Week ahead: Spending fight heats up; Impeachment vote looms for IRS chief

Congress has three weeks to fund the federal government, and leaders from both chambers are slowly inching closer on how to do it.

House Republican leaders are embracing the Senate’s proposal of a government funding bill that would run through Dec. 9.

Conservatives, though, are opposed to a short-term bill and insist on a longer measure to avoid a lame-duck session of Congress. House leadership is mulling breaking up the funding effort into smaller spending bills.

{mosads}The House conservative effort to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen will also heat up next week with Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) poised to force a vote to remove the embattled chief.

Fleming on Tuesday will give notice on his privileged resolution to impeach Koskinen, which would force a House vote on it within two legislative days. The House could vote to table the measure, refer it to the House Judiciary Committee or vote on the actual substance of the bill.

In slightly less contentious tax news, the House Ways and Means Committee will meet with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday about the proposed debt-equity rules that Republicans leaders in both chambers have spoken out against.

The committee will also hold a markup for several bills, including one to exempt Olympic winnings from taxes.

The House Financial Services Committee will be busy marking up Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s (R-Texas) CHOICE Act, the Republicans’ sweeping replacement of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law on Tuesday.

Your week ahead:

Monday:

• Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard talks economic outlook and monetary policy implications at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 1 p.m. http://bit.ly/2cd70o8.

Tuesday:

• House Financial Services Committee: Markup of the Financial CHOICE Act of 2016, 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2cA1i0l.
• House Small Business Committee: Hearing entitled “The Cumulative Burden of President Obama’s Executive Orders on Small Contractors,” 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2c5X1pT.
• House Ways and Means Committee: Hearing on tax-exempt college and university endowments, 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2cLDuv1.
• Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on National Flood Insurance Program mapping, 10:30 a.m. http://bit.ly/2cr3pq4.
• House Judiciary Committee: Hearing on Oversight of the Patent and Trademark Office, 1 p.m. http://bit.ly/2czNymh.

Wednesday:

• House Agriculture Committee: Hearing on American agricultural trade with Cuba, 10 a.m., http://bit.ly/2cjDPm4.
• House Budget Committee: Hearing entitled “Growing Risks to the Budget and Economy,” 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2craXck.
• House Small Business Committee: Hearing entitled “IRS Puts Small Businesses with Audit Wringer, 11 a.m. http://bit.ly/2craXck.
• Senate Budget Hearing: An oversight hearing to examine the Congressional Budget Office, 2:30 p.m. http://bit.ly/2cIWLsL.

Thursday:

• Senate Agriculture Committee: Hearing to examine the nominations of Christopher James Brummer, of the District of Columbia, and Brian D. Quintenz, of the District of Columbia, both to be commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2cIZ5Qk.

Recap the week with Overnight Finance:

• Tuesday: Clinton rips Trump over Fed comments | Senate blocks Zika funding | Moody’s model finds Clinton pulling away | Obama plans last-ditch effort on trade
• Wednesday: McConnell eyes funding deal through Dec. 9 | IRS chief makes his case to GOP | Bank lobbyists count down to Shelby’s exit | Iran sanctions fight reignites
• Thursday: Wells Fargo fined $185M for fake accounts | Warren wants tax changes after Apple ruling | Lawmakers try to put focus on deficit

Today’s stories:

• Republican plans to force vote on impeaching IRS chief, by Naomi Jagoda
• House GOP talks ‘minibuses,’ moves toward Senate in spending fight
• Senators unveil bill to help small businesses offer retirement plans, by Lydia Wheeler

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com; pschroeder@digital-staging.thehill.com, and njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder; and @NJagoda.