On The Money: House passes $854B spending bill to avert shutdown | Trump ‘not happy’ after Fed’s latest rate hike | Trump says he refused meeting with Trudeau

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’ll always be “accommodative” to your desires for stimulating economic news. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com and nelis@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda and @NivElis.

 

THE BIG DEAL–Trump hits Fed after central bank hikes rates for third time this year: President Trump on Wednesday said he was “not happy” about the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates earlier in the afternoon, renewing his criticism of the central bank.

Trump said during a Wednesday press conference that he disapproved of the Fed’s rate hike and argued that savings from lower rates could help improve the country’s finances.

{mosads}The Fed raised rates by 0.25 percent Wednesday to a 2-2.25 percent target range, its third rate hike of 2018. The widely expected hike was signaled by Fed officials for several months.  

The president said that he was worried about the impact of higher interest rates on the economy, and said lower financing costs could help create jobs or pay down the federal debt.

 

The background: Trump has criticized the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell for raising rates throughout his tenure. The Fed has issued six hikes since Trump took office in 2017 and eight since 2015 as it attempts to bring rates toward a neutral position.

The Fed slashed rates to near-zero levels in 2008 in an effort to boost the U.S. economy and aid the recovery from the recession. The central bank has attempted to normalize rates quickly enough to stave off inflation, but slowly enough to allow the economy to reach full potential.

 

Trump’s argument: Most Republicans and right-leaning economists approve of the Fed’s efforts to neutralize interest rates in an effort to prevent rampant price increases and financial market bubbles. But Trump has argued that higher interest rates will hinder the strong economy and make it harder for him to curb unfair trade practices committed against the U.S.

“I’m a low interest rate person. I hate to tell you,” Trump said Wednesday, repeating his preference for cheaper money.

Read more from Trump’s wild press conference here. And for a full recap of the Fed’s rate hike and Powell’s press conference, check out my article here.

 

Highlights from Fed day:

• The Fed projected one further rate increase in 2018 and an average of three hikes in 2019. Four Fed officials predicted two hikes next year, another four projected three hikes, and four more officials expected four hikes.
• Fed officials also upgraded their projection for annual gross domestic product growth, bumping their forecast to 3.1 percent growth from their 2.8 percent prediction in June.
• The Fed also indicated that the bank would move away from low “accommodative” interest rates, which Powell said reflects the success of the central bank’s monetary policy.

ON TAP TOMORROW

• The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Federal Housing Finance Administration oversight, featuring testimony from FHFA Director Mel Watt and Simone Grimes, who has accused Watt of sexually harassing her.

• The Hill’s Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack interviews Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at 10:30 a.m.

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hosts advisory committee meetings, 9:30 a.m.
• House Judiciary Committee: Hearing on the future of sports betting, 10 a.m.
• House Ways and Means Committee: Hearing on the state of Social Security’s information technology, 11 a.m.

 

LEADING THE DAY

House passes $854B spending bill to avert shutdown: The House on Wednesday passed an $854 billion spending bill to avert an October shutdown, funding large swaths of the government while pushing the funding deadline for others until Dec. 7.

The bill passed by 361-61, a week after the Senate passed an identical measure by a vote of 93-7.

The package included two appropriations bills, which fully funded Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education for fiscal 2019, and make up about two-thirds of the annual appropriations total for the year.

It also included a continuing resolution (CR) extending current funding levels for any unfunded agencies through the first two months of the fiscal year. The Hill’s Niv Elis breaks down the bill and what comes next here.

 

Trump says he refused meeting with Trudeau on trade: President claimed Wednesday that he turned down a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the two countries attempt to overcome a rift in trade policy.

“His tariffs are too high, and he doesn’t seem to want to move, and I’ve told him ‘forget about it,'” Trump told reporters during a press conference at the United Nations in New York.

“We’re very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiation style of Canada. We don’t like their representative very much,” he added in an apparent reference to Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

 

Canadian officials pushed back on Trump’s comments, saying Canada didn’t request a meeting with Trump.

“No meeting was requested. We don’t have any comment beyond that,” a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office told The Hill.

 

House lawmakers seek to take back some control of tariffs: A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers introduced a measure on Wednesday that would ensure Congress has a seat at the table to examine the validity of President Trump’s tariffs.

Reps. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) worked on the legislation that would give lawmakers the ability to review and approve or disapprove Executive Branch reports on any tariffs before they are imposed by the president.

Under current law, the president has unilateral authority to impose tariffs under Sections 201, 301 and 232.

Even though the president still has the right to impose a tariff without any congressional oversight or approval, the bill would allow Congress to approve or deny any potential tariffs before going to the president’s desk.

“Given recent events, I think Congress needs to reclaim its seat at the table, and this bill is a simple and effective way to give Congress a more proactive role in trade policy,” Sanford said. The Hill’s Vicki Needham explains the bill here.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• The Trump administration on Wednesday gave its seal of approval to the House GOP “tax reform 2.0” package, with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) saying the president would sign the three measures.
• The European Union, China and Russia are setting up a backchannel to undermine U.S. sanctions on Iran and keep Tehran in the Obama-era nuclear deal, officials said.
• Ford Motor Company CEO James Hackett said Wednesday that steel and aluminum tariffs have cost the automaker $1 billion.
• Small business owners say that the most important issue affecting them is the cost of health care, according to a new survey. 
• Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted said that the U.S. should stop interfering in the Middle East if it wants lower oil prices.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

• Uber on Wednesday agreed to pay a $148 million nationwide settlement resolving allegations that the ride-hailing company failed to properly report a massive data breach in 2016.
• The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday approved a new rule that would limit what fees local authorities can charge wireless providers as the industry builds out its next-generation networks, known as 5G.
• Energy Secretary Rick Perry predicted that world oil markets will be “stable” after the upcoming deadline for countries to stop buying oil from Iran.