On The Money: Trump notifies Congress of Mexico trade deal | Talks with Canada to resume next week | Trump blasts media after comments on Canada leak

View in your browser     Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money. 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. 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.   THE BIG DEAL—US, Canada fall short of NAFTA deal, will resume talks next week: The U.S. and Canada failed on Friday to reach a final deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) despite long discussions this week. The two nations plan to take up where they left off on Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the "talks were constructive, and we made progress." "Our officials are continuing to work toward agreement," Lighthizer said.  Meanwhile, the U.S. started the 90-day clock on the U.S.-Mexico agreement, with the intent to include Canada before time runs out. Without Canada a new NAFTA agreement won't get through Congress.  Getting a deal done within three months would give Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto a chance to sign the agreement at the end of November before leaving office.   Earlier in the day, the Toronto Star released off-the-record comments President Trump made about Canada on Thursday during an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg. Trump said he would not give Canada any concessions in the talks and that a possible deal on trade with Canada would be “totally on our terms.” Despite the rough start to the morning's discussions, Canadian officials said they were making progress but there was disagreement on dairy and investor-state dispute rules.   Trump also notified Congress on Friday of his plans to sign a trade agreement with Mexico to replace NAFTA, setting off a 90-day clock for the nations to sign the deal.    LEADING THE DAY Trump privately says he won’t compromise with Canada on trade: President Trump said that he won’t compromise at all with Canada on trade, according to remarks obtained by The Toronto Star, Trump, in comments he wanted off the record in an interview with Bloomberg News reporters on Thursday, said he won't be budging in trade talks with the U.S.'s northern neighbor, according to a source familiar with the conversation.  The president reportedly said he could not disclose his position publicly because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal." “Here’s the problem. If I say no — the answer’s no. If I say no, then you’re going to put that, and it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal ... I can’t kill these people,” Trump said of the Canadian government, the Star reported.   Trump blasted the news media on Friday after the comments he made about Canada were leaked, calling it another example of "dishonest reporting." "Wow, I made OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS to Bloomberg concerning Canada, and this powerful understanding was BLATANTLY VIOLATED," Trump asserted in a tweet. "Oh well, just more dishonest reporting. I am used to it. At least Canada knows where I stand!" Trump added, apparently confirming the comments.   ON TAP NEXT WEEK  Monday: Labor Day Tuesday: The Electronic Transactions Association hosts “TRANSACT Tech DC / FinTech Policy Forum,” 8 a.m. Wednesday: House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled "The Future of Money: Coins and Banknotes,” 10 a.m. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: Hearing on the impact of zero tariffs on U.S. autoworkers, 10 a.m. The Heritage Foundation hosts an event entitled “Let Entrepreneurs Raise Capital Using Finders and Private Placement Brokers,” 11 a.m. House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “The Cost of Regulation on Affordable Multifamily Development,” 2 p.m. Thursday: Senate Banking Committee: Hearing entitled “Outside Perspectives on Russia Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps,” 10 a.m. House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “A Failure to Act: How a Decade without GSE Reform Has Once Again Put Taxpayers at Risk,” 10 a.m. The American Enterprise Institute and Urban Institute host an event entitled “What comes next? A look at student borrowers in default,” 1 p.m. Friday: House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “Survey of Terrorist Groups and Their Means of Financing,” 9:15 a.m.    THE HILL EVENT Join us Wednesday, Sept. 12 for "A Healthy Start: Infant and Early Childhood Nutrition," featuring Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Brandon Lipps. Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss maternal, infant, and early childhood nutrition, and what steps can be taken to establish healthier eating patterns across all communities. RSVP here.   NEXT WEEK’S NEWS, NOW Congress will scramble to avoid a government shutdown as they return to Washington. Lawmakers still need to strike a deal on three spending packages before the end of the month as President Trump threatens a shutdown over border wall funding. Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada are expected to resume Wednesday as the White House attempts to finish a NAFTA rewrite within the next 60 days.   