Overnight Finance: Budget ref caught in ObamaCare crossfire | Treasury chief urges Congress to raise debt limit | McConnell says tax reform unlikely by August

Mnuchin urges Congress to raise debt limit: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is urging Congress to increase the debt ceiling “at the first opportunity,” in light of the fact that the U.S. will hit the limit next week.

“As I said in my confirmation hearing, honoring the full faith and credit of our outstanding debt is a critical commitment,” Mnuchin said in a letter to congressional leaders this week.

Congress passed legislation in 2015 to suspend the limit through March 15 of this year, so it will be reinstated on March 16.

Once the debt limit returns, Treasury officials can take temporary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting: http://bit.ly/2mqRnAZ.

Pence, Price huddle with Senate GOP: Vice President Pence is meeting with GOP senators amid growing skepticism over the House bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

A spokesman for the vice president said the former House lawmaker met with Republican Sens. Pat Roberts (Kansas), Rob Portman (Ohio) and John Thune (S.D.) on Thursday morning to discuss the plan, which has White House support but has been slammed by key GOP lawmakers.

According to the White House daily schedule, Pence, who has deep ties to Capitol Hill, is expected to hold more meetings on Thursday afternoon. The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: http://bit.ly/2mqUYPJ.

Budget referee caught in ObamaCare crossfire: The pressure is on for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and its director, Keith Hall.

The independent scorekeeper is scrambling to analyze legislation from House Republicans that would repeal and replace ObamaCare, with a report expected in the coming days.

The office’s scores of legislation are often considered make-or-break, with both parties pointing to them as indicators of how a bill would affect the federal budget and the economy.

But a partisan battle is brewing over the CBO’s numbers. Republicans are openly questioning the accuracy of the office’s work as they seek to fulfill their campaign pledge to repeal ObamaCare. I’ll tell you more here: http://bit.ly/2mr0YI0.

McConnell: Tax reform unlikely by August: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday poured cold water on the Trump administration’s goal of completing tax reform by the August recess.

“I think finishing on tax reform will take longer,” McConnell said during a Playbook Live interview.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said late last month that the administration wants to wrap up a long-held GOP goal of overhauling the tax code before lawmakers leave for a monthlong break.

“So we are committed to pass tax reform,” he told CNBC. “We want to get this done by the August recess.” Jordain Carney tells us why McConnell doesn’t think it will happen: http://bit.ly/2mqX8ig.

Happy Thursday and welcome to Overnight Finance. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include Trump’s meeting with community bankers, McConnell saying Mexico won’t pay for the wall, a Bernie Sanders proposal for corporate tax reform and more Democrat action on Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.   

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-release.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

Trump meets with community bankers: President Trump met with community bankers to discuss what the White House described as regulatory burdens facing smaller financial institutions under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn hosted bankers representing the American Bankers Association (ABA) and Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) on Thursday morning.

Trump said smaller banks “play a vital role in helping create jobs” and promised to roll back stifling regulations.

“You’ll be able to loan. You’ll be able to be safe. … You’ll be able to provide the jobs that we want and also create great businesses,” Trump said, according to pool reports. I have more here on how it went down: http://bit.ly/2mr0d1K.

McConnell on Mexico paying for Trump’s wall: ‘Uh, no’: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is dismissing President Trump’s claim that Mexico will pay for a southern border wall.

“Uh, no,” McConnell said during a Playbook Live interview when asked about Trump’s belief that he could get the country to cover the cost.

Trump repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that Mexico will pay for the wall. He tweeted in early January that the wall would be built and the money “paid back by Mexico later.”

But top GOP lawmakers have dismissed the idea for months as unrealistic.

McConnell also floated on Thursday that a border wall wasn’t the best option in some places.

“I’m in favor of border security. There are probably some places along the border where that is probably not the best way to secure the border,” he said when asked about a physical wall: http://bit.ly/2mqKcsK.

Dem offers bill to prevent taxpayer funds from benefiting Trump businesses: Legislation introduced in the House on Thursday would prevent the use of taxpayer funds to pay for any expenses at places owned by President Trump and his family.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) effectively named his bill after Trump: the No Taxpayer Revenue Used to Monetize the Presidency (No TRUMP) Act.

The measure is unlikely to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House. But if enacted, it would forbid taxpayer money from being used to pay for events, overnight stays and other expenses at hotels owned or operated by the president or his relatives.

It would offer an exception, however, for the Secret Service to protect presidential residences. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos explains: http://bit.ly/2mqXfKC.

Sanders offers bill aimed at preventing corporate tax avoidance: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday offered legislation aimed at preventing corporations from avoiding U.S. taxes.

“The truth is that we have a rigged tax code that has essentially legalized tax-dodging for large corporations,” Sanders said during a press conference.

The bill comes as President Trump and congressional Republicans aim to pass tax reform legislation this year that lowers the corporate tax rate.

Sanders criticized Trump for saying during his address to Congress last week that U.S. corporations are taxed at one of the highest rates in the world. The senator said that most corporations pay less than the statutory corporate tax rate of 35 percent. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda breaks it down: http://bit.ly/2mqY4my.

Dems press White House on Jared Kushner’s financial holdings: Congressional Democrats want the White House to hand over details of how senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner is following financial conflict of interest rules.

Democrats sent a letter to Stefan Passantino—a deputy counsel and the White House’s designated agency ethics official—asking how the Office of Counsel “plans to monitor and ensure” President Trump’s son-in-law’s “compliance with federal conflict of interest laws.”

“Federal conflict of interest laws prohibit a federal official, such as Mr. Kushner, from profiting off of his government work,” Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tom Carper (Del.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) wrote in the letter.

While Kushner is not collecting a salary for his work at the White House, the letter points to a ProPublica report that said Kushner will keep some of his real estate holdings:  http://bit.ly/2mqXbdD.

Lawmakers urge support for infrastructure financing tool: A bipartisan group of more than 150 House members is expressing support for the municipal bond tax exemption as congressional Republicans and President Trump make tax reform one of their top priorities this year.

“For more than a century, states and local governments have depended on this reliable and efficient means of financing,” the lawmakers wrote this week in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and ranking Democrat Richard Neal (Mass.).

Municipal bonds are used by state and local governments to finance infrastructure projects such as roads, schools, and water and sewer facilities. Interest on municipal bonds is exempt from federal income taxes, allowing municipalities to borrow money at a lower cost.

Preserving the municipal bond tax exemption has been a top tax reform priority for state and local government officials. Naomi Jagoda explains here: http://bit.ly/2mqYPvU.

Senate Finance Dems push for solution on coal miners’ benefits: Several Senate Finance Committee Democrats on Wednesday made another effort to protect coal miners’ pensions in exchange for clearing the path on the nomination for the nation’s top trade official.

Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), ranking member Ron Wyden (Ore.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Mark Warner (Va.) want panel Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to agree to attach the coal miners bill to the congressional waiver needed for the nomination of Robert Lighthizer, who has been tapped as the next U.S. Trade Representative.

“We are disappointed Chairman Hatch has not responded to our letter last week or made a commitment to working with us to find a long-term solution to protect these benefits our coal miners earned through a lifetime of hard work,” the senators said.

As of last week, 22,600 miners began receiving letters informing them that their healthcare benefits would be terminated at the end of April, the third notice in the past four months. The Hill’s Vicki Needham reports: http://bit.ly/2mqYLMZ.


Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-release.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-release.thehill.com, and njagoda@digital-release.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill and @NJagoda.