OVERNIGHT REGULATION: SOTU leaves small biz worried
January 21, 2015
January 21, 2015
Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of enforcement news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Wednesday evening here in Washington and we’re ready for a beer and bed after a late night last night covering the State of the Union Address. But before we take a break, here’s today’s biggest news and tomorrow’s most compelling storylines from the agencies and Congress.
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THE BIG STORY:
Small business groups wasted no time pushing back at President Obama’s call for tax reform following Tuesday’s State of the Union Address.
“As Americans, we don’t mind paying our fair share of taxes, as long as everybody else does, too,” Obama said in his speech to the nation. “But for far too long, lobbyists have rigged the tax code with loopholes that let some corporations pay nothing while others pay full freight.”
The president is proposing cutting the corporate tax rate and simplifying the tax code, closing loopholes. But Dan Danner, president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said Obama’s plan will do more harm than good, noting that most small businesses pay income not corporate tax.
“The President’s tax plan is fair in the way that hurricanes are fair,” he said. “They hurt everyone.
“A much better idea, and just as fair, would be to bring small business taxes into line with the biggest corporations and the richest individuals,” he said. “The goal should be to hurt fewer Americans, not more.”
In his speech, Obama also called for mandatory paid sick leave and pushed for a higher minimum wage. Republicans, though, say those measures will further burden small businesses and hurt job growth.
The president's penultimate State of the Union laid out his economic agenda for the year and set the stage for a new fight over taxes, with Obama calling for higher rates on the wealthy to fund middle-class tax cuts.
Democrats and Republicans are far apart on individual tax policy, but Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Wednesday that business tax reform is achievable.
Business groups though have been cautious.
The National Association of Manufacturers on Wednesday called Obama’s tax plan misguided.
“If America wants to attract business, it needs to offer competitive lower tax rates,” said Jay Timmons, NAM’s president and CEO.
ON TAP FOR THURSDAY:
The House will meet to vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which bans abortions after 20 weeks.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule for the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities. http://1.usa.gov/
The Health and Human Services Department and the Food and Drug Administration will meet to discuss new drugs to treat aspergillosis – an allergic reaction to aspergillus fungus - and mucormycosis – a fungal infection of the sinuses, brain or lungs. http://1.usa.gov/
TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY:
The Obama Administration will publish 153 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Thursday's edition of the Federal Register.
Here’s what to watch:
911: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed amending its 911 reliability certification rules. The new rules would require service providers to give public notice when major changes are made to multi-state 911 networks and services, and requires providers to get approval from the commission to discontinue an existing 911 service. http://bit.ly/1CgKJ1a
Whistleblowers: The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is considering revising its regulations to allow federal contractors, subcontractors and grantees to file whistleblower reports.http://bit.ly/1ys2euc
Blueline tilefish: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is considering a rule that would establish commercial and recreational catch limits for blueline tilefish found in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Ocean. http://bit.ly/1L0N7gJ
NEWS RIGHT NOW:
‘Know Before You Owe’: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is giving creditors more leeway in notifying clients of revised construction loan estimates by making some minor changes to its “Know Before You Owe” mortgage rules. http://bit.ly/1yLWiOy
Net neutrality: GOP commissioner Michael O'Rielly is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to pause its work on open Internet rules now that Congress is actively working toward a legislative solution to net neutrality. http://bit.ly/
Internet bills: Democrats are working on legislation in response to GOP leaders’ draft bill on net neutrality. http://bit.ly/
Transgender: President Obama recognized transgender people in his State of the Union address, drawing praise from LGBT rights advocates who said it was the first time the term had ever been used in the high-profile speech. http://bit.ly/1sXdaPN
Standard & Poor banned: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White banned the world's largest credit rater, Standard & Poor's, from a large part of the mortgage market for one year, USA Today reported. http://usat.ly/
Supreme Court protest: Protesters disrupted the proceedings of the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning to mark the fifth anniversary of a controversial decision that paved the way for greater corporate and union spending in election campaigns, The Washington Post reported.http://wapo.st/1zwHKSI
BY THE NUMBERS:
$320 BILLION: Amount Obama's tax hikes will raise to pay for middle-class cuts.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Our democracy works best when everyone’s voice is heard, and no one’s voice is drowned out. But five years ago, a Supreme Court ruling allowed big companies – including foreign corporations – to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections. The Citizens United decision was wrong, and it has caused real harm to our democracy.” - President Obama, in a statement Wednesday.
Check the Hill’s Regulation page (http://thehill.com/regulation
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