News Alert: Dems sour on shutdown tactics

View in your browser     Dems sour on shutdown tactics Senate Democrats say there’s no appetite in their caucus for forcing another government shutdown if Republicans refuse to agree to an immigration deal by a March 5 deadline. Democratic senators who are mulling presidential bids in 2020 haven’t yet entirely backed away from shutdown threats, which could help them rev up support among the party base, but other Democrats have soured on it as a tactic. Read the full story here           Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for News Alerts     Forward News Alerts     You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Trump signs solar tariffs | Energy official say ‘bomb cyclone’ justifies coal push | Trump chemical safety pick leaving EPA

View in your browser     TRUMP SIGNS SOLAR TARIFFS: President Trump predicted that the tariffs he is imposing on imported solar panels and residential washing machines will lead to new jobs for American workers. "You're going to have people getting jobs again and we're going to be making our own product again," Trump said at a White House signing event for the tariffs. "We're going to benefit our consumers and we're going to create a lot of jobs," he said. "Our action today helps to create jobs in America for Americans. It will provide a strong incentive for LG and Samsung to follow through on their recent promises to build major manufacturing plants for washing machines right here in the United States," Trump added, referring to two companies that import washers and other appliances. "Our action today helps to create jobs in America for Americans," he said. "A lot of manufacturers will be coming to the United States to build both washing machines and also solar." At the brief ceremony, Trump also predicted the tariffs will not cause any trade wars with countries angry over the new penalties. "There won't be a trade war, by the way," he said. "There will only be stock increases for the companies that are in this country. And that's what happened today, if you look at solar and if you look at the washing machine companies, that's really what happened today." Trump said the new tariffs "uphold a principle of fair trade and demonstrate to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of anymore." Read more here.   TRUMP OFFICIALS USE 'BOMB CYCLONE' TO PUSH COAL: The Trump administration is pointing to the East Coast's recent "bomb cyclone" winter storm as to why the country needs coal energy for electric grid resilience. Speaking on a panel of energy experts Tuesday, Bruce Walker, an assistant secretary at the Department of Energy, emphasized the importance of energy diversity to energy security, especially in times of freezing temperatures. A key component of that diversity of energy sources, many say, is coal and nuclear energy, which are often called "baseload fuels." "What was apparent during this weather event was the continued reliance on baseload generation and a diverse energy portfolio," Walker said at the hearing. "Without action that recognizes the essential reliability services provided by a strategically diversified generation portfolio, we cannot guarantee the resilience of the electric grid." During the two-week cold snap that affected cities from the Midwest to New England, coal was a top energy provider. According to Andrew Ott, the chief executive of grid operator PJM Interconnection, coal provided 40 percent of the region's power. The PJM market is across 13 states from Illinois to Washington, D.C. "We could not have served customers without coal," Ott said. Asked by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) how necessary coal fire plants were to the stability of the electric grid, Kevin McIntyre, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), said: "In this recent weather event, we wouldn't have seen any widespread outages absent coal, but coal was a key contributor -- I share your overall view that all of the above has to considered in our policy." While the national electric grid faired well during the most recent storm, Walker, the Energy Department official, argued that cities should continue to use coal energy in some capacity to ensure stability in times of emergency. "The question isn't whether or not we could get rid of coal. The question is should we get rid of coal?" Walker said. He added that he doesn't think the country should. The question of whether the energy grid would be strong enough with fewer fossil fuel sources is especially timely as a number of cities are opting for lower or zero carbon footprints. Republicans' push toward coal echoes the sentiments of a proposal made by Energy Secretary Rick Perry in December calling for new rules to protect coal-fired and nuclear power plants for grid-resiliency. FERC, in January, rejected that proposal to prop up struggling coal and nuclear power plants. The success of the power grids during the recent bomb cyclone, which threw a number of East Coast cities into record breaking lows in January, also added to criticism from Democrats and others as to whether ageing coal fire and nuclear plants really were needed to help the power grid. "I think baseload often times today is more of a political term than an engineering term. It tends to come up at times as a code for trying to subsidize generation that is no longer competitive in the marketplace," said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) at the hearing. "Coal generators, when they go down, are providing zero power to the grid." Read more here.   DOURSON LEAVING EPA: President Trump's former nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) chemical safety office is leaving his job at the agency. Michael Dourson was hired as a senior adviser to Administrator Scott Pruitt last October after a fiery confirmation hearing. The hire angered Democrats, who accused Pruitt and Dourson of trying to do an end-run around the Senate's responsibility to confirm high-ranking government officials. He withdrew from the confirmation process in December after a handful of GOP senators announced their opposition to him, dooming his nomination, but he stayed on in an advisory role. Now, Dourson will leave that job in the coming weeks. "We wish him continued success in his future endeavors," EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. Democrats vocally objected to Dourson, who worked as a toxicologist for two decades, throughout his confirmation process, citing his history of working on behalf of the chemical industries as an insurmountable conflict of interest. Read more here.    