HOUSE GOP MOVES TO BLOCK OVERTIME RULE: House Republicans are looking to shut down an effort by the Obama administration to raise overtime pay for millions of workers.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Thursday filed a motion of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act in an effort to repeal the Labor Department’s new overtime rule.
{mosads}”Our nation’s overtime rules need to be modernized, but the Department of Labor’s extreme and partisan approach will lead to damaging consequences that the American people simply cannot afford,” Foxx said. “This resolution will protect workers, students, small business owners, and vulnerable individuals from a rule that will do more harm than good.”
The Labor Department’s overtime rule was finalized in May and will raise pay for Americans who work more than 40 hours in a week. The Hill’s Tim Devaney tells us more: http://bit.ly/1sIk0dc.
SENATE, HOUSE DIVIDE ON IRS CUTS: A Senate panel on Thursday approved a spending bill that rejects House cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a $22.4 billion bill to fund financial regulators and government operations for fiscal 2017.
While the Senate bill cuts $1 billion from total fiscal 2016 levels, it breaks from a House counterpart that cuts $236 million and $1.5 billion from that year’s IRS and SEC budgets, respectively. I’ll fill you in here: http://bit.ly/1Ot1kbt.
TROUBLE WITH PAYDAYS LAWS: House Democrats are out with a new report detailing how payday lenders try to skirt state laws.
The Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee examined how lenders in five states have found ways to operate around legal limitations placed on high-interest loans.
They found that payday lenders have reestablished themselves as mortgage lenders, online lenders or even aligned themselves with Native American tribes to avoid restrictions on the types of loans they can offer. The Hill’s Peter Schroeder tells us how: http://bit.ly/1UYa85j.
HAPPY THURSDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re trying to get into your inbox before the rain does. 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 visit to Congress for Janet Yellen, corporate finance chiefs speaking out against regulations and the defeat of a contentious immigration provision.
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://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.
BUSY WEEK FOR YELLEN: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will deliver her semiannual report on monetary policy to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, a day after her scheduled Senate testimony, the panel announced on Thursday.
Yellen, who last testified on Capitol Hill in February, will appear before the House and Senate committees less than a week after the Fed decided to hold off on another interest rate increase amid concerns about the strength of the global economy.
She will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
The central bank on Wednesday said that while U.S. economy is moderately improving, the Fed still has some room to keep interest rates low. The Hill’s Vicki Needham gives us a preview: http://bit.ly/1UlSwmW.
HOUSE REJECTS IMMIGRATION MEASURES: In a break from previous votes on the issue, the House on Thursday rejected two GOP proposals to prevent the Obama administration from enlisting young illegal immigrants to serve in the military.
Lawmakers voted down two measures offered by immigration hard-liners Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) that would have prohibited the use of federal money to enlist young illegal immigrants who have been granted work permits under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
More than 30 Republicans with more centrist views on immigration joined all Democrats in opposing the two amendments offered to a Defense Department spending bill. The amendments failed narrowly with votes of 207-214 and 210-211, respectively. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos takes us there: http://bit.ly/1S7xYKb.
MANUFACTURERS CALL FOR LOWER CORPORATE TAX: Manufacturers view a corporate tax rate of 25 percent or less, a long-term research and development tax credit, and robust cost-recovery provisions as essential elements of tax reform that would make them more competitive, according to survey results released Thursday.
“As the tax debate moves forward, there is growing interest in comprehensive business tax reform that includes lower tax rates for corporations and for business income earned by ‘pass-through’ entities. The individual tax code would remain essentially the same,” the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) said in its report on the survey. “With this in mind, we asked a series of questions to gauge interest in comprehensive business tax reform.”
NAM asked its members questions about tax reform in its outlook survey for the second quarter of 2016. The group surveyed manufacturers from May 13 to 31, and 322 manufacturers from a variety of sizes, sectors and locations responded. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us what they said–and what they didn’t: http://bit.ly/1WPeHoI.
FINANCE CHIEFS SAY THEY’RE STIFLED BY REGULATION: More than 75 percent of corporate finance chiefs say federal regulation is stifling access to services, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The pro-business group’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness surveyed more than 300 corporate treasurers with an online questionnaire. The size of businesses represented ranged roughly from $100,000 to $100 million in annual revenues.
More than 30 percent of treasurers surveyed said “dealing with uncertainty over new financial regulations” was their biggest financial concern for the year ahead.
“The crush of financial regulations has a direct, downstream impact on companies,” said Center CEO David Hirschmann. “It’s time for regulators to take stock of this impact and ensure financial regulation doesn’t further limit America’s Main Street economic growth.” I’ll tell you about their biggest concerns here: http://bit.ly/24Uv8zC.
BUILDER CONFIDENCE TICKS UP IN JUNE: Builder confidence rose in June by 2 points as more serious buyers look to purchase new homes.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said Thursday that, after holding steady for the past four months, sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes rose to 60, the highest reading since January.
“Builders in many markets across the nation are reporting higher traffic and more committed buyers at their job sites,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a homebuilder and developer from Bloomington, Ill.
“However, our members are also relating ongoing concerns regarding the shortage of buildable lots and labor and noting pockets of softness in scattered markets.”
Any reading over 50 reflects a positive outlook: http://bit.ly/1UbGr1p.
DRUG TESTS FOR DEDUCTIONS? A Wisconsin Democrat is pushing back against restrictions on welfare recipients with a bill that would require the wealthy to submit to a drug test before claiming high-dollar tax deductions.
Rep. Gwen Moore rolled out the legislation, the Top 1% Accountability Act, on Wednesday.
Several states, including Wisconsin, require drug tests for at least some recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) also expanded such tests to some recipients of unemployment benefits and recently sued the federal government in an effort to drug test recipients of food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Those in favor of such policies argue that drug testing will save money and make recipients more responsible. A Think Progress study found the cost of administering such tests outstrips potential savings from catching violators: http://bit.ly/1UQWKTj.
BUSINESS GROUPS PRESS CONGRESS ON TRADE: Three powerful business groups on Thursday called on President Obama and congressional Republican and Democratic leaders to redouble their efforts to pass an expansive Asia-Pacific trade agreement by year’s end.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Business Roundtable sent a letter saying that failing to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) risks U.S. economic growth, jobs and leadership.
“Many foreign governments are completing their own trade agreements that create advantages for their industries and workers at the expense of ours,” wrote Chamber President Thomas Donohue, BRT President John Engler and NAM President Jay Timmons.
“America is already losing opportunities and market share where we have failed to put in place our own trade agreements that reflect our own high standards, and we will continue to fall further behind without the TPP,” they wrote: http://bit.ly/1ZUK13E.
TAX GUIDELINES FOR THE WRONGFULLY INCARCERATED: The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday released guidelines on how those who were wrongfully incarcerated and previously paid taxes on their restitution can get refunds as a result of a new law.
The agency posted a set of Frequently Asked Questions about the new tax exclusion on its website.
Under the tax extenders package passed in December, people who received civil damages, restitution or other compensation due to wrongful incarceration can exclude the money from their federal income taxes. People who previously paid taxes on restitution can request to get that money refunded by Dec. 19.
To get a refund, taxpayers should file an amended income tax return for any year that they reported compensation for wrongful imprisonment and write “Incarceration Exclusion PATH Act” at the top of the forms. The returns should be mailed to a special address. Taxpayers requesting the refund should allow up to 16 weeks for their request to be processed, the IRS said: http://bit.ly/1UQWKTj.
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