OVERNIGHT MONEY: As the CR turns
Senate Democrats had announced their support for the bill, which draws its $6 billion in cuts from Democratic recommendations. That’s led many to believe that a fair number of House Democrats would also get behind the legislation — though just how many is tough to pinpoint.
With all that said, some conservative House Republicans have also pushed for the spending measure to defund Planned Parenthood, the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the healthcare overhaul — developments which, if successful, could give the House bill a slim-to-none chance in the Senate.
The measure the House is expected to take up would be the sixth short-term spending bill of this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. On Monday, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House majority leader, said he hopes to next transition into more long-term measures.
WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR:
Wait! There’s more!: With Democrats settling on a message that debt-obsessed Republicans are not paying enough attention to jobs, House Republicans are set to counter on Tuesday with a report explaining the economics behind their “cut and grow” approach.
The study is expected to highlight how removing the burden of debt frees up businesses to create jobs — and will be used to counter a report from economist Mark Zandi who has predicted the House spending-cut effort could cost 700,000 jobs.
Geithner’s back!: Timothy Geithner, who has frequently made the trip down Pennyslvania Avenue since becoming Treasury secretary, and Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, are set to dissect the administration’s housing report with the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow.
That document recommends the ultimate end of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the return of the private sector to the housing market. At a recent hearing, Geithner received polite but pointed criticism from House Democrats, who worry what a housing overhaul could mean for affordable housing. We’ll be watching to see if Senate Democrats have a similar reaction.
Following the Fed: Federal Reserve officials will meet Tuesday to determine what should be done with the Fed Funds rate and other policies. While the afternoon release once was a hot document on Wall Street, the Fed has avoided any big surprises after the past few meetings, sticking to its guns of near-zero interest rates and its second “quantitative easing” program. Expect more of the same this time around, as Fed officials have given little to no indication of changing course on either.
Capitol Hill roundup: Alice Rivlin, a former head of the Congressional Budget Office, and former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) are expected to discuss their own comprehensive long-term deficit plan before the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday. Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the co-chairmen of the president’s debt commission, sat before the Senate panel last week.
A House Oversight subcommittee will further dig into state and local finances with a second hearing on the “coming crisis” in state and municipal debt. Officials from two major credit rating agencies are slated to testify in the sequel, which is expected to have a familiar theme: Ballooning unfunded public pension liabilities may be undercutting the stability of the normally sleepy municipal bond market.
And a House Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a measure to freeze what have been escalating taxes on wireless devices.
Think tank daybook: The American Action Forum, a conservative group, is set to host a budget event featuring senators both current, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and past — Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), who chaired the Finance Committee during the last successful tax code overhaul a quarter-century ago.
Let’s go budgeting: Energy Secretary Steven Chu and John Pistole, the head of the Transportation Security Administration, are among the administration officials expected to talk abut budget requests on the Hill on Tuesday.
Economic indicators:
— Treasury is slated to release January data on international money flows.
— The Labor Department is scheduled to drop February indexes on import and export prices.
— The National Association of Home Builders is set to circulate its March housing market index.
— And the American Petroleum Institute is expected to release its weekly bulletin on gas production.
BREAKING MONDAY:
Your move, Mr. President: Senate Republicans on Monday upped the ante in their push to get trade pacts with Colombia and Panama passed, essentially telling Democrats they will block any trade-related presidential nominee — including any would-be Commerce secretaries — until the president submits those agreements to Congress.
At a Monday news conference, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the minority leader, signaled that he wouldn’t vote against the trade agreement with South Korea, the other piece in a trio of deals Republicans want passed quickly, to further show his displeasure.
The Obama administration has said that it has completed work on the Korea pact and urged Congress to move forward with that deal as it finishes negotiations on Colombia and Panama.
Wall Street watch: Shares on Wall Street inched down on Monday, The New York Times reports, in the aftermath of the tumult in Japan.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
On the Money’s Monday:
— House GOP previews plan for chipping away at Dodd-Frank.
— Top Republicans in the chamber also want the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s cost-benefit analysis investigated.
— Sen. John Kerry wants a federal infrastructure bank.
— 7.7 percent: Economists predict the unemployment rate for Election Day 2012.
— The IRS releases a lot of statistics on fiscal 2010.
— And gets told it could do quicker work on resolving assessments on delinquent tax cases with contractors.
— Finally: Millionaires don’t always feel rich.
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