Overnight Finance: Feds issue union ‘persuader’ rule; Wall Street fights trading tax

NY LAWMAKERS OPPOSE TRADE DEAL: A bipartisan group of New York lawmakers on Wednesday told President Obama that they are opposing a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade agreement.

The lawmakers — 13 Democrats and six Republicans from the state’s 27-member delegation — sent a letter to the White House expressing their “firm opposition” to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as negotiated because it will lead to more job losses for U.S. workers.

{mosads}”We are united in our opposition to the agreement and in our belief that the TPP will harm many working and middle-class families in New York and across the country,” the lawmakers wrote. The Hill’s Vicki Needham explains why: http://bit.ly/22wBJED.

WALL STREET FIGHTS TRANSACTION TAX: Wall Street is mobilizing against proposals to tax financial transactions as the idea gains attention on the campaign trail and in Congress.

The idea already has one high-profile supporter, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who has proposed legislation in the Senate for a tax on the trade of stocks and other securities.

Supporters say a financial transaction tax (FTT) would deter market speculation. But the industry and other critics are expanding efforts to stop the proposal, saying it would weaken markets and hurt small investors, especially Americans trying to save for retirement. Retirement money is often invested in mutual funds that trade frequently to maximize returns. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda lays out the battlefield: http://bit.ly/1RlSZBQ.

DC CAN’T BREAK WALL STREET’S BONUS CULTURE: Dodd-Frank instructed the federal government to crack down on bonuses that incentivize risky behavior. As Bloomberg tell us, that’s been much easier said than done: http://bloom.bg/1WJCjrD.

HAPPY THURSDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’ll be taking the rest of the week off until Congress returns. 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 new union rule from the Department of Labor, more Republican questions for the IRS and a vision for a new Fannie and Freddie.

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.

LABOR DEPT. ISSUES ‘PERSUADER’ RULE: The Department of Labor (DOL) on Wednesday finalized a long-awaited rule that will force employers to disclose outside consultants they hire to counter workers’ union organizing efforts.

Under the so-called persuader rule, which was first proposed in 2011, employers will be required to report any actions, conduct or communications that are undertaken to — explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly — affect an employee’s decisions regarding his or her representation or collective bargaining rights.

“Workers should know who is behind an anti-union message. It’s a matter of basic fairness,” Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said in a statement. The Hill’s Lydia Wheeler breaks it down: http://bit.ly/1VGdq1s.

HOUSE GOP QUESTIONS IRS: Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee are asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about its use of a tool that could help to lower the rate of improper payments of the earned income tax credit (EITC).

The lawmakers said in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Wednesday that it is their understanding that the “Do Not Pay” portal “is not being fully utilized by the IRS.”

The portal, housed at the Treasury Department, provides federal agencies with access to databases containing information such as employment data. The agencies can use this data to determine whether payments should be made to beneficiaries. Here’s more from Naomi Jagoda: http://bit.ly/1pz7NFP.

BIPARTISAN BILL FOR ‘PROMISE ZONES’: A bipartisan group of House members on Wednesday introduced a bill that would incentivize hiring and investment in certain high-poverty communities.

The bill is designed to provide additional help for areas designated by the federal government as “Promise Zones.”  The federal government partners with local leaders in Promise Zones to help the communities achieve their goals. Such designated areas already receive preferences for some federal grant programs.

Three of the bill’s sponsors — House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), and Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) — represent areas with Promise Zones. A fourth, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), represents Memphis, which has applied for a Promise Zone designation: http://bit.ly/1WJwQkB.

NEW REPORT LAYS OUT NEW FUTURE FOR GSE’S: A high-power group for economic policy wonks has a new report laying out what can be done to reconfigure government-sponsored enterprises like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The gist, according to the Wall Street Journal: “Instead of winding down Fannie and Freddie, the companies would be merged into a government-owned corporation that would take over the responsibilities of buying mortgages, wrapping them into securities and guaranteeing investors against default. That’s the core of the housing finance system that helps to make 30-year fixed-rate mortgages possible in the U.S. but not elsewhere.”

NIGHTCAP: Starbucks has expanded its rewards program to prepaid Visa cards.

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.