Capitol Alert

RENO - President Barack Obama, appearing in a swing state still reeling from the foreclosure crisis, called on House Republicans this afternoon to enact a mortgage-relief plan that has failed for months in Congress to gain traction.

"You're going to have to pressure Congress," the Democratic president said outside the Reno home of a couple who refinanced their mortgage through a program Obama is seeking to expand. "The pool of folks who can refinance right now, when their homes are underwater, is still too small."

A measure to expand a program for government-backed mortgages to those backed by private institutions is part of an election year "to-do list" Obama is pushing on Congress.

"I need all of you and everybody who's watching to push Congress on their "to-do list," Obama said. "Nag them until they actually get it done. We need to keep moving this country forward. Send them an email. Tweet them. Write them a letter if you're old-fashioned like me."

PHOTO CREDIT: President Barack Obama meets with Val and Paul Keller in their Reno home Friday. Associated Press//Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

JobsPAC, the political action committee of the California Chamber of Commerce, has recently shelled out more than $150,000 on independent efforts backing two Democrats running for the Assembly.

About $121,000 went to consultants,research, polling and mailers to support Orange County Democrat Tom Daly's run for the Assembly District 69 seat, according to the PAC's latest filings with the Secretary of State.

Daly, a moderate who OC Weekly tagged "the Joe Lieberman of Orange County politics," has a long history in public office that includes 10 years as Anaheim's mayor.

Other contenders for the Democratic-leaning seat currently held by termed-out Assemblyman Jose Solorio , D-Santa Ana, include Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez and labor activist Julio Perez, both Democrats. Another committee backed by labor has been spending heavily for Perez.

Closer to Sacramento, the chamber supported Stockton City Councilwoman Susan Eggman's candidacy for the Assembly District 13 seat with $33,000 spent independently on consulting, research, and mailers.

Although three Republicans are on the AD 13 June primary ballot, the primary race is focused on Eggman and labor-backed Democratic community activist Xochitl Paderes, whose campaign has received nearly $20,000 from labor organizations, state records show.

The Stockton Record recently reported that the fight between the candidates is centering on Stockton's well-known fiscal problems and how the city council on which Eggman serves decided to enter confidential talks with creditors, hoping to avoid bankruptcy. That has angered unions, which have endorsed Paderes.

The Federal Election Commission this week struggled again with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's request for a loosening of the usual fundraising limits, in the wake of the massive embezzlement by former campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee.

The upshot: Feinstein didn't get the go-ahead she sought, but neither did the six-member FEC come to a official consensus decision on the key question. There could be more discussions to come.

Feinstein asked the FEC for permission to raise more money from contributors who had already maxed out under federal campaign limits, arguing that Durkee's admitted embezzlement meant the money was never really received.

A revised draft opinion debated Thursday would have denied Feinstein's request to seek replacement contributions from individuals whose money had been deposited in a campaign account. But with one Republican commissioner recusing himself from the deliberations, the 3-2 vote adopting the draft opinion fell short of the four votes needed for approval.

The FEC's general counsel will be redrafting an opinion that would allow more money to be raised only from those individuals whose prior contributions were never actually deposited in a campaign account. This may not cover very many donors.

VIDEO: Many people don't know what the "single sales factor" is, but Dan Walters says it's likely to be the topic of one of this year's biggest legislative battles in California.

Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page.

See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

Read Dan Walters' columns here.

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's video report, talks about an obscure subject that promises to rile up the California Legislature.

Generating jobs and improving regional competitiveness take center stage at the California Economic Summit, which runs all day at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Sponsored by the California Stewardship Network and California Forward, speakers include former U.S. Labor Secretary George Shultz, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and author Thomas Friedman as well as Gov. Jerry Brown's adviser Michael Rossi.

Later, Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway and Democratic Sen. Michael Rubio will talk with former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg about the Legislature's role. Click here for the full agenda. Learn more at this link.

Closer to the dome, members of Occupy Sacramento gather at Cesar Chavez Plaza at 11 a.m. to protest treatment of the homeless, then march to the Capitol.

Gov. Jerry Brown, meanwhile, heads to San Francisco for the ninth annual dinner of the Asia Society Northern California, where he'll be feted tonight for working to strengthen the state's relationship with Asia.

COMMENCEMENT: California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye delivers the commencement speech at 2 p.m. Saturday to this year's graduating class at McGeorge School of Law at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium.

CAKE AND CANDLES: Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, celebrates her 66th birthday on Saturday.