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CBS News: Harris backs ending taxes on tips, echoing Trump proposal
Vice President Kamala Harris is rolling out a new policy position, saying she'll fight to end taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers. It's a proposal her opponent, former President Donald Trump, has touted all summer in an effort to win over tipped workers. The president doesn't have the authority to unilaterally exempt tips from federal taxes — that's something Congress would need to pass in order for the president to sign. The Culinary Union, which represents 60,0000 hospitality workers in Nevada, praised Harris for the policy announcement. The Center for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Harris' proposal to exempt tip income from federal income taxes and raise the minimum wage would increase deficits by $100 billion to $200 billion over the next decade. The Trump proposal to nix federal taxes on tips could cost up to $250 billion, the CRFB said previously.
NOTUS: Harris and Trump’s Uncertain Battle Over Corporate Greed
There’s a battle over the future of corporate power undergirding the presidential election, and it’s not clear where Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris stands. Her close ties to Silicon Valley, including bringing Uber executive and Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West as a campaign advisor, could signal more openness to the historic, more lax relationship between the FTC and corporations, some Democrats worry. Progressives and consumer advocates have called on Harris to publicly signal support for Khan and the direction she has taken the FTC. As Harris has stayed relatively quiet on Khan herself — walking a tightrope between the moneyed Silicon Valley types and progressive Khan stans — Vance has emerged as a vocal supporter of Khan … though his support is rooted more in his concerns about censorship than the anti-corporate greed agenda of the left. Defenders think Khan will remain in charge under a President Harris — even if Harris is avoiding alienating certain donors by saying it on the campaign trail.
POLITICO: Trump says presidents have the right to influence Fed policy
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said presidents should be allowed to influence the Federal Reserve in setting interest rates, in what would be a major policy shift that would threaten the Fed’s historical independence from politics. Powell and other Fed officials have insisted that the Fed’s credibility — and the economy’s performance — hinge on its ability to operate without the direct influence of political actors. Powell was Trump’s choice for Fed chair, but he clashed repeatedly with the central banker throughout his first term. He used Twitter to repeatedly harangue Powell on rate decisions in 2018 and 2019, when the economy was buffeted by the effects of a trade war and geopolitical uncertainty.
Nextgov/FCW: How the White House cyber czar is working to breathe new life into America’s cybersecurity workforce
On a scorching August afternoon some 10 miles away from the DEF CON hacker conference situated in the heart of the Las Vegas strip, White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker … was getting a tour of a school. Coker’s visit to the school was one of several he and staff in the Office of the National Cyber Director have taken since he stepped into the role at the start of 2024. Among several initiatives listed in the office’s sweeping national cybersecurity strategy, the U.S. needs to shore up its cyber workforce to better prepare against what’s expected to be an accelerated rate of cyberattacks from hackers determined to cripple vital American infrastructure like banks, hospitals and government institutions. [The school] is a community college that’s become a paragon model of the Biden administration’s mission to get more diversified and skilled staff into cybersecurity jobs — both in the government and private sector. Coker has made clear that people who want to enter the cybersecurity workforce don’t need a standard four-year college degree to do so, opting instead to appeal toward two-year degrees that can be augmented with a suite of hard skills that young people can bring to the table upon graduating. This “exemplar” blueprint ... aligns with work that’s already begun back in Washington, with the White House converting work requirements in the government’s 2210 job series — composed of nearly 100,000 federal IT and cyber workers — to skills-based hiring. Congress has also followed suit with a slew of proposals to boost workforce outreach and training. Top brass military experts ... are pushing for similar research efforts at the university level, amid concerns that contemporary national security threats have become borderless and will challenge nations for the foreseeable future.
POLITICO: Rail, smaller trucking interests oppose push for heavier trucks on interstates ($)
A coalition of rail and smaller trucking interests along with some related unions are urging House leadership for both parties to oppose legislation that would allow heavier trucks to drive on interstate highways, citing concerns about the potential impacts on infrastructure. A long list of interests including the Teamsters, Association of American Railroads and more, sent a letter last week to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposing the bill, H.R. 3372, arguing that it would create a “decade-long experiment at the expense of our infrastructure.” The groups argued that local roadways would also be affected because the trucks would need to drive on them to pick up and drop off freight and to get fuel and other necessities. Bridges, in particular, would be at high risk, said the letter, which cited a Coalition Against Bigger Trucks analysis. The American Trucking Association’s website says it favors federal regulation of truck sizes and weights that promotes interstate commerce, and believes states should have greater flexibility in allowing “more productive vehicles” to operate. The bill would require DOT to launch a five-year pilot program allowing states to issue permits so six-axle trucks up to 91,000 pounds gross vehicle weight can operate on interstates. Current federal weight limits for the highway system are set at 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight per truck. States would need to apply to join the pilot program and, once enrolled, would have to submit annual reports to DOT on any accidents involving the heavier trucks, as well as their estimated gross vehicle weights and how many miles they had traveled on federal highways in the state.
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