News bites: Geithner will make the call on foreign-exchange swaps

And while lawmakers were able to buy more time by agreeing to a second continuing resolution, the budget battle is still looming large over the horizon, according to The New York Times:

“[A] comprehensive fix means two teams with weak batting averages must hit a series of 100 mile-per-hour fastballs.

“For most Republicans, ‘global’ means cutting not just discretionary spending, but also the enormous ‘entitlements’ of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the House Budget Committee, promises his forthcoming 2012 blueprint will take that risky step.”

What to do about Social Security is driving a wedge between congressional Democrats, The Wall Street Journal reports:

“The idea of putting Social Security into play has triggered a firestorm of opposition from several corners of the Democratic Party. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), two of the Senate’s most powerful lawmakers, have said revisions to Social Security shouldn’t be attached to a deficit-reduction plan. They argue the program’s benefits are covered by giant trust funds that have no impact on the deficit.”

Although House Republicans want to alter the fledgling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and limit its architect, Elizabeth Warren, the Senate’s top Democrat told The Examiner that he plans to serve as a roadblock to such efforts:

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told The Examiner that he would block any effort to strip power from Warren or otherwise weaken the law.

” ‘Elizabeth Warren has done an outstanding job,’ Reid said. ‘Wall Street doesn’t need to have anyone take away the spotlight from them. We need to have the spotlight focused on them.’ “