that the U.S. stays current on its interest payments, even though prioritizing federal payments this way could mean temporary cuts to other programs.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) assured Democrats on Friday that Republicans would bring forward a bill to ensure the government does not default on its debt.

"We do intend to consider a bill that will ensure we meet our legal obligations and do not default on our debt, which I'm sure the gentleman agrees with me … is the responsible thing to do," Cantor said on the House floor in a discussion with Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).