All Monitor Breakfast
Teachers union chief offers four steps to boost US results on PISA testAt a Monitor-hosted breakfast, Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers, said the US could look to other countries for ways to聽improve the lackluster performance on the PISA test.
Gov. Scott Walker's position on abortion: 'I don't obsess with it'Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2016, says the Republican Party needs to position itself as a party of optimism, and he doesn't let his anti-abortion position define him.
Obamacare will be 'extraordinarily popular' when exchanges work, governor saysVermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chair of the Democratic Governors 颅Association, weighs in on topics ranging from Obamacare to Chris Christie at a Monitor Breakfast.
Immigration reform 'comes later next year,' key Republican suggestsRep. Greg Walden, chief of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said at a Monitor Breakfast that he expects the House to pass immigration reform legislation piecemeal.
Scott Walker: Conservative views on social issues won't harm GOP's prospectsAt a Monitor-sponsored breakfast, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said it would be a mistake for Republican candidates for the White House聽to change their 'fundamental, core principles.'
2014 all about Obamacare, even if government shuts down, key Republican saysThe 2014 midterm elections will act as a referendum on Obamacare, regardless of what happens in the next budget showdown in January, says Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Obamacare not to blame for close Va. race, a top Democratic official saysThe Democrat in the Virginia governor's election won more narrowly than expected. But Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, doesn't attribute the tightness to voter unhappiness over Obamacare.
New poll finds grim political environment with worries for both partiesBattleground Poll finds that most voters say Washington gridlock is America鈥檚 most pressing problem, as approval ratings for Congress hit single digits and President Obama's ratings trend down.
US debt is hindering growth and burdening youth, Mitch Daniels warnsFormer Gov. Mitch Daniels, now Purdue's chief, says of American youth: 'This generation聽has a right to be as upset with its elders as any in history. They are going to inherit a mountain of debt.'
Chamber of Commerce sizing up Ted Cruz as it looks to hold House for GOPSome pro-business Republicans, concerned about the 2014 midterms, say Sen. Ted Cruz should 'sit down and shut up.' Chamber of Commerce chief Thomas Donohue says 'that might be one thing we could work on.'- Health-care law: 'Raw deal' for the young, says Purdue President Mitch DanielsPurdue's Mitch Daniels, the former Indiana governor, says at a Monitor Breakfast that health-care premiums for young people under Obamacare will rise beyond what is fair 'to subsidize the elders.'
- Could US Chamber of Commerce be counterweight to tea party?A report suggests that the US Chamber of Commerce could fund primary challenges to tea party conservatives in 2014. The chamber's chief avoided the question and spoke cautiously about Ted Cruz.
Trade policy must discourage 'race to bottom' for US workers, says trade repUS trade representative Michael Froman says Obama's trade policy includes trying to 'level the playing field' for US firms and workers. To that end, currency manipulation by other countries is one concern.
Government shutdown still all about Obamacare, hard-liner warnsMichael Needham of Heritage Action for America says that the core fight is Obamacare and any bid to end the government shutdown must deal with it. 'No strings attached' doesn't get it done.
EPA chief's goals: 'Explain the science' and obey the lawsAt a Monitor-hosted breakfast with reporters, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said she did not intend to be the 'energy policy person,' but someone who applied existing law.
As government shutdown nears, a top Democrat goads Boehner over leadershipRep. Chris Van Hollen on Monday said that House Speaker John Boehner has abdicated leadership on key budget issues 鈥� such as averting a government shutdown 鈥� to a tea party standard-bearer in the Senate: Ted Cruz.
Sequester puts US at a disadvantage on trade, ambassador saysAmbassador Michael Froman, the United States trade representative, says the sequester has kept the USTR from filling positions and sending officials to negotiations or trade enforcement actions.
Obama administration not waging war on coal, EPA chief saysCritics say new Obama administration rules to regulate power plants' greenhouse gas emissions will have 'devastating impacts' on the coal industry. But EPA chief Gina McCarthy disagrees.
'Breathing room' ahead on US budget deficit, says CBO ChiefThe federal budget deficit will shrink for the next several years, giving US 'some breathing room,' says CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf. A chief obstacle to deficit reduction? The public actually likes the benefits it gets, he says.
CBO director: falling deficit gives breathing room, not all-clear signalThe federal deficit is falling, but could begin to nudge upward again in 2015, according to CBO data. That means trimming the deficit is important but not urgent, the CBO chief said Wednesday.