GOOD TO KNOW CNBC looks into why emerging market pain is seen lasting into next year as Argentina and Turkey lead a currency crisis President Trump on Friday will sign an executive order aimed at making it more affordable for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their workers, administration officials said Thursday. Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE says it is rebounding after suffering a massive earnings loss when the United States banned it from purchasing equipment from U.S. suppliers. ODDS AND ENDS A top U.S. counterintelligence official is warning LinkedIn not to “be like Facebook” after finding that Chinese intelligence operatives are using its platform.   RECAP THE WEEK WITH ON THE MONEY:  Monday: Trump reaches agreement with Mexico to overhaul NAFTA | Canadian minister headed to DC for talks | Stocks surge on deal Tuesday: Trump accuses Silicon Valley of political bias | Senate confirms Fed vice chair | Mexico trade deal could give Dems upper hand Wednesday: Trump touts progress on trade talks with Canada | Trudeau says NAFTA deal could happen Friday | Growth revised upward in second quarter Thursday: Trump may impose $200B in China tariffs as soon as next week | Trump nixes federal worker pay raise | Biz groups push for deal with Canada | Trump threatens to leave WTO           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 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Trump taps park service chief | First grizzly bear hunt in 40 years blocked by judge | Watchdog to probe how EPA handles science

View in your browser     TRUMP TAPS NEW DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: President Trump plans to nominate the current chief of Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park to lead the National Park Service (NPS), the White House announced Friday. The appointment of Raymond David Vela will fill the agency's top position, which has been vacant since Jonathan Jarvis, who was director throughout the Obama administration, left the post in Jan. 2017. Vela is a veteran of the park service, having worked 28 years at the agency and most recently serving as superintendent of Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. He previously worked in a senior position at NPS headquarters. If confirmed, Vela would become the 19th director of the service and its first Hispanic director. "David Vela has demonstrated all of the ideals that the National Park Service stands for, and his long track record of leadership on behalf of the people and places of the National Park Service distinguish him as the right man for the job," said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in a statement Friday. "Our extraordinary national parks will be in the best of hands with David at the helm." Vela would be taking over an agency with a number of unique challenges. The park service is responsible for over 400 parks as well as other sites and faces an $11.6 billion maintenance backlog. The Trump administration is focused on using increased revenues from energy production under the Interior Department to cut down on that backlog, a plan which has bipartisan support in Congress. Read more here.   Another appointment of note... The president additionally officially announced his intent to nominate Alexandra Dapolito Dunn to head the agency's Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Office. Dunn currently serves as EPA Region 1 Administrator, whose duties span six states in New England. Nominated to head the region in November, Dunn previously worked for a number of nonpartisan environmental groups including as executive director and general counsel for the Environmental Council of States and work at the Association of Clean Water Administrators. Her nomination will replace that of Michael Dourson, who in December withdrew his name from consideration for the post after three Republican lawmakers voiced their opposition to his appointment.  Read more here.   TGIF! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. 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.   JUDGE BLOCKS GRIZZLY HUNT: A federal judge in Montana issued a court order late Thursday temporarily blocking the first trophy hunt of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park in more than 40 years. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen issued a 14-day restraining order, siding with environmentalists and native American groups who oppose the hunt. The order came two days before Wyoming and Idaho were scheduled to allow licensed grizzly hunts that could lead to as many as 23 bears being killed for sport in the two states. "The threat of death to individual grizzly bears posed by the scheduled hunt is sufficient" to demonstrate the threat of "irreparable injury," Christensen wrote. He added that the groups raised "serious questions going to the merits" of their case, the low bar necessary for a restraining order. The decision is part of a case in which the conservation and indigenous groups are seeking to reinstate Endangered Species Act protections for the Yellowstone grizzly, and to overturn the Trump administration's decision to remove protections. The litigants argued that the hunt slated to start Saturday would cause irreparable harm to the grizzly bear species. Read more.   