At an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Social Security Act, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted Republicans for trying to privatize the fund, saying the change would have resulted in the trust fund incurring a massive loss because of the recent downturn in the stock market.  

Black farmers have received a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that the Senate will vote Wednesday on a $1.15 billion settlement resolving long-standing discrimination claims.

Reid offered the commitment in a meeting Wednesday with John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, according to Boyd. He said would move a measure to appropriate funds for the settlement the black farmers reached with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Senate Republicans are pressing for inclusion of an amendment that would repeal a portion of the new healthcare law, aiming to reduce required tax filings by small businesses. 

Rep. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) wants a vote on this amendment that would nix a provision requiring any taxpayer with business income to issue 1099 forms to all vendors from whom they buy more than $600 of goods or services in any year. 

"This mandate has absolutely nothing — absolutely nothing — to do with improving the healthcare of this country, and it really should not be a part of that law or any other law, for that matter," Johanns said Wednesday on the floor. 

He is requesting a vote Wednesday on the amendment, which he said is offset. Senate Democrats and Republicans are still working on an agreement that would allow for several GOP amendments to the measure and a possible vote on the bill by the end of the day. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said he would try to amend the small-business jobs bill with a provision rectifying the federal government’s mishandling of Native Americans’ land trust accounts. 

Reid also indicated that he would address a long-standing discrimination case against black farmers.

“The single greatest driver of our long-term deficit is rising growth in healthcare costs,” the departing budget director said.

Lawmakers should emphasize cutting spending over increased taxes in addressing the nation’s long-term fiscal situation, a top Democrat said Wednesday.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, suggested that lawmakers should agree on a plan to bring down deficits and debt, but not implement it until the economy has recovered. 

“What we do on the revenue side has to be carefully done,” Conrad said during an appearance on CNBC. “The emphasis needs to be on the spending side of the equation. But anyone who thinks we’re going to get through this without raising revenue is not dealing with reality, I believe.”

Conrad made his comments alongside Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the top Republican on the Budget committee and a member, like Conrad, of President Obama’s fiscal commission. That commission has met several times this year and is set to make recommendations on how to address the nation’s fiscal situation in a Dec. 1 report. 

The North Dakota Democrat asserted, though, that whatever that panel might recommend — or any other agreement struck by lawmakers — should have a delay in implementation, since, Conrad argued, neither tax nor spending cuts were a good idea in a recession.

“I think what we need to do now is we need to agree on the plan to deal with spending reductions and additional revenue, but not implement those plans at the moment, when the economy remains weak,” he said. 

Politics remain a major obstacle to the kinds of reforms Conrad has proposed. A number of Republicans have made clear that they oppose any new taxes, and favor the Bush tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year. (Conrad has said he favors extending all those cuts temporarily.) Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have opposed the kinds of entitlement cuts or reforms that are expected to be part of a reform proposal. 

Senate Democrats and Republicans are still working Wednesday morning on an agreement to move forward on a bill that will encourage lending and provide tax breaks to small businesses.

Lawmakers are working on which Republican amendments will be offered to the measure, and could complete the measure as early as today, according to Senate aides. 

“Republicans have offered a number of ideas to improve the small-business bill and until now, those amendments have been obstructed by the other side, and along with them, the bill itself,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on the floor this morning.

“I’m encouraged to see the majority has changed its mind and now seems committed to staying on this bill, allowing votes on Republican better ideas, and working with us on something other than raising taxes, growing the debt or burying job creators in a sea of new regulations.”

The U.S. government’s unprecedented response to the financial crisis staved off another Great Depression, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Titled “How we ended the Great Recession,” the paper by Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi and Princeton professor Alan Blinder argues controversial policies enacted by the Bush and Obama administrations, the Federal Reserve and Congress increased GDP growth and saved 8.5 million jobs. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has urged executives of the nation’s four largest banks to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. 

In a letter Tuesday, Brown stated that a number of constituents have contacted his office saying banks are offering limited assistance in helping them restructure their home loans. The senator used the letter to call on banks to do more to help these individuals.