Happy Tuesday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re standing with Major Biden and all other dogs struggling to adapt to pandemic life. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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.
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com and nelis@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @NJagoda and @NivElis.
THE BIG DEAL—House expected to vote Wednesday on COVID-19 package: One day more.
The House is now expected to take a final vote on Wednesday morning to clear the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
What happened: Lawmakers had initially been expected to vote on Tuesday and send the legislation to President Biden for his signature. But the House just received bill processing papers from the Senate on Tuesday morning, delaying the process. The House will take a procedural vote later Tuesday on the legislation with a final passage vote on Wednesday morning, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office said. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos has the latest here.
Check Watch: The House’s current timeline means Americans eligible for stimulus checks could start receiving them by the beginning of next week, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Tuesday.
“I’m very hopeful that by the beginning of next week, some relief can be realized,” he told MSNBC. Clyburn acknowledged that “we’ll be at the mercy of the administrative process” but that he was hopeful checks could begin being sent out next week. The Hill’s Mychael Schnell has more here.
Whenever you do get your check—if you’re not getting the funds via direct deposit, that is—don’t expect to see Biden’s name on it. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden won’t carry on the tradition started by Trump, who had his name affixed to the bottom of past rounds of checks.
“The checks will be signed by a career official at the Bureau of Fiscal Service. This is not about [Biden]. This is about the American people getting relief,” Psaki said. The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant takes us to the briefing room here.
More on the COVID-19 relief bill:
- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation to prevent the $1,400 direct payments in Democrats’ coronavirus relief package from being seized by private debt collectors.
- Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) announced he will vote for the relief package the Senate passed on Saturday along party lines after voting against the initial version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
LEADING THE DAY
New CDC guidelines a blow for ailing airline industry: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week delivered a tough blow to the airline industry, which is struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
While the CDC issued a number of recommendations that allow vaccinated and low-risk people more freedom to gather, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Monday that the agency’s advice on travel remains the same for both vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans: Don’t do it.
But some experts called that guidance confusing and the airline industry, while saying it would continue to work with the CDC, stressed its efforts to prevent coronavirus transmission aboard aircraft and its confidence that its approach is safe. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano breaks it down here.
Consumer bureau to enforce lending protections for LGBTQ individuals: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Tuesday it will enforce a federal ban on sex-based discrimination in lending cases where a customer is spurned because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The agency issued a rule Tuesday asserting that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits banks and lenders from rejecting credit and lending services to individuals because they identify as LGBTQ.
“In issuing this interpretive rule, we’re making it clear that lenders cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Acting CFPB Director David Uejio. “The CFPB will ensure that consumers are protected against such discrimination and provided equal opportunities in credit.” I have more here.
The background: The CFPB is the latest federal agency to announce its intention to crack down on discrimination against LGBTQ individuals following a monumental Supreme Court decision.
- The court held last year that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans sex-based discrimination broadly, also applies to sexual orientation and gender identity.
- The CFPB said Tuesday that the court’s decision also applies to the ECOA, a 1974 law banning sex-based discrimination in lending that the bureau is charged with enforcing.
“The CFPB will take enforcement action under ECOA to hold financial institutions accountable for their actions that violate ECOA,” the CFPB said Tuesday.
ON TAP TOMORROW:
- The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee votes on Shalanda Young’s nomination to be deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget at 9:45 a.m.
- The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on racial equity in housing and financial services at 10 a.m.
- The House Small Business Committee holds a hearing on the future of the Paycheck Protection Program at 10 a.m.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, re-introduced a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that would require Congress to balance the federal budget.
- Increased participation in the workforce by women could add $20 trillion to the global economy by 2050, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg economists.
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday said that the rollout of coronavirus vaccines around the world and the sweeping coronavirus stimulus package moving forward in Congress have both boosted the global economic outlook.
ODDS AND ENDS
- President Biden is set to nominate influential antitrust scholar Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission, Politico reported Tuesday.