Overnight Finance: Ryan lays out timeline for ObamaCare, tax reform | Dow hits 20K | GOP weighs how to pay for border wall

Ryan maps out GOP timeline for ObamaCare, tax reform: PHILADELPHIA — Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday mapped out the GOP’s 200-day legislative strategy, saying Republicans will repeal and replace portions of ObamaCare by spring and tackle tax reform before the August recess.

During a private meeting of House and Senate Republicans at their annual policy retreat, Ryan said House committees will mark up a reconciliation package in the next couple of weeks that will both repeal President Obama’s healthcare law and replace portions of it, according to several lawmakers in the room.

Then, Ryan will bring the final reconciliation package to the House floor by late February or early March.

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“It will be a repeal with some replacement in it for what we’re able to do given the reconciliation process,” interim House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) told reporters here at the GOP retreat. “Our goal is to make this a patient-centered healthcare system where we give people options.” The Hill’s Scott Wong and Alexander Bolton who are covering the GOP retreat in Philadelphia tell us more: http://bit.ly/2k1o3QI.

Brady makes the case for revenue-neutral tax reform: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) made the case for revenue-neutral tax reform on Wednesday, following a report that some advisers to President Trump and lawmakers are potentially interested in enacting tax cuts that aren’t offset.

“I believe, both the most pro-growth approach we can take, and the fiscally responsible approach we can take, is to break even with the budget, counting on just solid, verifiable economic growth,” he said at a Financial Services Roundtable event.

Politico reported Wednesday that some Trump aides are questioning the need for tax reform to maintain current revenue levels. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has also advocated for tax cuts that aren’t paid for. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tell us why it’s important: http://bit.ly/2kkMRB6.

 

GOP chairman unsure how infrastructure fits into 200-day agenda: Congressional Republicans are unsure how an infrastructure package will factor into their 200-day agenda, according to the top lawmaker on the Senate Transportation Committee, but the issue is likely to be discussed at the annual GOP retreat in Philadelphia this week.

Pressed on whether sanctuary cities would be eligible for federal funds in any infrastructure bill, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Wednesday that the matter would be determined “when we get to, if we get to, an infrastructure bill.” 

“We’ve got a very focused agenda, things that we want to get done in the next 200 days,” Thune said at a press conference at the retreat. “How infrastructure plays into that, we’re not sure yet.” The Hill’s Melanie Zanona tells us why: http://bit.ly/2k1lu0Y.

 

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Overnight Finance. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include the Dow hitting 20,000, a GOP balanced budget amendment, and ideas on how to fund the border wall.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-staging.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

 

Dow Jones hits 20,000 for first time ever: The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened above 20,000 points Wednesday, passing the milestone number for the first time in its 120-year history.

U.S. stocks consistently rallied after Nov. 9, the day after the election, with traders anticipating massive deregulation under Donald Trump’s presidency. But the Dow had stalled out just below 20,000 for more than a month before finally breaking through. It closed at 20,068.51.

Stocks in financial services and energy companies have boasted the biggest gains, reflecting likely rollbacks of Obama administration banking and environmental protection laws.

The Dow, an index that measures American corporate stock performance, strung together a series of record highs in the five weeks after Trump’s shocking election: http://bit.ly/2kkXDHt.

 

GOP senators introduce balanced budget amendment: Two Republican senators have introduced a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Mike Lee (Utah) on Tuesday introduced the bill that would amend the Constitution to make it illegal for Congress to spend more than it collects in a fiscal year, raise taxes or increase the debt limit without support from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress.

Balanced budget amendments have been criticized for limiting Congress’s ability to fight off economic crises with emergency spending and stimulus. I’ll tell you more about this one here: http://bit.ly/2k1G7dI.

 

Trump signs orders on border wall, immigration enforcement: President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday on his central campaign promise that directs federal agencies to begin constructing a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

It was one of two executive orders on border security that Trump signed during a visit to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Hill’s Rafael Bernal and Mike Lillis have more: http://bit.ly/2k25L1K But how to pay for it is an open question. Trump has insisted that Mexico will eventually reimburse the U.S. for the wall.

