On The Money — Sanders backs unions, blocks effort to avert rail strike

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is standing with labor unions as the Biden administration tries to find a way to avert a rail strike. We’ll also look at Republican backlash to a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and a failing IRS program meant to go after wealthy tax cheats. 

But first, California is squaring off with Amazon. 

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Sanders blocks forcing rail unions to accept deal 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday blocked a Republican request to force railroad workers and companies to accept the recommendations of a nonpartisan panel to avoid a strike that would impact millions of Americans.   

Sanders stood up on the floor to block the speedy approval of the resolution — introduced by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Commission Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) — that would require railroad workers to adopt the outlines of a labor deal. 

• Sanders argued that railroad companies are making huge profits and should start treating their workers more fairly.   
  
• “The rail industry has seen huge profits in recent years and last year alone made a record breaking $20 billion in profit,” Sanders said. “Last year the CEO of CSX made over $20 million in total compensation while the CEOs of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern made over $40 million each in total compensation.” 
  
• By contrast, Sanders said that workers in the freight rail industry are “entitled to a grand total of zero sick days.”   

GOP senators, however, say their resolution would avoid a “disastrous” rail strike, which could freeze rail travel and freight shipment around the country.    

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has more here. 

Read more: Rail union becomes first to authorize strike, threatening supply chain 

LEADING THE DAY 

GOP expresses hostility to Manchin permitting reform campaign 

Some Republicans are expressing hostility to Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) campaign to use a government funding bill to advance permitting reform, adding to doubts about the effort’s future.  

Republicans have long lamented the length of time it takes to advance fossil fuel and other energy projects. And Manchin’s efforts could be the best shot they’ve had in years to speed up the environmental review process for energy projects. 

But Republicans are also upset over the party-line passage of the sweeping climate, tax and health care bill passed under budget reconciliation rules that sidestepped the filibuster — an effort made possible by Manchin. 

• Republicans have no interest in making things easier ahead of the midterms for fractious Democrats already struggling to unify behind the plan. Many liberals strongly oppose the Manchin permitting reform deal, and nearly 80 House Democrats have come out against the plan. 
  
• Manchin struck a deal to pass permitting reform with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) along with President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last month, according to the senators. Schumer said the agreement was part of an overall deal to advance the climate, tax and health care bill formally titled the Inflation Reduction Act. 
  
• But the permitting reforms, which are expected to include truncated environmental reviews in the process of planning energy projects, have turned off a large group of House Democrats and drawn swift backlash from hundreds of advocacy groups. 

The Hills Rachel Frazin and Aris have the details here. 

FEELING BUBBLY

Huge Social Security COLA spike could be on the way — because of inflation 

People on Social Security could see a huge spike in their checks from a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that is itself a result of inflation. 

In a letter sent on Tuesday, Senior Citizens League policy analyst Mary Johnson said recipients could see an 8.7 percent COLA spike next year. 

• That’s a huge increase reflective of the high inflation people are experiencing across the country, though at the same time, it is actually a smaller COLA than the Senior Citizens League projected just a month ago.  
• At that time, Johnson was forecasting a 9.6 percent hike. 

The Hill’s Olafimihan Oshin breaks it down here. 

TAX CHEATS

Lucrative IRS program targeting wealthy tax cheats is withering from lack of funds 

An IRS program with a 6-to-1 return on investment is withering from a lack of resources, lawmakers and tax experts told The Hill.   

The IRS whistleblower program rewards people for coming forward with information about tax cheats and typically pays rewards between 15 and 30 percent of the money the government collects using the whistleblower’s information.  

• However, the program has seen a decline in both funding and revenue brought in by its efforts in recent years, according to a report released from the Senate Finance Committee this month.  
  
• Experts say that its rejuvenation can help to close the critical tax gap — the amount of money owed to the government each year that is not collected.  

The Hill’s Tobias Burns breaks it down here. 

Good to Know

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday that it will provide nearly $2 billion for food banks and school meal programs to purchase American-grown foods.  

The breakdown will mean about $1 billion for emergency food providers and almost a half-billion for school lunch and breakfast programs, according to a release from the department. Another approximate half-billion will go to expand the existing Local Food Purchase Assistance program. 

Here’s what else we have our eye on: 

• Amtrak will cancel all long-distance trains beginning on Thursday to avoid disruptions in advance of a potential rail worker strike later this week. 
  
• President Biden on Wednesday predicted a future in the U.S. where electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are as easy to find as gas stations while announcing the first round of funding to build a national charging network. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow. 

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