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The situation for the day before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, 2016, with voter turnout playing a key part in the election primary.

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National and president Biden's priorities on climate change, on infrastructure, on workers and families, on renewable energy, and on regaining world leadership in science and technology, are preserved with the passage of the US debt ceiling agreement with bipartisan support in the Senate. Of the 63 Senators supporting it, 17 were Republicans including the Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell.

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Did Speaker McCarthy make too many of the wrong concessions to get elected? Should McCarthy have stepped aside so that concessions that could limit defense spending to face up to Russian threats were not given to 20 Republican holdouts who extracted the concessions. This is what happened says the Editorial Board of the WSJ, and does not bode well for Republicans or the country.

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Greg Ip of the WSJ provides this exceptional report offering readers remarkable clarity on what the Republican Tax Law does- its high and low points.  High Points 1. It reduces the corporate tax rate to bring it in line with other advanced industrialized countries. The corporate tax rate in Germany and Japan is 30%, in the UK it is 19%. For 5 years businesses can write off capital equipment immediately instead of depreciating over a couple of years. This could boost investment and growth. 2.  The law takes aim at deductions that led to distortions. It limits the mortgage interest deduction, and caps the deduction for state and local taxes. This removes the incentive to pay more for homes that exacerbated the housing crisis in 2008. The Alternative Minimum Tax is largely removed. The Low Points 1. The biggest drawback is that lawmakers did not properly fund the tax cuts. Of the 10 costliest tax breaks nine were not touched, including employer health insurance, retirement savings, capital gains. Only the state and local taxes deduction was reduced. And a new tax deduction  was created, a 20% tax deduction for small business (proprietors and partnerships) paying taxes on their individual tax returns. Taxes on the wealthy or value added taxes, reducing tax breaks, is how other advanced industrialized countries paid for the corporate tax cuts, but did not happen here. Additional economic growth  to generate added tax revenues is the way Republicans in Congress say this is funded. Yet this is a questionable assumption as Britain reduced the corporate tax rate to 19% without seeing a surge in economic growth, as Greg Ip pointed out in an earlier WSJ article. At best the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates $500 billion over a decade in added revenues from added growth leaving $1 trillion to be added to the deficit. The WhartonPenn Budget Model (WPBM) estimates only $140 to $367 bill from the additional economic growth resulting in added tax revenues. Under this model only 0.03 to 0.08 percent added U.S. economic growth per year is expected from the Republican Tax Cuts. Such a situation would be bad  for the U.S. as the gradual improvement in Debt to GDP ratio to 78% following the financial crisis of 2008 would be sharply reversed taking the ratio to 97% by 2027. An unsustainable trajectory which will require tax increases in a few years and hurt investment in education, health and infrastructure into the future. This is what worries many experts most on both sides of the political spectrum today about what the Republican Congress has pushed through for a legislative "victory." This is why experts believe this is not serious tax reform and will require a new effort after 2019.   ...

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The U.S. House of Representatives votes to repeal and replace the Affordable care Act 217-213. Moderates were won over by an addition of $8 billion  to add coverage for a popular feature of the ACA that covered people for pre-existing conditions.  The bill that passed gives credits of $2000 to $4000 a year, depending mostly on age, upto $14,000 for a family. Credits are reduced for individuals making over $75,000 a year or families making over $150,000. There is no mandated insurance coverage. This trims the federal budget deficit, yet also is expected to keep 24 million more Americans without health coverage after 10 years. The bill now goes to the Senate where moderate Republicans are worried that this may increase premiums for older people, one of the drawbacks of the earlier version of the House Republican bill.

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The final tally is Republicans 220 and Democrats 215 as all results are in for the 435 member House of Representatives in the US. This is the second smallest majority in US history- in 1917-19 Congress Democrats had  217-215 majority of 2 seats. Because DJT has appointed 3 US Congress members the GOP majority for months will be 217-215. Gaetz's and Waltz's districts are likely Republican but Elise Stefanik's in New York is uncertain. 

