NOT SO FAST: House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) is throwing cold water on the latest attempt to unite House Republicans around the party’s 2017 budget blueprint.
Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) announced Monday his budget plan would meet the terms set by last fall’s deal with the White House, while promising votes sometime this year on separate legislation to reduce the federal deficit. But Rogers said Tuesday those votes on mandatory savings in the form of appropriations bills would be impossible for his committee to do. The Hill’s Sarah Ferris has the full story: http://bit.ly/21e8uFG
HOYER TELLS GOP TO TREAD CAREFULLY: Republicans’ new budget strategy will hit a brick wall with Democrats if it strays from last year’s deal between President Obama and former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) warned Tuesday.
Hoyer, the Democratic whip, said cutting billions of dollars from the spending level agreed to by Obama and Boehner would be a deal-breaker with Democrats. The Hill’s Mike Lillis tells us why: http://bit.ly/1SRtLQQ.
{mosads}RNC HITS CLINTON FOR ‘HYPOCRITICAL’ WALL STREET AD: The Republican National Committee is hitting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, calling a new ad on corporate taxes “hypocritical.” Clinton has promised if elected to take executive action against companies who perform such maneuvers, called “tax inversions.”
But the RNC is pointing to a Washington Post report that identified one of her top campaign fundraisers as a founder of an investment firm that advised the company targeted in the ad on the tax maneuver. I walk you through the scuffle here: http://bit.ly/1QBzfz7.
DEM TENSIONS LINGER OVER ADVISER RULE: Several House Democrats are airing their grievances with the Obama administration’s attempt to crack down on the work of retirement investment advisers. With the regulatory initiative nearing the finish line, some lawmakers continue to express deep reservations with the “fiduciary rule” that is intended to protect people from unscrupulous financial advisers. The Hill’s Peter Schroeder explains: http://bit.ly/1RZEMym.
HAPPY TUESDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re working on the pronunciation of Nevada ahead of tonight’s Republican caucus. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
Tonight’s highlights include a cattle call for trade support, major transportation grants, the elusiveness of ObamaCare penalties and 2016 hope from the Chamber of Commerce.
See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-staging.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://www.digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48.
ON TAP TOMORROW:
- House Ways and Means: Hearing on “The Global Tax Environment in 2016 and Implications for International Tax Reform,” 10 a.m.
- House Financial Services: Hearing titled “The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel III on the Fixed Income Market and Securitizations,” 10 a.m.
- Senate Appropriations subcommittee: State Department budget hearing featuring Secretary of State John Kerry.
- Senate Appropriations subcommittee: Department of Homeland Security budget hearing featuring Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
- The Heritage Foundation hosts an event entitled “Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming The Fed Will Restore Hope and Prosperity.”
LAWMAKER DOUBTFUL ON TAX REFORM THIS YEAR: The chairman of a House tax-policy panel said Tuesday that international tax reform is not likely to be enacted this year.
“It’s probably unlikely given the short timeline we’ve got, given the occupant in the White House, and also dealing with the Senate,” said Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s tax policy subcommittee.
Still, Boustany said he aims for his subcommittee to write an international tax reform bill this year and see how far it can move. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda breaks it down: http://bit.ly/1oFwXTw.
PUERTO RICO PROMISES MORE FINANCIAL DOCS: A top Puerto Rican official told Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday that the island is nearly done putting together a comprehensive collection of financial documents to help guide Congress in crafting a debt-relief plan for the island.
Gov. Alejandro García Padilla sent Ryan (R-Wis.) a working draft of 2014 financial information ahead of the completion of a sweeping audit of those records. He also tried to dispel what he called a “misconception” that the island has failed to turn over timely documents detailing the territory’s struggles to avoid a significant default. The Hill’s Vicki Needham takes us through the troubles: http://bit.ly/1QZ5X7F.
TURBOTAX: MOST UNINSURED SKIP OBAMACARE FINE: Nearly three in four people who lacked health insurance last year were exempt from the penalty under ObamaCare, according to data from the tax-filing software TurboTax. A total of 70 percent of people filed an exemption to ObamaCare’s individual mandate, about the same figure as last year, according to TurboTax.
The two most common exemptions were related to the cost of coverage. Many people without coverage said they couldn’t afford healthcare plans in their area or couldn’t afford plans through their workplace: http://bit.ly/1XL42sL.
ANALYSIS RANKS CRUZ TAX PLAN OVER TRUMP’S: Ted Cruz’s tax plan would cost less and stimulate the economy more than Donald Trump’s, a recent analysis found.
“Of the two proposals that we have examined so far, those by Trump and Cruz, we find the Cruz proposal to be the better of the two,” said David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute and senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis. The free-market groups released a report comparing the economic effects of the tax plans from the two Republican presidential candidates: http://bit.ly/1PWSEqC.
CHAMBER CALLS ON ‘BIG THINGS’ FROM NEXT POTUS: The nation’s leading business group wants the next president to put the country’s fiscal house in order.
In a letter Tuesday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce called on the 45th President to make regulatory and entitlement reforms, invest in infrastructure, reform the nation’s immigration laws, reduce tax rates and expand free trade. The Hill’s Lydia Wheeler has it here: http://bit.ly/1LELqUn.
DEMS TAKE AIM AT CORPORATE TAX BENEFITS: Two top House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday afternoon to limit one of the main tax benefits for U.S. companies that reincorporate in foreign countries.
The bill, from House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and House Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), would clamp down on a tax-avoidance strategy known as earnings stripping. Naomi Jagoda walks us through it: http://bit.ly/1Ot6OM.
FEDS TO AWARD $500M IN TRANSPO GRANTS: The Department of Transportation (DOT) is planning to award $500 million worth of grants to states for infrastructure construction projects, the agency announced on Thursday.
The grants, from the agency’s 2016 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program, will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will be selected from applications from state and local governments, the DOT said. The Hill’s Keith Laing follows the money: http://bit.ly/21oIg05.
TRADE DEAL CONFIDENCE: A top administration official says he’s confident Congress will approve the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that the White House will mount an economic and strategic argument aimed at convincing House and Senate lawmakers to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in what is expected to be a bruising fight on Capitol Hill. Vicki Needham with the story: http://bit.ly/1OttGuY
U.S. AGRICULTURE TO MAKE BANK ON TRADE DEAL: U.S. agriculture will experience substantial benefits from a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade agreement and is urging Congress to quickly pass the agreement, according to a new economic analysis released on Tuesday.
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s new report concludes that congressional passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement would boost the bottom line for the nation’s farmers by $4.4 billion if Congress ratifies the deal between the United States and 11 other nations. Vicki Needham breaks it down: http://bit.ly/1mVGsfk.
BEEF BUYS IN: Beef producers are calling on Congress to quickly pass a massive Pacific Rim trade deal they say is critical to the future of their export business.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association sent a letter to Capitol Hill arguing that cattle producers face a loss of market share around the globe if lawmakers don’t swiftly ratify the controversial 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): http://bit.ly/20TvnsO.
NIGHTCAP: You can now buy hot dogs at every Burger King in the United States. Your New Yorker Overnight Finance author is intrigued, but skeptical that the King can match Nathan’s Famous.
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.