Overnight Finance: Dems push ‘pay as you go’; Puerto Rico bill after Easter?

STOCKS FALTER, THEN RECOVER AFTER BRUSSELS: After early slips, stocks largely closed above breaking even following the terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday: http://usat.ly/1Rxlmfk.

RYAN: PUERTO RICO BILL TO MOVE AFTER EASTER: The House will take up a Puerto Rico relief bill at the beginning of April, according to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Ryan told reporters Tuesday that the House Natural Resources Committee was closing in on a final bill and are “on track” to take it up after the Easter recess break.

“We’re doing a bipartisan meeting today, and we are working on this on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “And we expect when we come back from the district work period to be acting on it in the Resource committee.” Peter Schroeder lays out the timeline: http://bit.ly/1U63mzv.

{mosads}SCOTUS HEARS PUERTO RICO CASE: The Supreme Court also heard a challenge to a Puerto Rican law allowing its utilities to restructure their debts. The justices appeared divided with the more liberal wing seeming to support upholding the law. Justices though asked if Congress was poised to act. The Hill’s Lydia Wheeler has the recap. http://bit.ly/25krbXO

HOUSE PANEL REVEALS SPENDING BILL DESPITE BUDGET DELAY: The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday released an $81.6 billion veteran benefits bill, making clear that it will not wait for a GOP budget before beginning its months-long slog of spending bills.

The military construction and Veterans Affairs bill — the committee’s first spending bill this year — includes $1.2 billion less than President Obama’s budget request from earlier this spring.

The bill comes nearly a month earlier than last year as part of GOP leaders’ aggressive push to finish the appropriations process before the August recess. The Hill’s Sarah Ferris explains why they moved now: http://bit.ly/1SgdzpC.

HAPPY TUESDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re eager for the return of spring-like weather. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include trade on the campaign trail, the first Supreme Court tie since Scalia’s death and good news about the veteran unemployment rate.

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.

SCOTUS HITS FIRST POST-SCALIA STALEMATE ON BANKING CASE: The Supreme Court issued a deadlocked ruling Tuesday, its first since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The court tied 4-4 in a case involving whether a pair of wives should be held financially responsible for the failure of their husbands’ real estate endeavor.

Tuesday’s tie was the first since Scalia’s sudden death in February left the high court with eight justices. Democrats have been warning of such a scenario as they argue that the Senate needs to act quickly on a Scalia replacement to avoid a string of ties. The Hill’s Peter Schroeder explains: http://bit.ly/1UDjiZL.

PAY AS YOU GO: House Democrats are pushing for pay-as-you-go rules to govern the coming spending debate, The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports. The rules would require lawmakers to offset the cost of any new budget item, including spending or tax cuts, that would otherwise increase the deficit. http://bit.ly/1UDJZO7

TRADE TAKES CENTER STAGE IN DEM PRIMARY: The next round of presidential primary contests is testing the potency of anti-trade sentiment among voters, with labor unions vowing to keep President Obama’s trade agenda front and center.

Global trade is looming large as Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders needs wins in a slew of union-heavy states with upcoming primaries: Washington, Hawaii, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oregon, New Jersey and California.

Sanders produced a surprise victory in Michigan off his anti-trade rhetoric, going so far as to argue that Hillary Clinton’s trade stances led to sweeping job losses across the Great Lake State. The Hill’s Vicki Needham walks us through the fault lines and differences: http://bit.ly/1UiVwmh.

PREPAID CARDHOLDERS HIT THE HILL: And news about NetSpend, a prepaid debit card company. From a source familiar with the effort: “As the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] moves toward issuing a final prepaid card rule later this spring, consumers are taking to Capitol Hill to make their voice heard about the potential impact. NetSpend cardholders from five states met with Democrats and Republicans today, asking Members to engage with the CFPB to ensure new regulations do not eliminate their access to opt-in overdraft protection. Providers have raised concern that the proposed rule, which institutes credit card regulations on to overdraft, would force them to turn off the feature, leaving hundreds of thousands of cardholders with fewer or no tools to manage small-dollar purchases. Companies have put cardholders front and center in this debate. Nearly 6,000 consumers commented to the CFPB’s docket on the proposed rule and are now directly engaging with lawmakers in Washington. They are asking that the proposed rule include a small dollar exemption from credit card regulations on overdraft programs that offer $150 or less of funds.”

VETERAN UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS TO SEVEN-YEAR LOW: The unemployment rate for all veterans was 4.6 percent last year, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the same as in 2008. The figure was 5.2 percent for non-veterans older than 19: http://on.wsj.com/1PpOgNk.

DEMS SKEPTICAL BUT RESPONSIVE TO RYAN ANTI-POVERTY PUSH: As Speaker Ryan pushes ahead on an anti-poverty platform, Democrats aren’t quite panning him, but aren’t quite praising him either: http://theatln.tc/1WG4PtW.

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