At 220-215 Republicans can lose votes of only 2 members of Congress. Washington Post says there moderates, vulnerable Republicans and retiring Congressmen who can express their concerns about legislation. About 12-20 Congressmen have scored less than 60% in Heritage Action's scorecard says Washingon Post. This means hasty,  or controversial legislation will face constructive opposition, be modified or rewritten to satisfy concerns of moderates.

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U.S. Speaker Boehner's effort to strengthen support for his negotiating position by bringing together Republican Congressmen behind him as he negotiates with president Obama. Rep. Paul Ryan now sits on the strategy session and Boehner has more control over Republicans in the new Congress.

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The problems facing U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, as a government shutdown occurs in October 2013. Republicans and Demorats fail to agree on raising the debt ceiling and financing of the government. Boehner faces a movement in the Republican party led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for defunding the Obamacare law.

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With the rushed approach adopted by the Trump administration not enough consideration was given to winning support in the House from 25 conservatives in the Freedom Caucus. Without their support the bill cannot be passed in the House of Representatives. The fight also includes one over what are essential health benefits including whether  maternity care would be included. As a result some moderate Republicans are also expressing opposition on the grounds that less people will be covered and fewer benefits will be provided under the Republican House plan called AHCA. President Trump has not involved himself in the details, and the bill comes very early in the first 100 days, leading to the perception that health care has become a partisan conflict without really grappling with the problems of high cost of health care and creating a solution that all can support. Democrats are seen as having made the same error early in Obama administration's first term. President Trump sees this as a much needed win with a drop in his approval ratings, making this even less of an effort to come out with a good plan.  ...

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This Economist opinion says even though some of the Mueller investigation findings are sensational, not much would happen unless 20 Republican Senators broke with the president. The final report from the Mueller investigation is not expected to be made public. And expectations of the impact may depend more on political facts in Congress and support for the president rather than the legal findings, says the Economist magazine. Views of many Republicans in Congress have not changed and many have figured out that their political future depends on publicly supporting the president.

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The support of 10 Republican senators now makes it possible to pass a legislation that covers the basics of controlling use of assault weapons in the US. This includes raising the minimum age for use from 18 years to 21 years. Senators Cornyn of Texas and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina are some of the Republican senators supporting this legislation. It also has the backing of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky who is the Minority Republican Leader in the Senate. A broader ban on all assault weapons does not have much support from Republicans.  For years a spate of shooting each year in schools and other places would lead to cries of outrage from Democrats and sympathy from Republicans and yet nothing got done to control the use of assault weapons. Now a more prudent approach is taking the place of a call for a complete ban. Small incremental steps are now seen as OK. President Biden also sees this as the right approach to move in the right direction till more agreement or a breakthrough can be achieved. This is not just on gun control but also on a number of social issues. This may also reduce the tensions in American society that were exacerbated with no controls on behaviour of social media companies. Corrective incremental steps may create the right environment where useful dialogue and discussion absent today can be brought back for making larger decisions in the interest of the American people in the future.  ...

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Paul Ryan brings an inclusive stye to his job as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He has shown a sharply different approach to his predecessor Boehner who preferred to keep matters close to himself and his inner circle. Ryan has put drafting legislation into the hands of members of the House, organized meetings where moderate Republicans get to meet conservative Republicans so they can agree on common goals, shared information with Republican members on meetings with Democrats, and communicated with the media at frequent intervals to keep the public informed. The approach is welcomed by Republican members of the House after the divisions and disagreements under Boehner.

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There are 34 Senate races of which 23 are in states traditionally controlled by Democrats. Jacky Rosen is leading in Nevada, and Senator Ted Cruz will have trouble defending his record in the Senate. Senator Rick Scott a Republican from Florida will also have difficulty holding onto his seat. Republicans will gain the seat of Joe Manchin in West Virginia. Democrats could hold onto seats in Montana and Arizona. It all depends on messaging the facts about inflation, confronting immigration head on by saying the Republican Lankford legislation agreed with Biden will be signed into law by Harris, listing tough cost of living action limiting rent increases to 5%, and limiting price increases for groceries and other necessities. Infrastructure projects completed in red as well as blue states.