Big win today for community bankers, keep reading…
TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: ELIZABETH WARREN TO RALLY PROGRESSIVES. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will fuel speculation that she’s plotting to challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 when she delivers a keynote address before the AFL-CIO National Summit on Raising Wages in Washington D.C. It’s her first major address this year and will likely only add to the growing questions about her plans for the upcoming election cycle. The address also comes as Senate Democrats are planning to make income inequality a focus in 2016.
{mosads}— WARREN BACK HOME BLASTS GOP ON KEYSTONE, via The Boston Herald’s Chris Cassidy: “U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren chided Republicans yesterday for planning to push a divisive top priority as soon as they officially take over the Senate, rather than working toward bipartisan agreements.”
“‘There’s going to be an energy hearing on Wednesday, and right now, the Republicans say they’re going to move forward on the Keystone pipeline,” said Warren (D-Mass.). ‘If we’re going to move forward on something, how about something that more of us can agree on?'” Story via the Herald: http://bit.ly/1AAQ9Uk
The hearing was eventually cancelled after objections from Democrats, led by Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.). Republicans, though, say they will push ahead with Keystone legislation despite a White House veto threat.
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and you’re not even to Hump Day so pick up the pace. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com; and subscribe:http://digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48.
BOEHNER STRIKES BACK. Scott Wong for The Hill with the primer: “Ohio Republican John Boehner beat back a conservative rebellion on the House floor Tuesday, winning a third and possibly final term as Speaker of the House of Representatives. But on the opening day of the new Republican-controlled Congress, a bloc of Tea Party insurgents fired off a warning shot to GOP leadership.” http://bit.ly/1BvErdG
Now the good stuff…
Cristina Marcos reports: “Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) says he’s already getting retribution for voting against Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) for a third term as Speaker. Weber, who voted for Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) for Speaker on Tuesday, was among the 25 Republicans who opposed Boehner.
The Texas Republican was originally slated to be the sponsor of a noncontroversial Science, Space and Technology Committee bill on the floor this week. The measure establishes a Department of Energy research program on low-dose radiation.” http://bit.ly/1HIAJPV
TERROR INSURANCE WATCH. The House is slated to vote to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) on Wednesday. It will likely pass easily, just like last time.
— SENIOR DEMOCRATIC AIDE tells Overnight: “Democrats are hopeful that TRIA will be renewed, but the inclusion of the end user provision is certainly a short-term complication to that. It adds unnecessary uncertainty to the market.”
The end user provision would change the Dodd-Frank financial reform law so that non-financial institutions are not bound by many of the regulations placed on big banks. Opposition to that measure sunk reauthorization of TRIA in the Senate last year.
— CHAMBER WILL SCORE TRIA VOTE. Bruce Josten, the Chamber’s executive vice president for government affairs, wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday saying it would use Wednesday’s House vote on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for its congressional scorecard. Story: http://bit.ly/1BwmOKK
— PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (PCI) tees up a letter, too. They joined more than two dozen groups urging House members to pass the bill. Letter: http://bit.ly/1zS5ED1
Moving on…
WONK WAR: BUDGET SCORING EDITION, Cristina Marcos reports: The House on Tuesday adopted a controversial rule to require macroeconomic scoring on major legislation in the new Congress, which opponents say will politicize impartial budget analyses.
The provision, part of the rules package that the House considers at the start of every new Congress, passed largely along party lines by a vote of 234-172…
— WHY DOES IT MATTER? via Marcos: “So-called ‘dynamic scoring’ typically offers a more favorable view of cutting taxes, which is part of why Republicans support the method. GOP lawmakers argued that emphasizing macroeconomic scoring, which factors in economy-wide impacts like the rates of inflation and employment, simply provided a more comprehensive assessment of a bill’s impact on the federal budget.” http://bit.ly/1Bwounz
— WHITE HOUSE BLASTS DECISION. Shaun Donovan, White House Budget director, in a blog post: “Dynamic scoring can create a bias favoring tax cuts over investments in infrastructure, education, and other priorities.” Blog post: http://1.usa.gov/1ImWz9U
OBAMA NOMINATES COMMUNITY BANKER TO FED, via our Vicki Needham: “The White House on Tuesday nominated community banker Allan Landon to the Federal Reserve Board. Landon, who retired in 2010 as the head of the Bank of Hawaii, would fill one of two empty slots on the seven-member Fed board if confirmed by the Senate…
“The Fed has been without a community banking representative for nearly a year and the industry has pushed for an appointment. Bank of Hawaii was selected as the ‘Best Bank in America’ in 2009 and 2010 by Forbes while Landon was at the helm. The central bank, which has been operating on a nearly constant rotation of vacancies over the past several years, has a hefty agenda this year.
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will lead the bank through plans to reduce its more than $4 trillion balance sheet and raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Landon is a partner in Community BanCapital, a community bank investment fund based in Portland, Ore. He also is a director of MidFirst Bank in Oklahoma City and he is an adjunct instructor at the universities of Utah and Hawaii, according to a biography.” http://bit.ly/13Yi3MF.
— Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), top Democrat on Banking: “This nomination recognizes the important role that community banks play in our economy and in every community across the country. I look forward to meeting with Mr. Landon as the Banking Committee gives his nomination a full and fair consideration.”
— Cam Fine, CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America: “Landon’s experience as the CEO of a community bank and his broader sector experience will bring a much-needed community bank perspective to the board’s deliberations.”
— Frank Keating, CEO of American Bankers Association: “Allan Landon’s background and experience would help ensure the Federal Reserve has a full perspective on both bank regulatory issues and broader economic policy.”
— Who is Allan Landon? Pedro da Costa for The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1wSLEy3.
SALON SAYS WARREN’S CRUZ COMPARISONS ARE GOOD. Heather Digby Parton for the liberal Salon.com: “One of the first things we saw from the political media were declarations that Elizabeth Warren is the Ted Cruz of the left… And progressives rushed to explain why that simply wasn’t so. How could it be? She isn’t insane!… So I say, don’t worry about any D.C. gasbag calling Elizabeth Warren the Ted Cruz of the left. It means she’s got clout. And lord knows progressives desperately need some of that.” http://bit.ly/1AqJtGP
So is Warren the left’s Ted Cruz then?…
CUBA WATCH, via Needham: “President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto agreed Tuesday to work together on U.S. plans to reestablish diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba after a lapse of more than 50 years. The two leaders, who met Tuesday at the White House, discussed the next steps that would open up the communist island to more business and investment from the United States and Latin America.” http://bit.ly/17h0mdv
That fight will heat up on the Hill with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) in the coming weeks.
CONNECT WITH THE HILL’s FINANCE TEAM — Write us with tips, suggestions and news: vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com; pschroeder@digital-staging.thehill.com;bbecker@digital-staging.thehill.com;rshabad@digital-staging.thehill.com; kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com.
— Follow us on Twitter: @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder; @BernieBecker3; @RebeccaShabad and @kevcirilli.