 

Ryan on Mexico wall: “We’re going to pay for it”: Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the U.S. will fund the initial construction of President Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“First off, we’re going to pay for it and front the money,” he told host Greta Van Susteren on MSNBC’s “For the Record” Wednesday.

Ryan said there are “various ways” to get Mexico to help foot the bill and refused to rule out the possibility that Mexico may reimburse the U.S., before adding that rank-and-file Republicans remain committed to making the wall a reality.

“There are a lot of different ways of getting Mexico to contribute to doing this,” he said. “There are different ways of defining how exactly they pay for it.” The Hill’s Mark Hensch has more: http://bit.ly/2jgNYQt

 

GOP chairman offers ‘creative’ ways to pay for border wall: A top Republican on Capitol Hill suggested Wednesday that the cost of constructing President Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border could be offset by security fees.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said at an event hosted by Bloomberg Government that the U.S. “won’t pick up the tab for all of this.”

But, McCaul said, “I don’t think Mexico is going to appropriate dollars from their Congress to pay for this.”

McCaul said U.S. lawmakers are likely to consider an emergency funding bill to pay for the wall in the coming months, which could cost $10 to $20 billion.

While U.S. taxpayer money would be used to make the “initial down payment” to build the wall, McCaul said the cost could be offset by imposing fees on visa applications from countries south of the border as well as imposing fees on money transfers from the U.S. into those countries, known as remittances. The Hill’s Cristina Marco has more: http://bit.ly/2kkPVgB.

 

Flashback: 9/5/16–US banks wary of being Trump’s immigration enforcer: The financial industry is making clear it wants no part of Donald Trump’s plan to force Mexico to pay for a border wall.

The GOP nominee says he would convince Mexico to cover the multibillion-dollar cost of his wall by barring Mexicans who are working in the U.S. illegally from sending money back home. 

But banks and other financial companies say they do not want to get involved on the front lines in a contentious immigration battle, arguing there are questions about how effectively such a policy could be implemented.

“It should not be for the banking system to be the police or the immigration task force,” said one banking lobbyist. “I don’t think it should be left to banks to report that someone has come in to remit money to whatever country, and it may or may not be legal. That’s not our role.”

 

Trump Treasury pick registered to vote two states: President Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, is registered to vote in both New York and California, CNN reported Wednesday amid new concerns from the administration about redundant voters on ballot rolls.

Mnuchin, a hedge fund manager, reportedly has homes in both states, though voting records show he last voted at his New York address in 2008.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon was also registered to vote in two states – New York and Florida.

It’s not illegal to be registered to vote in multiple states, but voters can only vote in one.

The revelation comes hours after Trump tweeted that he will launch an investigation of voter fraud in the U.S. Trump told Congressional leaders earlier this week that he lost the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election because of rampant voter fraud by “illegals.” http://bit.ly/2k1wknS.

 

Study: Super Bowl spending down in 2017: Super Bowl fans will spend less watching the big game in 2017, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation.

When the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5, football fans will spend more than $14 billion, or about $75 per person, at Super Bowl parties. 

This is down from $82 per fan in 2016, according to the survey.

Still, more than 188 million Americans plans to watch the Super Bowl, which is roughly on par with last year’s viewership: http://bit.ly/2k1t2B6.

Sales of distressed homes fall to lowest level in nearly a decade: Sales of distressed homes hit the lowest levels in nearly a decade in October, a sign the housing market continues to gradually improve, according to a new report. The sales represented 7.7 percent of all homes sold in October, the lowest share since October 2007, which was on the cusp of the housing crisis, CoreLogic reported on Wednesday.

At its peak in January 2009, distressed sales totaled 32.4 percent of all sales with bank-owned housing sales representing 27.9 percent of that share.

The pre-crisis share of distressed sales usually runs about 2 percent. If everything stays on track, the market is expected to reach that level again in mid-2018: http://bit.ly/2k1rPd2.

 

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