EPA WATCHDOG TO PROBE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY: The EPA's internal watchdog is auditing how the agency deals with issues of scientific integrity. In a notice released Friday, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said it would launch research into how the EPA implements and adheres to its scientific integrity policy. The audit was launched voluntarily by the office, so it is not connected to a specific request from a lawmaker or complaint. But critics of the Trump administration have nonetheless criticized the agency for what they see as attempts to undermine science at the EPA, including downplaying the harms from climate change and air pollution, and censoring scientists. Read more.   ON TAP NEXT WEEK: Congress comes back to Washington, D.C., next week, but the bigger news could come out of the EPA's OIG. Inspector General Arthur Elkins plans on Tuesday to release a long-awaited audit of the EPA's security details for administrators, including former chief Scott Pruitt. Pruitt broke with EPA precedent by having a security detail that followed him 24 hours a day, including on personal trips, like ones home to Oklahoma and to the Rose Bowl game. The detail also spent taxpayer money on costs like a new SUV for him and tactical pants, and reportedly ran errands for him, like picking up his dry-cleaning. The OIG started its research in September 2016, before Pruitt's arrival. But as the various scandals arose, it agreed to look into matters like the cost of the detail -- which exceeded $4 million -- and the fact that officers went with him on personal trips. Capitol Hill, meanwhile, will be dominated by Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. On the House side, the Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on environment will hold a hearing Thursday on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The chemicals have been discovered in recent years in the drinking water supplies for numerous cities, and the EPA has started work to figure out whether it should take stronger action to protect people from them. Two subcommittees of the House Natural Resources Committee are planning legislative hearings. The water, power and oceans panel will meet Wednesday to discuss two title transfer bills, and the federal lands panel will meet Thursday to discuss five bills in its jurisdiction.   THE HILL EVENT: Join us Thursday, Sept. 6, for "Partnerships & Progress: Driving Climate Solutions," featuring Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss how the public and private sectors can balance environmental progress with healthy economic growth. RSVP eere.   OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: China's legislature passed a law Friday aimed at reducing soil pollution, the state-run Xinhua reports. Texas environmental regulators have only just started cracking down on companies responsible for air and water pollution during and after last year's Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Chronicle reports. Oil analysts polled by Reuters reduced their oil price forecasts for the first time in nearly a year.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Friday's stories ... -EPA watchdog to probe scientific integrity -Trump taps new chief for National Park Service -California passes bill to ban controversial drift net fishing -Federal judge blocks first trophy hunt of Yellowstone grizzlies in 40 years         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 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Health Care: Pence says GOP will try again on ObamaCare repeal if elections go well | Hospital slashes $109K bill after media coverage | House panel probes drug price 'middlemen'

View in Browser     Welcome to Friday's Overnight Health Care. We hope you enjoy the long weekend. Get ready for a lot of health-care action next week with hearings for Brett Kavanaugh and ObamaCare court arguments in Texas.   Pence: GOP will try again to repeal ObamaCare if elections go well If you're feeling nostalgic for last year's effort to repeal ObamaCare, you might have something to look forward to in 2019. Vice President Pence said Thursday that Republicans plan to give repealing and replacing ObamaCare another try if they do well enough in November's elections. Pence made the remarks to reporters while in Wisconsin to campaign for GOP Senate candidate Leah Vukmir, saying that if she wins, it would help Republicans with their goal of eventually repealing the health-care law. "We made an effort to fully repeal and replace ObamaCare and we'll continue, with Leah Vukmir in the Senate, we'll continue to go back to that," Pence told reporters. Democrats jumped on the comments, warning that Republican victories in the election would threaten health-care protections. "VP Pence admits GOP's hidden plan - win more Senate seats so they can pass health care repeal that raises costs and eliminates protections," wrote Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. It all depends on the election results, though. Many observers think Democrats will win the House. If they do, that would put a stop to the ObamaCare repeal effort next year. Regardless, Republicans would likely also need to gain seats in the Senate, given that several GOP senators opposed last year's repeal effort. Read more here.   