President Barack Obama considers William Daley for White House post; debt a focus of debate over Republican Party chairmanship; Obama to sign food-safety law.

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Obama Said to Consider JPMorgan’s Daley for White House Post

President Barack Obama is considering naming William Daley, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive and former U.S. Commerce secretary, to a high-level administration post, possibly White House chief of staff, people familiar with the matter said.

Republican Party’s $20 Million Debt Is Focus of Chairman Debate

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele defended his record against criticism from four challengers that he ran up $20 million in debt and neglected major donors during his two-year term.

Obama Will Sign Food-Safety Law Today as Funding Battle Looms

President Barack Obama will sign a $1.4 billion food-safety bill today that marks the biggest change to oversight of the food industry since 1938 and sets up a funding fight with Republicans poised to take over the House.

Warren Plans Information-Sharing With States on Non-Bank Lenders

Elizabeth Warren, the White House adviser assigned to set up a U.S. consumer financial-protection bureau, is planning to share information with state regulators to streamline oversight of nonbank firms such as payday lenders.

House Republicans to Push New Tax-Cut Plan for Small Businesses

U.S. House Republican leaders will push to create a tax break for companies with 500 or fewer employees that would allow a 20 percent deduction from their federal tax liability over the next two years.

TODAY ON BLOOMBERG TV: David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research appears at 12:30 p.m. to talk about the U.S. auto industry; and former Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner appears at 3:10 p.m. to discuss federal economic policy.

WHITE HOUSE President Barack Obama returns from his Hawaiian vacation today.

REPORTS The Commerce Department will report November factory orders at 10 a.m. The Federal Reserve at 2 p.m. will release minutes of its Dec. 14 policy meeting.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEWSPAPERS

U.S. Envoy in Seoul for Korean Peninsula Talks, Xinhua Reports

U.S. special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, has arrived in Seoul to discuss “next steps” on the Korean peninsula, Xinhua News Agency reported today in a flash headline.

Only a few moderate or conservative Democrats remain left in the House of Representatives come opening day on Wednesday, but expect at least a chunk of them to vote in favor of the Republican plan to repeal the health care law.

As one of its first act in the new Congress, the Republican majority is calling up the law for repeal. Text of the repeal bill is already online for Americans to read and a vote is expected on Jan. 12.

Several moderate and conservative Democrats contacted by Fox News on Monday night said they wanted to first evaluate the Republican proposal hitting the House floor before deciding how they might vote.

But, at least one Democrat who voted against the health bill last year and in late 2009 is already leaning toward voting to repeal the law.

"I have not read the language yet, but I am inclined to support the repeal," said Rep. Dan Boren D-Okla. "I have voted against the measure in the last Congress and a full 68 percent of Oklahomans support repeal."

Other Democrats call the move "reckless."

"The reckless Republican repeal of health care is a budget busting bailout for insurance companies that will kill jobs, raise Americans' taxes, and deny critical care to women and children. It is unconscionable that Republicans plan on ramming the bill through the House without exploring the disastrous impact repeal will have on Americans," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the outgoing chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

But Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the vote against the original bill was bipartisan so even with a reduced number of moderate Democrats in the House, the vote could earn some bipartisan support.

"There were Republicans and Democrats who opposed the bill. So I think it will be a bipartisan vote to repeal the bill. It's interesting that if just one in four Democrats vote to repeal the bill, then that is -- would allow us to override any veto that the president might provide," he said.

Even if it passes the House, it would stop dead in its track in the Democratic-led Senate. The move, however, would be the fulfillment of a pledge by many of the newly elected Republican majority to work to get rid of the nearly trillion-dollar legislation.

"The majority of the American people continue to say that they dislike this law," said Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y. "They want it repealed so whether or not the vote will be symbolic will depend on what the Senate and our president do. It's entirely meaningful within the context of what the house is doing. That's what we were elected to do."