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By Sylvan Lane
Lawmakers are preparing to pass a short-term resolution to keep the government funded at current levels as they struggle to agree on a long run solution. Congress will have four days to avoid a government shutdown when lawmakers return Tuesday, with a deadline of Jan. 19. The House will consider another stopgap spending bill in the coming, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Thursday. That would be the fourth temporary spending patch, or continuing resolution (CR), to come up for a vote since September. Republican leadership has not yet decided how long the funding in the short-term spending measure will last, according to lawmakers leaving a GOP conference meeting Thursday morning. But Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee, said GOP leadership told lawmakers who write the spending bills that they could decide the length of the next CR once a deal on budget caps is reached. He added that appropriators are leaning toward extending government funding until Feb. 16. Lawmakers have struggled to reach a deal on boosting spending caps to avoid automatic across-the-board spending cuts. Adding to the pressure are efforts to also strike a deal on immigration. President Trump complicated matters early Friday when he blasted the bipartisan deal to provide protections to young immigrants known as "Dreamers," saying the version lawmakers presented to him on Thursday was "a big step backwards." "The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressmen was a big step backwards. Wall was not properly funded, Chain & Lottery were made worse and USA would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly," Trump wrote over a series of tweets. He went on to accuse Democrats of threatening a shutdown. A bipartisan group of senators is trying to reach a deal to protect young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
In exchange for DACA protections, Trump has demanded a border security package with funding for a border wall with Mexico and changes to the State Department's diversity visa lottery program and family-based immigration policies. The fight over government funding and immigration is likely to delay progress on a bipartisan bill to exempt many U.S. banks from the Dodd-Frank Act's most stringent rules. The bill from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) is the most substantial attempt to roll back Dodd-Frank with bipartisan support. Bank lobbyists have rallied behind the bill as the last chance to make major changes to the post-crisis rules long targeted by the financial sector. But the bill's lack of restraints on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already cost it support in the House among conservatives. But tough measures against the CFPB would poison the bill for Democrats. Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a markup Wednesday of more than a dozen bills loosening aspects of Dodd-Frank, which could potentially pass both chambers. There could also be action soon from the Internal Revenue Service as the new tax law kicks in. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that he anticipates that the IRS will add workers to help implement the new law. "This touches every single aspect of the IRS, from technology to processes to forms, and we are speaking with Congress about getting additional funding for the implementation," Mnuchin said at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Washington. "We would expect that we would hire a significant number of people to help with the implementation." The IRS's funding level is significantly below where it was in 2010, causing the agency to reduce its workforce by thousands of employees. The agency has estimated that it needs an additional $495 million for fiscal 2018 and 2019 to implement the new law. Your week ahead:
Wednesday: - House Financial Services Committee: Markup of more than a dozen bills to amend the Dodd-Frank Act, 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2mmOzDX.
- Senate Banking Committee: Re-do vote on the nominations of Jay Powell to serve as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and Randal Quarles to serve on the Fed board, renewing lapsed nominations from the last Congress. 10 a.m.
- Senate Finance Committee: Hearing on the nominations of two U.S. Trade Representative deputy nominees, 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2mmDYZC.
Recap the week with Overnight Finance: - Monday: Trump promises farmers 'better deal' on NAFTA | Clock ticks to shutdown deadline | Dems worry Trump pressuring IRS on withholdings | SEC halts trading in digital currency firm
- Tuesday: Trump, lawmakers take key step to immigration deal | Trump urges Congress to bring back earmarks | Tax law poised to create windfall for states | Trump to attend Davos | Dimon walks back bitcoin criticism
- Wednesday: Congress barrels toward another shutdown crisis | Canada worries Trump will withdraw from NAFTA | Blue-state Republicans push tax law changes | Chamber CEO calls out Bannon, Warren
- Thursday: House to consider another short-term spending bill | Treasury, IRS release guidance on tax withholding | Banks rack up big wins under Trump | WH defends Trump trip to Davos
Today's stories: - Maryland Dems ask Hogan about response to tax law, by Naomi Jagoda
- Mnuchin says financial regulators will probe impact of cryptocurrencies, by Sylvan Lane
- Mnuchin says he expects IRS to hire more workers to implement tax law, by Naomi Jagoda
- Mnuchin says he and Trump are mulling changes to 'ridiculous' debt limit process, by Sylvan Lane
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