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OVERNIGHT MONEY: Obama takes State of the Union message on the road
WEDNESDAY'S BIG STORY:
Mornings on horseback: In recent speeches, President Obama has evoked the populist spirit of Teddy Roosevelt — focusing on a New Nationalism where the government protects the middle class from harm and ensures the economy provides a fair deal for all.
On Tuesday night, Obama will deliver this third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, focusing on the nation's sluggish economic recovery that laid out his policy ideas, including improving education and increasing job creation, essentially launching the start of his reelection campaign as he seeks a second term.
"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama is expected to say tonight. "Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.”
Meanwhile House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) took a swipe at Obama pre-speech, saying he expects a "rerun of what we’ve heard over the last three years: more spending, higher taxes and more regulation."
Much of Obama’s State of the Union address will be centered around building a solid economy that is founded on manufacturing, skills and education, and he will take that message on a three-day tour — by 747, not horse — through Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan, reviewing the specifics of his annual address beginning Wednesday.
"No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt and phony financial profits," he will say on Tuesday night.
Then he will hop a plane to Phoenix for a speech at the Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., before stopping for the night in Las Vegas, the so-called Entertainment Capital of the World, in a state hit hard by the housing crisis.
The populists of Roosevelt's day backed sweeping federal intervention to offset the economic depression — Obama had his 2009 stimulus — while curtailing corporate abuses. The White House is still working out details on the Dodd-Frank financial law.
“As long as I’m president, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum," Obama will say.
"But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place," he will tell the nation.
"Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last — an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values.”
Obama won't be the only member of his administration traveling.
Commerce Secretary John Bryson also will be on the road Wednesday, urging more job creation in the manufacturing sector during a speech in Norfolk, Va.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will head to North Carolina where he will talk about the economy at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR
Central bank chat: The Federal Reserve's policy-making arm — the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — will wrap up its two-day meeting tomorrow, at which point it will issue that always-in-demand statement on how it plans to steer the nation's monetary policy about the economy. However, there's a slight wrinkle this time around, as Wednesday's statement will be accompanied for the first time by interest rate projections by the FOMC members. In an effort to further inform the market about its thinking, the Fed is including a pair of documents — one will show what year Fed officials think interest rates should rise, and where they think interest rates will hover in the upcoming years.
If that weren't enough to whet your palette, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will follow up that statement with a press conference to discuss the state of the economy.
Dodd-Frank dabbling: The House Agriculture Committee will be marking up a handful of bills that would alter the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. In particular, the quintet of bills is aimed at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and its new-found efforts to regulate the derivatives marketplace. The previously unregulated sector of the market is seen to be a major culprit in the financial crisis, but Republicans are concerned new regulations could unfairly pinch businesses and farmers in an effort to slow down Wall Street speculation.
Whoa on those budget reforms: The House Budget Committee won't mark up any more budget reform bills this week. The committee had intended to take up a bill making the annual budget resolution legally binding, but that bill has been put on ice until later in the year. The committee will be turning to preparation of its budget resolution, a measure likely to closely mirror last year's Path to Prosperity budget that fundamentally transformed Medicare into a private system.
The measure was amended by the Rules Committee this week. Some members of both parties oppose it because they argue it gives the president, who would be able to veto the budget, too much new power over spending.
Pension plan: The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on reforming the federal pension system. President Obama is expected to suggest proposed cuts to pension contributions as part of his 2013 budget as a way to avoid automatic cuts triggered by the failure of the deficit supercommittee. Charles "Chuck" Grimes, chief operating officer of the Office of Personnel Management, will testify. The hearing also will encompass ways to reform postal worker pensions to save the post office from bankruptcy.
Ready for a retreat: The House Democratic Caucus heads off on Wednesday morning for its three-day issues conference, set to last through Friday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and House Chaplain Rev. Patrick Conroy deliver opening remarks on "Reigniting the American Dream." Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) also will update members on issues. Democratic political consultant Paul Begala also is expected to moderate a panel on jobs and other issues facing the nation.
A budget in bloom this spring: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that his panel would mark up a budget this year, likely in March — a promise he made to the committee's ranking member, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), as part of last summer's debt-ceiling deal.
But with Republicans hammering Senate Democrats for not passing a budget for a full 1,000 days, Conrad essentially suggested that the mark-up would not matter much and that he was unsure whether the panel's budget would even reach the chamber floor.
Democrats have argued throughout Tuesday that the Senate has, effectively, already passed a 2013 budget: last year's debt-ceiling deal set spending levels for this year, and capped discretionary spending for a decade.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
MBA Mortgage Index: The Mortgage Bankers Association releases its weekly report on mortgage application volume.
Pending Home Sales: The National Association of Realtors releases its index of home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings.
FHFA Housing Price Index: The Federal Housing Finance Agency will release its measure of prices for November on single-family homes.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
— Consumer bureau chief wages charm offensive on Republican critics
— Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac reform bill might have shot at enactment
— Poll: GOP, Dems divided on taxes
— House Dems defend Cordray in advance of Capitol Hill hearing
— GOP lawmakers mark 1,000 days since last Senate budget
— Conrad admonishes GOP for claiming Congress hasn't passed budget in 1,000 days
— Senate Democrats claim they did pass a budget
— European recession expected to slow global growth
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