GREENS SUE EPA OVER ADVISORY BOARDS CHANGES: A group of scientists are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over new rules it made to its science advisory boards, which they argue are unlawfully limiting membership. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Elizabeth Sheppard, a professor at the University of Washington who was removed from an advisory committee, argues that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's announcement in October that he would exclude any scientist receiving EPA grants from serving on any of the 23 EPA scientific advisory boards was without any factual or legal grounding. The lawsuit is one of a handful that have been filed since Pruitt initially made the announcement. "This directive singles out scientists from the nonprofit and academic sector--recognized experts in their field who want to serve the public--and asks them to choose between public service and their scientific work," said Joshua Goldman, senior legal analyst for UCS in a statement Tuesday. "It's another example of this administration's hostility to independent scientific input and basing policy on impartial and balanced scientific evidence. The directive inherently prevents the agency from receiving independent scientific advice, and erects unnecessary barriers to scientists who want to use their expertise to serve the public."   ON TAP WEDNESDAY: The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing at the Washington Auto Show on federal policies and automotive technology innovation.   AROUND THE WEB: New research concludes that lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine are falling as water temperatures rise, the Portland Press Herald reports. Crews in Oklahoma found the bodies Tuesday of five workers killed in an oil well explosion, the most deadly explosion in the state's oil industry since the current boom began, Reuters reports.   FROM THE HILL'S OPINION SECTION: Daniel Cohan of Rice University says Trump's solar tariffs won't succeed at the goals the president set out for them. Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute argues that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's (D) carbon tax plan is about revenue, not fighting climate change. Craig Stevens of Grow America's Infrastructure Now says that a year after Trump's executive orders on Keystone XL and Dakota Access, domestic energy is surging.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Tuesday's stories ... -Sierra Club to release video calling out Ford's ties to Trump admin -Trump admin uses recent 'bomb cyclone' to push coal energy -Trump on tariffs: You will 'have people getting jobs again' -Trump's former chemical safety nominee leaving EPA -Puerto Rico to privatize its power system     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Finance: Senate confirms Powell as Fed chair | Mulvaney declares 'new mission' for consumer bureau | Trump says solar tariffs will boost jobs

View in your browser     Senate confirms Jerome Powell as Fed chairman: The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as the next chairman of the central bank by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. The vote on Powell's confirmation quickly cleared the simple majority of senators necessary to confirm him to replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Feb. 3. The final count stood at 85 to 12, one of the widest margins of confirmation for a Trump nominee.  Nearly all Republicans and a vast majority of Democrats supported Powell's confirmation. Those opposed included conservative GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), and Mike Lee (Utah), and potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Kamala Harris (Calif.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Trump nominated Powell to replace Yellen as chair in November. Powell had served on the Fed board since his appointment by former President Obama in 2012. The Senate Banking Committee approved Powell's nomination by a near-unanimous vote in December, with only Warren opposing him. Powell supported every decision Yellen made regarding monetary policy, wooing Democrats who praised the current chairwoman's steady hand. While many Democrats said they wished Trump renominated Yellen, they were reassured by Powell's almost identical views on regulation and monetary policy. Republicans pressed Powell on making broader changes to the Dodd-Frank Act, but posed little opposition to his closeness to Yellen on monetary policy. http://bit.ly/2GcAuC6.   Acting consumer bureau chief declares 'new mission' in rebuke of predecessor: The acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) told employees that the agency's days of routine, aggressive regulatory and enforcement action "are over." Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney declared "a new mission" for the bureau in a Tuesday memo to agency staff, first reported by ProPublica and confirmed by The Hill. The two-page email to CFPB employees is a direct rebuke of Mulvaney's predecessor, Richard Cordray, and his stated goal to "push the envelope" on financial sector oversight. Mulvaney, who also serves as the White House budget chief and sought to eliminate the CFPB as a GOP congressman, said Cordray's mentality "frightens me a little" and insisted he'd reorient the bureau toward enforcing and not creating laws. "The law mandates that we enforce consumer protection laws, and we will continue to do exactly that under my watch," wrote Mulvaney, explaining he pledged not to shut down the bureau because "the law doesn't allow that." "The days of aggressively 'pushing the envelope' of the law in the name of 'mission' are over," Mulvaney wrote. I explain what that means here: http://bit.ly/2G6DMqh.   Happy Tuesday and welcome back to Overnight Finance. 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@thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.   Trump imposes 30 percent tariff on solar panel imports: President Trump on Monday imposed tariffs of 30 percent on imported solar panel technology in a bid to protect domestic manufacturers while signaling a more aggressive approach toward China. The move is a major blow for the $28 billion solar industry, which gets about 80 percent of its solar panel products from imports. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicted the tariffs would increase prices and kill 23,000 jobs. The group represents manufacturers as well as installers, sellers and others in the field. "While tariffs in this case will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand, or keep foreign-owned Suniva and SolarWorld afloat, they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs," Abigail Ross Hopper, the group's president, said in a statement.  