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Weekly Trek: July 24, 2015

Weekly Trek

July 24, 2015

 

Top Political News

  • Jobless claims in U.S. fall to lowest level in four decades. WSJ
  • GOP spending chief: Beware long budget stopgaps. Politico
  • Then there were 16: John Kasich enters GOP fray. NYT

Transportation

  • Highway fund deadline nears with Congress nowhere close to deal. Bloomberg
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower didn’t like the way America’s interstate highway system turned out. The interstates, as he saw it, were supposed to create connections between different cities, not gouge paths through the middle of them. Politico
  • A senior House Democrat questions probe of U.S. airline capacity. WSJ
  • Survey: POLITICO’s transportation experts think we’ll pay for roads with a mileage scheme. They’re tired of “photo ops and gimmicks” instead of policy. And they like to walk. Politico
  • Foreign airlines want Open Skies but are closing to hunters. TheHill

 

Energy & Natural Resources

 

  • Outrage over EPA emissions regulations fades as states find fixes. WashPost
  • Drive Oregon gathers key industry influencers in Portland to discuss the future of electric vehicles. AltEnergyMag
  • Environmental groups join surge of lawsuits over EPA water rule. Oregonian
  • Drone Study Identifies Benefits for Farmers. AgWired

 

Labor

 

  • Push to lift minimum wage is now serious business. NYT
  • A new Tax Policy Center analysis shows that if Obamacare’s “Cadillac tax” on expensive health insurance plans is repealed, it won’t benefit low-income workers, belying claims by some proponents of the repeal.
  • DOL: Mislabeling workers as contractors is ‘payroll fraud’. TheHill
  • Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist to VP Biden, responds to critics of his take on the “Cadillac Tax”. WashPost

 

Foreign Affairs, Trade, & Defense

 

  • President Obama said the renewing the Export-Import Bank’s charter should be a “no-brainer” during a meeting with business owners at the White House on Wednesday. TIME
  • Battle lines drawn over Ex-Im renewal. Politico
  • Manhattan builders face clash with legislators over visa scheme. BusinessTimes
  • Experts Set Off Alarms Over McCain’s Defense Acquisition Overhaul. Roll Call
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