Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL–Trump signs spending bill, preventing shutdown: President Trump on Friday signed a $854 billion spending package that will avert a shutdown by keeping the federal government open into the new fiscal year, which begins Monday.
The measure fully funds most parts of the federal government through fiscal 2019, pushing off a deadline for a partial shutdown — and showdown over funding for Trump’s proposed border wall — until early December.
{mosads}”The signing of this legislation marks a drastic turnaround in the way we have funded the government in recent years,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) in a statement announcing the signing. “As of today, 75 percent of the government is funded — on time and through an open, bipartisan process.”
The signing ceremony, which was scheduled for noon on Friday, was closed to the press.
Trump on the bill: “America is being respected again – and our people are being protected again. I am pleased to have signed this bill into law,” Trump said, touting the record-level defense spending.
He also hit Democrats for opposing funding for the wall.
“Unfortunately, the radical Democrats refuse to support border security and want drugs and crime to pour into our country,” he said.
The Hill’s Niv Elis breaks down the bill here.
- The package fully funds defense programs, a top Republican priority, as well as domestic programs through the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, fulfilling a top Democratic priority.
- Friday’s measure also included a continuing resolution, or funding extension, for the seven bills that Congress has yet to agree on. Among them is the Department of Homeland Security bill, which contains funding for Trump’s proposed border wall.
LEADING THE DAY
House votes to extend individual tax cuts: The House on Friday voted to permanently extend the individual tax cuts in President Trump’s 2017 tax law, giving House Republicans a chance to tout the law as they prepare to leave Washington to campaign.
The legislation passed on a vote of 220-191. Three Democrats voted for the legislation and ten Republicans voted against it.
Two of the Democrats who voted for the bill, Reps. Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), are both running for Senate. Rep. Conor Lamb (D) is in a competitive race against Rep. Keith Rothfus (R) in the newly drawn Pennsylvania 17th District.
A number of Republicans in blue states, some of whom are in competitive reelection races, voted against the bill. All of the GOP no votes were lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California who opposed the measure because they did not want to cement the 2017 tax law’s $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us more about the vote here.
Tesla shares plunge after SEC charges Musk with fraud: Tesla shares dropped 13.9 percent Friday after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged CEO Elon Musk with fraud and pushed to have him removed from the company.
The lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon in federal court in Manhattan, alleged that Musk misled shareholders in a series of unusual tweets in August, in which he said he had secured funding to take the electric car company private.
Musk responded by saying the charges were “unjustified.”
Tesla shares were trading at about $270 when the market opened Friday morning — more than 12 percent lower than the $307 price on Thursday afternoon. They closed at $264.77.
ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Tuesday:
- Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on implementation of the Implementation of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, 10 a.m.
- Senate Finance Committee: Hearing on the nomination of Andrew Saul to be Social Security commissioner, 10:30 a.m.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosts a two-day 2018 Small Business Conference, 12 p.m.
Wednesday:
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) hosts a two-day fintech conference, 8 a.m.
- Senate Judiciary Committee: Hearing entitled “Big Bank Bankruptcy: 10 Years After Lehman Brothers,” 10 a.m.
- Senate Small Business Committee: Hearing on expanding opportunities for small businesses through the tax code.
Thursday:
- Senate Banking Committee: Hearing entitled “Combating Money Laundering and Other Forms of Illicit Finance: Regulator and Law Enforcement Perspectives on Reform,” 10 a.m.
NEXT WEEK’S NEWS, NOW
- The House has recessed until after the midterm elections, but the Senate is still in session next week. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hear from financial regulators on Tuesday about implementation of the Dodd-Frank rollback bill that Trump signed in May. This might shock you, but Republicans are pushing regulators to exempt a greater number of banks from stricter oversight while Democrats are concerned that they might go too far.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Facebook revealed on Friday that it discovered a hack affecting the accounts of 50 million users.
- Rising oil prices is softening the blow of U.S. sanctions for Russia, writes Bloomberg News.
- The S&P 500 rose 7.2 percent over the past three months, its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2013.
- The Wall Street Journal investigates how dirty money disappears into the black hole of cryptocurrency.
- U.S. consumer spending rose by 0.3 percent in August as sales of cars and other durable goods fell. A key gauge of inflation slowed slightly after its biggest annual gain in six years, according to the AP.
- A judge on Friday declined to block the importation of iPhones with chips from Intel in a major defeat to Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in its high-stakes legal dispute with Apple, according to Reuters.
Recap the week with On The Money:
- Monday: $200B more in Trump tariffs kick in | China calls off trade talks | CEO confidence slips over tariffs | GOP to move spending bill over Trump concerns | Behind the scenes look at how the GOP tax law passes.
- Tuesday: US trade chief casts doubt on Canada joining new deal | House panel invites Watt accuser to testify | Brady defends GOP message on tax cuts
- Wednesday: House passes $854B spending bill to avert shutdown | Trump ‘not happy’ after Fed’s latest rate hike | Trump says he refused meeting with Trudeau
- Thursday: Watt’s accuser describes sexual harassment claims in stunning testimony | SEC sues Elon Musk for fraud | Mnuchin says GOP hasn’t lost messaging war on taxes.