REG ROUNDUP Finance: A top Republican chairman said Thursday that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will hold a recently passed Senate bill to loosen strict banking rules unless senators are willing to cut a deal with the lower chamber. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) told reporters that Ryan said the bipartisan Senate bill to rollback the Dodd-Frank Act will "stay on his desk" unless senators agree to negotiate with the House. "We're not rubber stamping the bill," said Hensarling, a close Ryan ally. "It's got to be bipartisan and bicameral." The Senate passed on Wednesday the most sweeping changes to Dodd-Frank to earn bipartisan support. The bill, sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), was backed by 13 Democrats and would exempts dozens of banks from tougher federal oversight. House Republicans have insisted that the Senate add a slew of Financial Services panel bills that passed with at least some bipartisan support. Moderate Senate Democrats behind the bipartisan bill say they're not willing to reopen the bill with the House and would disown major changes. They say excessive tinkering would break the fragile bipartisan balance behind their deal. Sylvan Lane has the story here. Energy: Energy Secretary Rick Perry sought to assure House lawmakers Thursday that his proposed cuts to various programs does not mean he thinks they're unimportant. Perry said certain programs, like the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, are victims of their own successes and are eyed for cuts because they have met their goals. "Just because a line item was reduced didn't necessarily mean that that particular line had fallen out of favor," Perry told the subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee with authority over his department. "We've had some successes, and we ought to be celebrating those successes." The Energy Department's overall budget request, at $30.6 billion, is slightly higher than its current funding level. But some programs that focus on areas like renewable energy would be cut, while programs in areas like fossil fuels would be increased. Timothy Cama has the story here. Finance: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spent nearly $1 million on seven military aircraft trips between the spring and fall of 2017, according to documents gathered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW sued for records following a highly publicized trip between Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton to Fort Knox, Ky., in August. The trip, on a military jet, coincided with the total solar eclipse, and led to speculation that Mnuchin had planned the trip in order to take in the cosmic event. Mnuchin denied the charges. Niv Ellis has the story here. Tech: Amazon Japan said on Thursday that its offices were raided by the country's fair trade regulators over antitrust concerns. The Seattle-based online retailer said it is cooperating with Japan's Fair Trade Commission, but did not reveal any further details of the investigation, according to Reuters. Japanese media reported that Amazon is suspected of asking suppliers to help take on the costs that come from selling their products at discounted prices. According to those reports, the company is suspected of asking suppliers to pay a "collaboration fee" to sell products with Amazon. Ali Breland has the story here. Education: The nation's leading labor union for government employees has filed a complaint against the Department of Education for failing to negotiate and bargain in good faith with the union. In the complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said it spent months trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Education Department, but was told Friday that the Education Department management would implement a new agreement with its own terms starting Monday. The AFGE said in the complaint that the Education Department's proposed CBA guts employee rights, including those addressing workplace health and safety, telework, and alternative work schedules. Read the story here. Transportation: A pair of lawmakers on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent airlines from placing animals in overhead compartments, a move that comes as United Airlines faces another public relations crisis following the death of a dog on one of its flights. Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act (WOOFF), which calls on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish rules that would block the airlines from placing animals in the overhead bins and impose civil fines when those rules are violated. Mallory Shelbourne has the story here. Environment: Two environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Thursday for failing to provide correspondence between the agency and a prominent group skeptical of climate change science, The Heartland Institute. In their suit, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said the EPA failed to release public documents they each previously requested in August and October via Freedom of Information Act regarding the agency's correspondence with the Heartland Institute. "While EPA acknowledged both requests and asked for some initial clarification, it has subsequently stopped communicating with SELC. EPA has provided vague responses to EDF's outreach that do not indicate any expectation of near-term progress on EDF's FOIA request," their lawsuit read. Miranda Green has the story here. Conservation: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday pushed back on criticism that the administration has greenlit new imports of African elephant trophies, telling a congressional committee that "we have not imported one elephant." Appearing before the House Natural Resources Committee to speak about the White House's proposed fiscal 2019 budget, Zinke passed the buck on a new administration policy change that would open up elephant trophy imports on a case-by-case basis saying, "It's not my policy." The policy, announced March 1, was established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency under the Interior Department. Zinke's response came after Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said the administration's decision to allow the imports "represents an administration under undue influence by the National Rifle Association." Miranda Green has the full story here. IN OTHER NEWS Banning the bag won't fix ocean plastic problem, manufacturers say – Bloomberg BNA Trump Cabinet members accused of living large at taxpayer expense – The Washington Post How DOJ's face-off with AT&T could alter American business – The Wall Street Journal After Parkland, companies are selling uncertified bulletproof backpacks – BuzzFeed Got a hot tip? Send it my way - lwheeler@thehill.com. Follow my tweets too @WheelerLydia. |
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