Robert Borosage

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With word that Six Senators were expressing opposition to putting direct lending in the budget bill reconciliation -- which only requires sixty votes to pass the Senate -- Rep George Miller, Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Education Committe, got to work.

Senators Webb and Sanders have signed letter urging President Obama to fill empty seats on Federal Reserve Board with nominees who will help balance the Institution. Notably they urge the Pres to find nominees who would break up the big banks, ban usurious interest rates, enforce consumer protections, allow an audit of the fed's bailout operations, put a lid on executive compenstaion.

It is, as President Obama stated, a "no-brainer." Cut the $90 billion in subsides that go to banks to make risk-free student loans that are GUARANTEED BY THE GOVERNMENT, go to direct lending, and use the money saved to increase Pell grants and tuition tax credits for working families so more poor kids can afford college. $90 billion over 10 years isn't bubkas.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, head of the subcommittee in charge of overseeing the Federal Reserve, has written President Obama urging him to use the THREE vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to make the Fed more accountable. Letter and Huff Post report below.

Financial reform, as it is called, shouldn't be all that complicated. Break up the banks deemed "too big to fail," since that offends any possibility of market discipline and puts taxpayers on the hook for future bailouts. Crack down on gambling with other peoples' money in the financial casino. Give consumers a cop on the beat to protect them from the cons and frauds. Tax the big guys to get our money back. Outlaw compensation schemes that give million dollar incentives to make risky bets.

Vice President Joe Biden defended the administration in a speech to America's labor leaders, gathered at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meetings in Orlando, Florida this week. Mentioning individual union presidents by name -- including some not in the room --he detailed the billions from the recovery act that helped to create jobs in the industries that they organize.

Is this the measure of bipartisan success -- passing legislation that scarcely measures up to a gesture? Next, they'll celebrate bipartisan cooperation in creating jobs by joining together to expand the presidential libraries of Bill Clinton and George Bush (well, maybe not).

Democrats are currently bedeviled. With control of the White House and both houses of Congress, they are expected to produce. And most Americans, the polls suggest, want the parties to work together to solve the country's staggering problems. So every politician -- left, right and center -- pays at least rhetorical tribute to bipartisan cooperation. This week, Washington is awash in bipartisan treacle -- from Evan Bayh's parting complaints, to Thursday's White House Showtime on health care.

But there is a small problem. We're in the midst of a pitched battle about direction.