Overnight Finance: GOP budget met by conservative opposition

CONSERVATIVES REVOLT AGAINST GOP BUDGET PLAN: The House Budget Committee on Tuesday unveiled a GOP spending vision for 2017 that promises to cut $7 trillion from the national deficit over a decade — the sharpest cuts ever proposed by the committee.

But the House Freedom Caucus, which includes about 40 members, announced it would oppose the budget late Monday, which will make it all but impossible for the resolution to be approved on the House floor. The Hill’s Sarah Ferris explains the struggle: http://bit.ly/1nMkBHJ.

{mosads}DEMS SLAM GOP DIVIDES: House Democratic leaders are hammering Republicans over their struggle to rally support for a 2017 budget proposal.

“We see the self-destructing nature of the Republican caucus once again,” Rep. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said Tuesday morning in the Capitol.

“It shows the level of dysfunctionality that exists within the Republican majority.” Here’s more from The Hill’s Mike Lillis: http://bit.ly/22ie1f7.

‘HAMILTON’ CREATOR PUSHES FOR PUERTO RICO RELIEF: “Hamilton” star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda on Tuesday joined Democrats on Capitol Hill to call on Congress to pass legislation allowing Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy amid its growing financial crisis.

“It’s a solvable, fixable issue. What we really need is help, and what we really need is help from Congress,” Miranda said during a press conference. “If ‘Hamilton’ tickets will help, I’m happy to do that too. I know a guy.”

In Congress, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to give the island territory access to bankruptcy courts so it can restructure its debt. The Hill’s Jordain Carney takes us to the room where it happened: http://bit.ly/252Sbex.

HAPPY TUESDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re wondering how much negligence necessitates a 29-hour shutdown of the Metro system. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include easing of Cuba travel restrictions, strong words on financial regulation from House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, and a report on homes.

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 Financial Services Committee: Hearing on CFPB with Director Richard Cordray, 10 a.m. Check out the committee’s opening shot against the agency here.
• House Appropriations Committee: Hearing on Treasury Department budget, 10 a.m.
• Senate Judiciary Subcommittee: Hearings to examine the impact of immigration on U.S. workers, 10 a.m.
• Senate Judiciary Committee: Hearing on preventing a fiscal crisis in America, focusing on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, 2 p.m.
• House Ways and Means subcommittee: Hearing entitled “Preserving and Strengthening Medicare,” 10 a.m.
• House Financial Services subcommittee: Hearing entitled “The FDIC’s Targeting of Refund Anticipation Loans,” 2 p.m.
• House Committee on Education and the Workforce: Hearing entitled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Labor,” 10 a.m.
• House Energy and Commerce Committee: Hearing on Disrupter Series: Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology, 10 a.m.

TREASURY ROLLS BACK MAJOR CUBA TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: The Obama administration on Tuesday eased a number of major travel and banking restrictions on Cuba ahead of the president’s historic trip there on Sunday.

The policy changes make it easier for Americans to visit Cuba and eliminate barriers to using U.S. dollars in Cuban financial transactions.

The moves by the Treasury and Commerce Departments are some of the most significant changes yet to advance the new policy of openness toward Cuba announced by President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro in 2014. The Hill’s Jordan Fabian has the details: http://bit.ly/1pJL3Dr.

TOP REPUBLICAN LIKENS REGULATION TO WATERBOARDING: A top House Republican on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of engaging in “regulatory waterboarding” when it comes to monitoring banks.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) vowed he would soon unveil a proposal to replace the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. He portrayed the 2010 regulatory overhaul as a boondoggle that has put smaller bankers out of business.

“Washington’s regulatory waterboarding is drowning community banks and small businesses,” he told bankers gathered in Washington. “On behalf of every hardworking, struggling American — I will not rest until Dodd-Frank is ripped out by its roots and tossed on the trash heap of history.” The Hill’s Peter Schroeder has more: http://bit.ly/1SQLVBM.

HOME-BUILDER CONFIDENCE HOLDS STEADY: Home builder confidence held steady in March even as the industry faces a shortage of workers and available lots.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday that its index was unchanged at 58 for newly built single-family homes.

NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., said the index reflects a market that is making “slow but steady progress.” http://bit.ly/1pJJa9M.

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.