Suniva and SolarWorld Americas, the bankrupt companies which requested the tariffs, say tariffs would boost domestic manufacturing and add more than 100,000 jobs. http://bit.ly/2GbTFvx.   Trump on tariffs: You will 'have people getting jobs again' President Trump predicted that the tariffs he is imposing on imported solar panels and residential washing machines will lead to new jobs for American workers. "You're going to have people getting jobs again and we're going to be making our own product again," Trump said at a White House signing event for the tariffs. "We're going to benefit our consumers and we're going to create a lot of jobs," he said. "Our action today helps to create jobs in America for Americans. It will provide a strong incentive for LG and Samsung to follow through on their recent promises to build major manufacturing plants for washing machines right here in the United States," Trump said, referring to two companies that import washers and other appliances. "Our action today helps to create jobs in America for Americans," he added. "A lot of manufacturers will be coming to the United States to build both washing machines and also solar." http://bit.ly/2GajNHn.   Conservatives call for end to taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlements: A group of more than 60 conservative leaders called Friday for House GOP leadership to prevent lawmakers from using taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment cases. The letter, spearheaded by Let Freedom Ring President Colin Hanna, calls for an end to the use of taxpayer money in sexual harassment settlements.  Others who signed the letter include Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund Chairwoman Jenny Beth Martin, Citizens United President David Bossie and several people who served in former President Reagan's administration. The letter comes just days after a report that another lawmaker, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), settled a harassment complaint with taxpayer money.   "At least nine public polls taken in November and December confirm that the American public is revulsed, not only by the acts of harassment themselves, but also by the practice of buying the victims' silence with settlements paid for with taxpayers' money and hidden from the public through non-disclosure agreements," the conservatives wrote in a letter sent to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). http://bit.ly/2Gahl3t.   Dems rip Trump's Fed pick as Senate panel mulls three key nominees: The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday grilled three of President Trump's major financial regulatory nominees, all of which are expected to be confirmed by the full chamber. The Banking panel hosted Trump's nominees for chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a Federal Reserve governorship and the Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC) member from the insurance industry. Republicans were supportive of the entire slate, while Democrats honed in on Marvin Goodfriend, Trump's nominee to the Fed board. The three nominees would play crucial roles in the Trump administration's efforts to loosen Dodd-Frank Act restrictions on banks and financial institutions, a sticking point for Democrats critical of the president's choices. I've got everything you need to know from the contentious hearing: http://bit.ly/2G9FUxy.   Conway: Trump taking 'America First' message to Davos: White House adviser Kellyanne Conway says that President Trump will present an "America First" agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Conway says that the president will be open to talking trade with world business leaders at the forum, but will push for an agenda that primarily benefits American interests. "Expect this president to go there and show what 'America First' continues to look like on the world stage," Conway says. "He is certainly willing to engage on trade, participate in the global economy. However, he has made it very clear that it will always benefit Americans: American workers, American interests and our American allies." "He is also going to continue to put pressure on ISIS and pressure our allies around the world to get tough on North Korea and nuclear-capable countries like North Korea," she added: http://bit.ly/2GbpWTG.   Congressional scorekeeper: Delay of ObamaCare taxes in spending bill will cost about $31B: The delay of three of ObamaCare's taxes will reduce federal revenue by $31.3 billion over 10 years, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) said Tuesday. The taxes were delayed as part of the stopgap spending bill that Congress passed Monday in order to end the three-day government shutdown. The medical device tax was delayed for two years, until 2020, while the "Cadillac" tax on high-cost health plans, which had been set to take effect in 2020, was delayed until 2022. The health insurance tax was suspended for 2019. The taxes were originally enacted in order to pay for the 2010 health-care law. However, each of them had previously been delayed as part of a bipartisan tax and spending deal in 2015 and have some opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle: http://bit.ly/2GckeRB.   SEC to examine companies that pivoted to blockchain: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Jay Clayton said the agency is closely scrutinizing companies who have switched their names and business models to take advantage of mushroomed interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Clayton disparaged the recent trend in a speech he gave on Monday at the Securities Regulation Institute. "The SEC is looking closely at the disclosures of public companies that shift their business models to capitalize on the perceived promise of distributed ledger technology and whether the disclosures comply with the securities laws, particularly in the case of an offering," Clayton said. Following explosions in value for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, some publicly traded companies jumped on the bandwagon trying to capitalize on the hype. The Long Island Iced Tea Corp.'s stock shot up after it changed its name to the Long Blockchain Corp: http://bit.ly/2G7nSfv.       Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@thehill.com, vneedham@thehill.com, njagoda@thehill.com, and nelis@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda, and @NivElis.         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Finance Newsletters     Forward Finance Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.