President Obama this week revealed a portion of his plan for paying for his "American Jobs Act," and while part of the plan is his call for the Joint Special Committee on Deficit Reduction to find cuts in excess of the $1.5 trillion now mandated, the President is calling for tax hits and reduced deductions. In response, House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) told the Economic Club of Washington in a September 15 speech that for his party and his chamber, "tax increases are not a viable option." Said Boehner, "It's a very simple equation. Tax increases destroy jobs." Boehner directed his remarks to the efforts of the joint deficit reduction committee, but another target was the White House. He also called for "broad tax reform" - and did not rule out closing some tax loopholes --- that includes lower tax rates for individuals and corporations. Offsets included in the President's bill - his proposals to help pay for the new spending - include the following:

• "High-income" wage earners would see a 28% cap on the value of all itemized deductions and "certain other tax expenditures". "High income" is defined as a married couple earning $250,000 a year or an individual earning $200,000 a year, and the new cap would begin January 1, 2013.
• The private and corporate jet tax depreciation schedule - currently five years - would be adjusted to seven years, making it the same as for commercial aircraft, and
• Eight separate tax breaks for oil and gas companies would be repealed.

Consideration of two immigration reform bills started but didn't finish in the House Judiciary Committee this week, and the panel said it will complete its action and mark up the bills next week. Both bills - one to mandate all U.S. companies use the on-line E-Verify database system to check on the citizenship status of current and prospective workers; the other to revamp the agriculture guest worker visa program - are the work of committee Chair Lamar Smith (R, TX) and both are opposed by ag interests and immigration reform advocates. Smith said he's "sensitive to the needs of agriculture" and added language to his E-Verify bill that gives ag companies three years to comply, and touted his guest worker bill, which creates a new visa status overseen by USDA, as the solution to ag needs. California members weren't impressed. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D, CA) called the legislation "smoke and mirrors," and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D, CA) said the E-Verify mandate would lead to failed crops and increased consumer costs. Rep. Dan Lungren (R, CA) who supports E-Verify, said the Smith bills have to be modified to meet ag needs or it won't be enacted, adding he'll likely offer alternative proposals next week.

With President Obama having signed 82 "major disaster" declarations this year, a nearly $7-billion disaster aid emergency spending package was narrowly approved by the Senate this week after rejecting two Republican amendments that would have forced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) to pay for the package by cutting spending elsewhere. The House now takes up the measure, but the offsets issue continues to plague the process. On a 62-37 vote - with 10 GOP members voting with Reid - the package provides an additional $5.1 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund. The remainder of the funding goes to disaster assistance and recovery funding, including $266 million for USDA disaster assistance programs.

SACRAMENTO - The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has awarded $204.9 million in Proposition 84 Implementation Grant Funding to 25 applicants. This is part of the first round of DWR's Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Implementation Grant Program.

DWR Director Mark Cowin approved the final funding awards on August 16. The grant funding will support approximately 190 individual projects, located throughout California, with an estimated total project cost of approximately $1 billion. IRWM Regions will use the funds to implement water supply, water quality, stormwater management, flood management, water conservation, watershed protection, ecosystem restoration, groundwater/conjunctive use, and water recycling projects.

Funding for the projects is available through Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, as amended 2010 (Proposition 84 IRWM). Proposition 84 was passed by California voters in November 2006, and authorized the Legislature to appropriate $1 billion for IRWM. Administered by DWR, Proposition 84 IRWM grants are awarded to local public agencies and non-profit organizations for projects and programs consistent with an adopted IRWM Plan that helps meet long-term water needs of the State.

To view the final funding awards funding, please visit the following Website:
http://www.water.ca.gov/irwm/integregio_implementation.cfm

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the activist group Public Citizen filed suit earlier this month against the Obama Administration to stop the agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to allow cross-border trucking access as required under NAFTA. The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, alleging the pilot program announced this summer will allow Mexican trucks onto U.S. highways under safety and operational rules that are not strict enough. One example the suit cites is the lack of a requirement for a Mexican trucker to post a compliance notice the truck meets U.S. federal safety standards. Said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa: "The last thing this country needs right now is a guest worker program on wheels." At the same time, the Department of Transportation released a report saying the cross-border agreement generally meets the requirements set forth by Congress for the effort, but also showed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has several actions to take before implementation.