What to watch next week: Kavanaugh hearings Several days of hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court begin Tuesday. Health care will be at the center, with sharp questions sure to come about Kavanaugh's thinking on abortion and Roe v. Wade, as well as his views on an ObamaCare lawsuit making its way through the lower courts. Speaking of that ObamaCare case... The Republican lawsuit challenging ObamaCare's constitutionality will have arguments in a federal district court in Texas on Wednesday. Look for Democrats to step up their attacks on Republicans for undermining the health law's pre-existing condition protections. Democrats are making that a key issue in this year's midterms.   Hospital slashes $109K bill for heart attack to $332 after media coverage Today's reminder that there are a lot of complexities and controversies in our health-care system: A man was charged $109,000 by a hospital for his heart attack care. The bill was then slashed to $332 after an article caused an outcry. NPR and Kaiser Health News published a story earlier this week reporting that a high school teacher in Austin, Texas, named Drew Calver had received a $108,951 bill for his care after his heart attack, even after his insurance paid the hospital $56,000. After a flurry of attention on the case following the story's publication, the hospital, St. David's Medical Center, drastically lowered Calver's bill down to $782.29. The hospital then lowered the bill even more, to $332.29, an amount which Calver has now paid, NPR reported. The case has drawn attention to a practice known as "balance billing" where hospitals go after patients for additional payments beyond what their insurance was willing to pay. The hospital's view (from a leaked memo): David Huffstutler, the CEO of the hospital, wrote in a memo obtained by Kaiser Health News that the charges were "reasonable and customary and in line with this type of procedure." He blamed Calver's insurer, Aetna, for the high charges, because under Calver's narrow network plan, St. David's Medical Center was not in-network. He wrote that the structure of the insurance plan "placed a large portion of the financial responsibility directly on the patient." Read more here.   House panel seeks answers from drug pricing 'middlemen' Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a key panel overseeing drug prices, are keeping up their questioning of different players in the system. We haven't seen much sweeping action yet from Congress, but lawmakers are looking into the issue. The latest action includes letters from Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and other GOP lawmakers on the panel to the largest pharmacy benefit managers, often referred to as "middlemen," who help negotiate drug prices with drug companies. Drug companies and to some extent the Trump administration have blamed PBMs for actually driving up prices. "We request your assistance in order to better understand the relationship of a drug's list price with the price negotiated and the different incentives that are offered to encourage reductions in list price," the lawmakers wrote.   Read the letters here.   The Hill event Join us Wednesday, Sept. 12 for "A Healthy Start: Infant and Early Childhood Nutrition," featuring Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Brandon Lipps. Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss maternal, infant, and early childhood nutrition, and what steps can be taken to establish healthier eating patterns across all communities. RSVP here.   What we're reading Voters will decide whether to expand Medicaid in these red states (CNN.com) Yes, there's hope for health care reform: A bipartisan consensus is focused on reducing the system's chronic waste and inefficiency. (The New York Times opinion)   State by state A private Medicaid company that pulled out of Iowa has yet to pay thousands of medical bills (Des Moines Register) Judge tosses lawsuit against California drug price law (Associated Press)         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Healthcare Newsletters     Forward Healthcare 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 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Breaking News: Trump notifies Congress of trade deal with Mexico

View in your browser     Trump notifies Congress of trade deal with Mexico President Trump notified Congress on Friday of his plans to sign a trade agreement with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), setting off a 90-day clock for lawmakers to approve the deal. But the U.S. still has not finalized an agreement with Canada, with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer telling reporters those talks will resume next week. "Our officials are continuing to work toward agreement," he said. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Breaking News     Forward Breaking News     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.