OVERNIGHT MONEY: Biden redux

BREAKING THURSDAY:

They’re back. 

Vice President Biden, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and various administration officials are all set on Thursday to resume talks aimed at raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

And this one could get a bit stickier: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the minority whip and a participant in the discussions, told reporters this week that Thursday’s round of talks will focus on Democratic demands on new tax revenue and the GOP desire for spending caps. 

Republicans, of course, have said more revenue is the one thing they won’t consider, while President Obama has signaled a desire for a debt trigger that would have both spending cuts and tax increases at its disposal.

Biden has said that the group is on track to find more than $1 trillion in spending cuts. But Kyl has noted it would take a $2.4 trillion increase to get the debt ceiling through next year – which, by Republican demands, would equate to the need for at least $2.5 trillion in cuts. With that in mind, the minority whip added the GOP would be interested in more short-term ceiling increases if the Biden talks don’t pinpoint enough cuts. 

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR:

The economy, stupid: If your appetite for data still hasn’t turned, keep an eye on the new weekly numbers on initial unemployment claims due out on Thursday. That figure will provide the first real peek at the job market since the Bureau of Labor Statistics dropped Friday’s disappointing jobs report (the one with a paltry 54,000 jobs added in May) with a thud. 

Initial jobless claims have lingered above 400,000 for the last several weeks, just one of a series of underwhelming economic reports. 

But, wait, there’s more!: The Commerce Department is also set to release its monthly numbers on the trade deficit on Thursday – an announcement sure to spur even more calls for an end to the impasse on the stalled Colombia, Panama and South Korea trade agreements. 

The Obama administration has said it will not submit that trio of pacts until Trade Adjustment Assistance is once again expanded to service workers, while Republicans signaled this week that TAA could be extended if the administration seeks fast-track trade negotiating authority. Obama has so far resisted seeking those powers, since doing so would irk unions who resist new trade deals. Completing the Doha round or Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deals would likely require fast-track, because deals can otherwise be amended in Congress and negotiating partners are generally unwilling to sign deals that can be changed later.

Keeping it wonky: The Senate Banking Committee is set to take up talks about reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, which Congress is looking to revamp and reauthorize. The program, which supplies insurance nationwide, is slated to expire at the end of September. But the House Financial Services Committee has already approved a measure reupping NFIP for five years, meaning it’s the upper chamber’s turn to weigh in. 

The Pentagon budget: It might not be the major topic of Thursday’s most prominent congressional hearing, but keep an eye out for what Leon Panetta says about the defense budget in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Panetta, the current CIA director and Defense secretary nominee, will almost certainly be asked whether he is behind the budget-cutting initiatives of Robert Gates, the current secretary, and even if he would want to expand them. (The cost of current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will likely get some play as well.)

One more hearing: Senate Homeland Security is expected to examine Obama administration efforts to sell off unneeded federal property. DHS is trying to consolidate into a new headquarters, but the House-passed spending bill for the department does not include funding for the new building.

BREAKING WEDNESDAY: 

Breaking: The Obama administration is looking at a payroll tax for employers, Bloomberg reports.

Out: The Social Security Administration judge in West Virginia who awarded benefits in every case so far this year has resigned, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

Tracking Tester: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has a full breakdown of the ultimately unsuccessful push to delay new swipe-fee rules, a highly lobbied showdown that pitted the retail industry versus the banking and credit card sectors.

Still, the amendment from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to push the implementation of the new rules back a year did win over a solid majority (54) of the Senate. Thirteen months ago, 64 senators had voted for the measure from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that paved the way for the capping of what banks can charge per debit card transaction.

So, who had something of a change of heart since last May? Nine Democrats: Begich (Alaska), Bennet (Colo.), Gillibrand (N.Y.), Hagan (N.C.), Mikulski (Md.), Nelson (Neb.), Schumer (N.Y.), Stabenow (Mich.) and Webb (Va.); and three Republicans: Crapo (Idaho), Risch (Idaho) and Wicker (Miss.).

In related developments, small-business owners and other Durbin backers are headed to the Hill tomorrow to celebrate Wednesday’s vote.  

Hands off: Doug Shulman, the IRS commissioner, told Senate appropriators on Wednesday that cutting his agency’s budget would reduce its ability to collect revenue and be counterproductive in the long run, The Journal reports. 

Hatch on repatriation: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, told The Hill on Wednesday that he would be open to considering a corporate tax holiday. 

What Hatch really wants, however, is for the U.S. to switch to a territorial system, which would essentially mean that profits American multinationals make elsewhere would not be subject to U.S. taxation. The Utah senator has also expressed some skepticism about a repatriation holiday in the past.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

On the Money’s Wednesday:

— Hat trick: Fitch joins S&P and Moody’s in worrying about default.

— But: Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) says not to forget that the credit raters are worried about the fiscal situation, too. 

— Obama unveils new program to train and educate potential manufacturing workers. 

— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.): President’s phoning it in on the economy. 

— “Beige book”: It’s an uneven recovery.  

— Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) thinks a national infrastructure bank has a chance in the Senate this year. 

— Audit: For tax deduction for buying a car, IRS did not require proof that a car was bought.

— Mortgage applications drop. 

— And economic news is bad news for more and more Americans.