Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Clock Ticking on Budget Negotiations - President Obama has summoned the top four Congressional Leaders to the White House for a 11:30AM ET meeting. In order to get through all of the procedural steps in the House and Senate for a bill to be presented to the president for signature by August 2, a bill must be introduced by July 27.

Concern is also mounting, that if no deal is announced today by 4:00 PM ET, when the Asian financial markets open, there will be a downward trend spread across worldwide markets.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rumored to be pursuing a two-step proposal which would involve a vote this week to raise the debt ceiling, followed by a vote to trim as much as 3 Trillion from the deficit over the next decade. The San Francisco Chronicle has more here.

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Iowa Straw Poll Ballot Finalized - the all-important Republican straw poll ballot will leave off some recognizable names. The August 13 event will include three names of Republican presidential candidates who already declared they are not even competing - they are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Al Huntsman. Texas Governor Rick Perry and Sarah Palin were left off the ballot. Write-ins are allowed. The Des Moines Register has more here.

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DCCC Robo-Calls 60 Congressional Districts Over Debt Crisis - emphasizing Republican inability to compromise on budget negotiations. The 60 districts were mostly won by President Obama in 2008. TPM.com has more, along with a sample call-script, here.

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Clinton Invites North Korea to U.S. For Nuclear Talks - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a meeting in Indonesia with Southeast Asian nations to invite North Korea Finance Minister Kim Kye Gwan to New York. They will discuss the resumption of the six nation nuclear disarmament talks which broke off in 2008. The Washington Post has more here.

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34 Billion Wasted on Private Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan - the nonpartisan commission on wartime contracting is expected to release it's report in the coming weeks. The report will detail the misuse in spending of the over 200 billion in grants and contracts over the last decade. Interestingly, over 200,000 have been on the U.S. payroll - more than the current number of U.S. troops currently in both countries. Reuters.com has more here.

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Representative David Wu (D-Ore.) Needs To Step Down - in the wake of the latest sex scandal involving a member of Congress. The Representative, who was behaving erratically prior to his reelection last year, has been accused of an "unwanted sexual encounter" with a teenage daughter of a longtime friend over the Thanksgiving holiday last year. No criminal complaint has been filed. Politico.com has more here.

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Will Hosni Mubarak Face Trial? - the former 30 year ruler of Egypt is scheduled to have his trial begin on August 3, but doubts exists it will take place. It is currently scheduled to take place during the holy month of Ramadan. Mubarak also continues to be in a hospital near his summer home, where he has been since charges were placed against him. All eyes are on the military, as maintain control in Egypt. The NY Times has more here.

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