President Obama is expected to call for comprehensive trade and investment talks with the EU in his State of the Union speech tonight. An agreement that phases out tariffs, harmonizes product standards and reduces barriers to trade would have huge implications, far beyond economics.
Republicans tout themselves as friends of business. Yet when it comes to many of industry's top priorities, the GOP's tea party lawmakers and far-right lobbying groups are putting roadblocks in the way of legislation that U.S. businesses really want to see passed.
The Senate rejected a Republican attempt Tuesday to overturn new regulations designed to give unions quicker representation elections in their effort to organize more workplaces. One GOP senator, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, joined the unanimous Democrats in backing the new NLRB rules.
Now that midterm elections are over, President Barack Obama and Republicans have promised to work together. But how long will the spirit of cooperation last? One of the first big tests will be whether Congress can raise its debt ceiling early next year.
