Overnight Finance: White House: Trump, Putin talked sanctions | Consumer bureau cracks down on arbitration clauses | Mnuchin says higher top tax rate isn’t on the table

Trump, Putin talked sanctions: The White House on Monday said President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed sanctions related to Russia’s election interference during their meeting last week, contradicting an earlier claim made by the president.

“There were sanctions specific to election meddling that I believe were discussed, but not beyond that,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at an off-camera briefing on Monday.

Trump and Putin held their first in-person meeting at the Group of 20 Summit on Friday in Germany. The high-stakes encounter came amid a federal probe into Russian election-meddling efforts, as well as tensions over conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

Trump tweeted Sunday that “sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved!” The Hill Jordan Fabian has more: http://bit.ly/2t6w7Rg.

 

Consumer bureau cracks down on arbitration clauses: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday issued a controversial rule to prevent companies from using arbitration clauses to prevent litigation over customer complaints.

The long-awaited rule targets credit card companies and banks who use arbitration clauses in customer contracts to block lawsuits over alleged wrongdoing or fraud. Such clauses often force consumers to settle complaints with financial companies through mediated arbitration, instead of filing a class-action lawsuit.

“Arbitration clauses in contracts for products like bank accounts and credit cards make it nearly impossible for people to take companies to court when things go wrong,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

“These clauses allow companies to avoid accountability by blocking group lawsuits and forcing people to go it alone or give up. Our new rule will stop companies from sidestepping the courts and ensure that people who are harmed together can take action together.”

Credit card companies and banks have argued that arbitration clauses are fair, simple, and cheaper ways to settle customer complaints, and that a CFPB ban would overstep its authority. I’ll tell you what you need to know here about the new fight: http://bit.ly/2t6t6Av.

 

{mosads}Mnuchin: Higher top tax rate isn’t on the table: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday pushed back on a news report that White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is pushing for an increase in the top individual tax rate.

“I have never heard Steve mention that,” Mnuchin said in an interview with ABC News. “It’s another example of a false leak that’s being reported.”

Axios reported earlier this month that Bannon has told colleagues that he would like to see a top tax rate in the 40 percent range. The top individual tax rate is currently 39.6 percent.

But Mnuchin said that a higher top tax rate isn’t on the table. The Treasury secretary noted that the tax plan the White House released in April lowers the top individual tax rate to 35 percent.
Mnuchin reiterated to ABC News that the Trump administration is “absolutely committed to getting tax reform done this year” and that the White House is planning to release a more detailed plan in September. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda reports: http://bit.ly/2t715Zn.

 

Happy Monday 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.

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.

 

On tap tomorrow:

• A House Appropriations Subcommittee marks up the fiscal 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill at 1 p.m.
• The Brookings Institution holds an event titled “A blueprint for maximizing the impact of U.S. foreign aid” at 10 a.m.

 

Critical month for GOP budget: When the Republican-controlled Congress returns to Washington this week, it will face a political and procedural gordian knot to advance its agenda, the heart of which centers around the budget.

Congress has just three legislative weeks before the August recess and one month after that before an impending government shutdown and debt ceiling breach — not to mention the small matters of healthcare and tax reform, which are all tied in some way to the budget.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” said Brookings Institution budget expert Molly Reynolds.

To begin with, neither the House nor the Senate’s budget committees have unveiled their budgets, which set the spending levels for the next fiscal year.

The problem is creating division within the Republican caucus, which is being pulled in opposing directions by defense hawks, deficit hawks and moderates. The Hill’s Niv Elis explains: http://bit.ly/2t6LY23.

 

Freedom Caucus backs three debt ceiling options: The House Freedom Caucus is pushing for Republicans to adopt one of three possible approaches to the debt ceiling, and calling for action before Congress adjourns for the August recess.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged Congress to increase the debt ceiling before the August recess, but the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the country will not run out of borrowing options until mid-October.

Mnuchin has also urged a “clean” debt lift, which would keep any additional policy riders on the sidelines, but senior administration officials voiced their support for attaching such riders.

The three options, originally reported by Axios and confirmed by The Hill, include a plan that would require the Treasury secretary to issue GDP-linked bonds to pay the country’s debt in the event that the debt ceiling is reached, and allow the president to authorize the sale of certain government assets to raise funds: http://bit.ly/2t6XhXX.

 

GOP shifts on new rights for air travelers: The Republican-led Congress is warming up to the idea of creating new consumer protections for travelers, an idea considered controversial just over a year ago.

GOP lawmakers rejected past efforts to establish minimum seat sizes and rein in airline fees, but provisions to do just that were easily added to must-pass aviation legislation this year.

Supporters of the push believe that both the public and lawmakers – who are frequent flyers themselves – may have finally reached their breaking point with the airlines, which have come under heavy scrutiny recently for their treatment of passengers.

“I think it’s getting harder and harder and harder for Congress to vote in support of the industry and against the consumer,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said in a telephone interview. The Hill’s Melanie Zanona reports: http://bit.ly/2t6zHdV.

 

Meadows: Shutdown possible without border wall funding: The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus says there could be a government shutdown if money isn’t included in a spending bill for President Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the caucus chairman, said Monday that conservatives will block any spending bill that doesn’t include the funding.

He told Breitbart News that “without a doubt” there are “enough conservative members who will not support any funding mechanism that does not include border wall funding.”

Meadows said Trump could veto a funding bill if the House passed it without wall funding.
Current government funding runs out in September, and the government would face a shutdown if Trump doesn’t sign a bill passed by Congress by Oct. 1. Here’s more from The Hill’s Rafael Bernal: http://bit.ly/2t7bFiW.

 

News outlets want Congress to allow collective negotiations with Facebook, Google: A trade association representing hundreds of major media outlets is asking Congress to grant the press collective bargaining power to negotiate with Facebook and Google, two companies that have dominated the online ad revenue market.

The News Media Alliance (NMA) said on Monday that the two internet giants have been siphoning ad revenue away from news organizations around the country and that the industry should be able to have “concrete discussions” in order to secure better conditions.

“Legislation that enables news organizations to negotiate collectively will address pervasive problems that today are diminishing the overall health and quality of the news media industry,” David Chavern, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

“Quality journalism is critical to sustaining democracy and is central to civic society. To ensure that such journalism has a future, the news organizations that fund it must be able to collectively negotiate with the digital platforms that effectively control distribution and audience access in the digital age.” The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: http://bit.ly/2t7ccBE.

 

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