Happy Tuesday and welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Today’s Big Deal: Senate leaders seem to have found a way to avert a debt ceiling breach. We’ll also look at the race to be the Republican leader on the House Ways and Means Committee.
For The Hill, I’m Sylvan Lane. Write me at slane@digital-staging.thehill.com or @SylvanLane. You can reach my colleagues on the Finance team Naomi Jagoda at njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com or @NJagoda and Aris Folley at afolley@digital-staging.thehill.com or @ArisFolley.
Let’s get to it.
Democrats offer bill to raise debt ceiling, avoid filibuster
House Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling without having to overcome a filibuster.
- The legislation would set up a one-time process to raise the debit limit to a specific number without requiring 60 votes to overcome procedural roadblocks.
- After that process is established with the help of Republicans, then Democrats are expected to pass the separate debt-ceiling increase without any GOP support.
Senate Republicans emerging from a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Tuesday said the proposal will pass the Senate with at least 10 Republican votes. McConnell himself also expressed confidence that the deal would clear the upper chamber.
“We’ll be voting on it Thursday and I’m confident that this particular procedure, coupled with the avoidance of Medicare cuts, will achieve enough Republican support to clear the 60 vote threshold,” McConnell said.
Alexander Bolton and Mike Lillis tell us how we got here.
What comes next: The bill unveiled by the House Rules Committee, which combines the fast-track process for raising the debt ceiling with Medicare legislation, is set to pass the House tonight.
LEADING THE DAY
Nunes resignation sets off GOP scramble on Ways and Means
Several House Republicans are eyeing the top GOP position on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in 2023, a race that took a turn with Monday’s announcement that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is leaving Congress.
- The California Republican, who is resigning from his seat at the end of the year to become CEO of former President Trump’s new media and technology company, had been seen as the front-runner in the next Congress to be the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee.
- The panel has jurisdiction over taxes, health care and trade, making it a prime position with plenty of access to campaign cash.
The current top Republican on the committee is term-limited and retiring, so his successor would be the panel’s chairman if the GOP wins control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections. Naomi has more here on the race to replace Nunes.
OMAROVA OUT
Biden’s pick for bank watchdog pulls out after GOP accusations of communism
President Biden’s pick to lead a top bank regulator withdrew her nomination Tuesday after blistering attacks from Republicans and concerns among moderate Democrats.
Saule Omarova, whom Biden nominated to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), pulled herself from consideration in a letter Biden released Tuesday, calling her nomination “untenable.”
“As a strong advocate for consumers and a staunch defender of the safety and soundness of our financial system, Saule would have brought invaluable insight and perspective to our important work on behalf of the American people,” Biden said in a statement.
“But unfortunately, from the very beginning of her nomination, Saule was subjected to inappropriate personal attacks that were far beyond the pale,” Biden added.
I explain what happened here.
SHELL GAME
Treasury rules would crack down on anonymous shell companies
The Treasury Department on Tuesday proposed rules meant to snuff out money laundering through the use of anonymously owned businesses.
The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed set of regulations that would force the controlling owners of a wide range of companies to register themselves with the federal government. The rules are meant to prevent individuals from using shell companies and other opaque corporate structures to evade taxes and international finance laws.
Good to Know
Democrats are racing to get ahead of high inflation as rising prices dampen an otherwise strong recovery.
Here’s what else have our eye on:
- Forty-six percent of voters say the economy will get worse in the next year, according to a new poll from The Wall Street Journal, while only 30 percent think it will get better.
- Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Carl Hoecker, was permitted to keep his job even after a 2019 investigation recommended that he be fired for “serious misconduct.”
{mosads}That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.