TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT – – OR FRIDAY? Scott Wong and Peter Schroeder for the hometown paper: “House Republicans have set the stage for a high-stakes vote Friday to grant President Obama fast-track trade authority. While objections from some Democrats on a last-minute deal related to the trade package raised some doubts about the outcome, Obama and the GOP appear poised to earn a significant victory.
“‘We’re moving because we feel comfortable moving,’ said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has led efforts to secure GOP votes for the measure.
{mosads}”Less than a month ago, Obama’s fast-track hopes were in peril after Senate Democrats blocked an effort to take up the legislation. The temporary defeat in the Senate, which is generally more trade friendly, raised doubts over whether Obama would get a victory on his top legislative target. Fast-forward to Wednesday, and things look different. http://bit.ly/1B3uszj
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and tomorrow is Thursday. It’s almost the weekend. But we’re not there yet. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48.
SENATE SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR EX-IM. My latest for the hometown paper: Supporters of the Export-Import Bank showed they have the support to break a filibuster against its renewal on Wednesday in a test vote highlighting the bank’s support. In a 31-65 tally, the Senate voted against tabling an amendment to reauthorize the bank. The amendment was offered by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who supports the bank, then removed the amendment. Twenty GOP senators joined 45 Democrats to support the bank. http://bit.ly/1KXcgHz
— SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.): “What we’re trying to do here is basically show support for the Ex-Im Bank… This is not the last vote we’ll take on the Ex-Im Bank.”
— WHO VOTED AGAINST EX-IM: Presidential candidates, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), voted against the bank. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another presidential candidate and outspoken bank critic, did not vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is running as a Democratic presidential candidate, was the only progressive to vote against the bank. My story: http://bit.ly/1GzrNQ0
— DAYS UNTIL EX-IM CHARTER EXPIRES: 10. And Heritage Action is threatening to score Friday’s TPA vote should anyone try to attach an Ex-Im amendment to it.
My story with Scott Wong: Heritage Action is urging House conservatives to vote against giving President Obama fast-track trade authority unless GOP leaders in both chambers promise not to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. In an alert, Heritage said it would negatively score votes in favor of fast-track “absent ironclad public commitments” from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “that the Export-Import Bank will not be reauthorized.”
The House is set to vote Friday on fast-track, which would give Obama the power to send trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote.
GOP leadership aides pushed back on the key vote, questioning why Heritage didn’t urge Republicans to vote no when TPA came up in the Senate last month.
“The hypocrisy is rather spectacular, but not surprising,” said one GOP leadership aide. Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1dxMPkC
NOT THE ONION: LIBERAL PUNDIT BILL PRESS told me on his radio program today about the Ex-Im fight: “It shows you how hard it is to kill a government agency.”1:13:30 mark for the start of our segment… 1:20:15 for our talk about Ex-Im: http://bit.ly/1f3H7bd
My take on business and politics for Fox News from earlier this afternoon: http://bit.ly/1HsICef
QUOTABLE, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan & Chase, speaking about Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in Chicago earlier: “I don’t know if she fully understands the global banking system.” Bloomberg recaps: http://bloom.bg/1L1J1X0
NOTABLE, via MarketWatch: “U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials posting their biggest one-day gains in more than a month.” http://on.mktw.net/1GflKwy
NO-SHOW: DE BLASIO. Ben Kamisar: “New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is skipping Hillary Clinton’s presidential launch event at Roosevelt Island in his city, prompting questions about his support for her candidacy.” http://bit.ly/1FJDAWa
BILL CLINTON TALKS PAID SPEECHES, via Mark Hensch: “Former President Clinton on Wednesday said he would probably stop giving paid speeches if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in 2016.” http://bit.ly/1HsSAMI
ON-TAP FOR TOMORROW: CASTRO PREPS FOR HILL HOT SEAT. Could-be Democratic vice presidential pick Julian Castro will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday. The Housing secretary will face tough questions from Republicans at the hearing, who have criticized his leadership as not doing enough to help the housing market.
— CASTRO TESTIMONY, first on The Hill: “I truly see HUD as the ‘Department of Opportunity.’ When I joined HUD nearly a year ago, I recognized HUD’s proud legacy of providing opportunities and support for struggling and working class Americans.” Read his testimony here:http://bit.ly/1JGc2Y1
FIDUCIARY FIGHT: WHITE HOUSE VIOLATING ITS OWN POLICY? Nick Thornton for BenefitsPro: “Now that the Treasury Department has stepped up its support of President Obama’s MyRA program with new tools employers can use to encourage enrollment, one Virginia-based fee-only advisor is making a bold claim against the government’s efforts to expand workplace savings plans.”
— WONK WAR ALLEGATIONS, via David Marotta, president of Marotta Wealth Management: “If private sector plan sponsors offered this plan to their participants, they would be called crazy. They could also go to jail… “Never in the history of retirement planning have the choices offered to workers been more severely restricted or more inappropriate… It would be like if General Electric had a retirement plan that said you could only invest in the company’s corporate bonds… Any company doing that would obviously be shut down immediately by the DOL.” http://bit.ly/1MpWNA6
— ON-TAP FOR NEXT WEEK: I’m hearing Labor Secretary Thomas Perez will likely testify at a fiduciary hearing in the House next week, according to one source extremely familiar with the hearing. Nothing has been officially locked-in yet, though.
HOT CLICK – – > INSIDE NFL ‘CHARM SCHOOL,’ via Bloomberg: “At a media training session, [leaders conduct] mock interviews that veer quickly from softball to gotcha: ‘How is camp going so far? Who is the leader on the team? Would you have a problem playing with a gay teammate?’ In another session, players get simulated letters informing them that they’ve been suspended for failing the league’s recreational drug testing or that their ‘girlfriend Boo-Boo’ has filed a domestic violence charge.” http://bloom.bg/1Q78py3
MUSIC, MONEY AND ITUNES: Julia Love and Mari Saito for Reuters: “Apple Music, unveiled Monday and scheduled to launch at the end of the month, will offer subscribers access to a vast library of songs for $10 a month, but has no free on-demand tier unlike industry leader Spotify and others.
“Officials in the recording industry are pleased to see Apple throwing its deep pockets and strong brand behind paid streaming, which generally provides more revenue for labels than the free services, which are supported by ads, said Cary Sherman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Association of America…”
— WILL IT WORK? “But despite the generally positive reaction to Apple’s announcement, some music companies are still concerned because of the tough economics of the streaming business… Premium subscriptions offer slightly better payouts to record labels and their artists than free services, but not as much as digital downloads.” http://reut.rs/1Mpz1UL
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