TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: BUDGET ‘VOTE-A-RAMA’: From The Hill’s Rebecca Shabad and Jordain Carney: “The Senate is marching toward approval of the Republican budget by speeding through dozens of amendments in a “vote-a-rama” expected to end early Friday morning.
“Republican leaders are expressing confidence that their blueprint will be approved, though they have a tight margin. The GOP can only afford to lose three Republican votes and pass its budget. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he didn’t believe there would be many defections. ‘No, I think in the end, I think we’ll do what the House did yesterday, which I think is very important for us to accomplish. I’m optimistic,’ he told The Hill.
{mosads}“The House GOP budget was approved by the lower chamber on Wednesday. If the Senate GOP pushes its budget across the finish line, Republicans in both chambers will seek to reconcile the two documents after a two-week recess that begins Friday.” http://bit.ly/1Bv86B0
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. Tomorrow is Friday. I am coming down with a cold. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com; and subscribe:http://digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48. Hope everybody is hangin’ in there…
THE ERA OF NO DODD-FRANK TWEAKS IS OVER. This morning, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) successfully advanced a bipartisan package of 11 bills — including bills that tweak the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Pete Schroeder has the story: “The House Financial Services Committee advanced a package of 11 bills aimed at housing and financial regulators, many with broad bipartisan margins. While some of the bills even passed unanimously, the discussion surrounding the measures showed there remain deep-seated concerns between the two parties about the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and how far to go in revisiting it.” Schroeder’s story: http://bit.ly/1EXY3b2
This is big, wonks. Let’s break it down:
1.) WHAT’S NEXT? You’ve got to remember that a lot of these bills passed the House last Congress — but the legislation went to die in the upper chamber, then controlled by Dems. But now, this package will likely pass the House. And it comes as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is carefully — and quietly — working on a regulatory relief package of his own that sources say will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
2.) ARE DEMOCRATS REALLY BEHIND DODD-FRANK TWEAKS? Yeah. But they’re also concerned about proposing any changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the hallmark legacy that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) fought for back in the days when she was a Harvard Law School professor. The biggest beef Dems like Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the House panel’s top Democrat, have is with the changes to CFPB. The budget wants to tweak how CFPB gets it money. Right now, CFPB gets its funding from the Federal Reserve — which means Congress doesn’t appropriate the money. Republicans want to change that, in addition to some other reforms. One of the House FinServ bills would create advisory committees at CFPB, too.
3.) WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE? The bottom line is that Hensarling has made regulatory relief a top priority and he’s delivered on moving a bill ahead of Senate Banking. Whether Democrats are able to block any changes to the CFPB — which, let’s face it, most Americans don’t even know exists — remains to be seen.
And the White House? President Obama on Thursday vowed to veto any legislation that would “unravel” Dodd-Frank. The Hill’s Jordan Fabian with the full story: http://bit.ly/1HNbXAE
QUOTABLE: Resigning Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), on the House floor, just days before his final day in office on March 31: “Abraham Lincoln held this seat in Congress for one term. But few faced as many defeats in his personal business and public life as he did. His continual perseverance in the face of these trials, never giving up, is something all of us Americans should be inspired by, especially when going through a valley in life.” Cristina Marcos has the story: http://bit.ly/1EYLPyZ
NOTABLE: SEAN DUFFY TAKES ON REGULATORS. FoxNews.com: “FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg came under fire Tuesday at a House subcommittee hearing over allegations that Operation Choke Point, a controversial federal law enforcement program, abused its authority by cutting off funding for targetedbusinesses. During one exchange, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) suggested Gruenberg step down as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation after Gruenberg was unable to answer questions about employees involved with Choke Point as well as specific allegations the agency overstepped its authority.” http://fxn.ws/19j2fa5
LEFT THREATENS TO PRIMARY WYDEN? Vicki Needham has the story: “The linchpin of President Obama’s trade agenda in the Senate is coming under intense pressure from the left to go against the White House. Liberal groups are threatening to back a primary challenge to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a key member of the Senate Finance Committee, in 2016 if he helps Obama secure a new trade pact that would stretch from the Asia-Pacific to Latin America.” http://bit.ly/1D2Okms
FIRST ON THE HILL – – > FORMER DNC CHAIRS BACK ‘FAST-TRACK.’ My latest for the hometown paper: Seven former chairmen of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) urged Democrats on Thursday to support President Obama’s trade agenda. In a letter sent to Democratic members arranged by center-left think tank Third Way, the former DNC leaders argued that Obama’s trade agenda would help create jobs. It comes as progressives are urging Democrats to oppose Obama’s request to fast-track legislation, known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), out of concern that it would lead to trade deals that don’t benefit U.S. workers. Story: http://bit.ly/1GtrpQF
— THIRD WAY’S JIM KESSLER, senior vice president for policy, tells me that the letter will “help Democrats see that there are other progressive leaders” who are supporting TPA.
— FORMER PA. GOV. ED RENDELL, who signed the letter, tells me: “TPA will help create blue-collar, middle-class jobs that pay well. That should be more important to the labor unions — and our members should know that.”
SIDESHOW – – SPORTS BRINK: I asked the gov what he thought about Jimmy Rollins bashing “blue-collar” Philly in an interview this week. “It’s just Jimmy being Jimmy,” Rendell told me.
FED WATCH: SHOULD WE RAISE RATES? Pedro Nicolaci da Costa for WSJ: “The Federal Reserve should be very cautious about raising interest rates just because the headline unemployment rate is falling, according to new research from two former central bank officials who are concerned the often-cited figure vastly overstates improvements in the job market.” http://on.wsj.com/191cOyz
CC: KATE CICHY – – > ALL THE COOL FINSERV WONKS ARE MOVING TO SAN FRAN. Nathaniel Popper and Connor Dougherty for NYT: “One of the country’s largest banks, Morgan Stanley, is losing its chief financial officer to Google in the most visible example yet of the flow of talent from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Ruth Porat, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer since 2010, has been one of the most powerful women in a financial industry that has struggled to promote and hold on to its female executives. She is going to Silicon Valley while it is facing its own issues about gender balance.” Story: http://nyti.ms/1CS98LE
OBAMA PUSHES PAYDAY RULES, via Gregory Korte for USA Today: “President Obama will advocate for stricter payday lending rules Thursday as he defends the federal government’s consumer protection watchdog against Republican efforts to defund the agency. Obama’s speech comes as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlines a proposal to crack down on payday lending practices that result in what it calls ‘debt traps.'” http://usat.ly/1M6truG
— WSJ’s Annamaria Andriotis: “The CFPB is considering requiring lenders either to ensure borrowers are able to pay back loans or to provide affordable repayment options or other protections such as capping the number of times borrowers can roll over debt… Dennis Shaul, chief executive at the Community Financial Services Association of America, which represents payday lenders, said such lenders already are requiring income verification in many cases, and that the industry is looking to do more to ensure loans are repaid.” http://on.wsj.com/1FL9OEX
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