On The Money: Democrats move funding bills as budget caps deal remains elusive | Companies line up to weigh in on $300B China tariffs | Trudeau to talk trade with Pelosi, McConnell

Greg Nash

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THE BIG DEAL–Democrats move funding bills as caps deal remains elusive: House Democrats are set to move funding for most of the federal government this week, even as lawmakers have struggled to reach a budget caps deal.

  • The two packages, known as “minibuses,” will cover nine of the 12 individual appropriations bills that Congress needs to pass by Oct. 1 in order to avoid the second government shutdown of the year.
  • The House will start work on the bills Tuesday, as lawmakers got a late start to the week; both the House and Senate only held brief, pro-forma sessions Monday.

The House will take up two funding packages:

  • A roughly $1 trillion package that includes labor, health and human services, education, defense, state, foreign operations and energy and water development
  • And a separate $383 billion package that includes commerce, justice, science, agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, interior, environment, military construction, veterans affairs, transportation, and housing and urban development.

The snag: The House is moving along its funding bills, but the Senate Appropriations Committee hasn’t moved any of the 12 spending measures needed to fund the government.

Senate leadership in both parties are trying to reach a deal with the White House to increase the defense and nondefense spending caps. Lawmakers would use the agreement to set top-line numbers for their appropriations bills.{mosads}

Without a caps deal, across-the-board cuts known as sequestration will kick back in early next year. Lawmakers warn that the cuts would be draconian to both defense and nondefense spending and are hoping to get an agreement now to try to clear the barn ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. The Hill’s Jordain Carney and Juliegrace Brufke tell us about the state of play.

Read more: Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pledging to force a vote on President Trump’s $4.5 billion request for emergency border money, regardless of whether or not the GOP can reach a deal with Democrats. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are trying to prevent Trump from being able to redirect Defense Department funding to construction of his border wall.

 

ON TAP TOMORROW:

 

LEADING THE DAY

Companies line up to weigh in on proposed $300B China tariffs during hearings: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Monday opened seven days of hearings on President Trump’s proposed tariffs on $300 billion-worth of Chinese imports.

A slew of stakeholders ranging from fashion company Kenneth Cole fashion to trade industry group Plumbing Manufacturers International to the streaming device maker Roku were scheduled to present their positions on the new tariffs, which combined with existing tariffs, would place a duty on nearly every Chinese import to the United States.

Many companies depend on Chinese imports for at least part of their supply chain, and the additional tariffs would put them in a position to either swallow lower revenues, increase prices to their buyers, or look for alternative means of supply, which can be an expensive and lengthy process. The Hill’s Niv Elis tells us more about their concerns here.

More on the trade front: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to meet with leaders in the U.S. to discuss trade when he comes to Washington this week.

Politico reports Trudeau will meet with both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as he talks with the party leaders about having a vote in Congress on the revised North American trade deal, two senior Canadian officials along with a pair of congressional sources told the news outlet.

 

Trump: My ‘financial statement’ will probably come out ‘at some point’: President Trump said in a new interview that he will release a “financial statement” “at some point.”

Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the Senate is “after my financial statement,” adding that “at some point, I hope they get it.”

“You going to turn it over?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“At some point, I might,” Trump said. “It’s a fantastic financial statement.”

He added: “I look forward to, frankly — I’d like to have people see my financial statement because it’s phenomenal.”

Trump has released self-reported financial disclosures before, but he is the first president in more than 40 years not to release his tax returns, which is of course the subject of a legal battle between Trump and the House Ways and Means Committee.

 

Judge dismisses House lawsuit over border wall funding at their request: A federal judge on Monday dismissed House Democrats’ lawsuit challenging President Trump’s authority to tap military funds for a border wall after attorneys for the House asked him to do so.

Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, had previously ruled against House Democrats in the case, finding that they didn’t have the standing to go to court and block the administration from diverting military funds under the national emergency order.

Lawyers for the House had requested last week that the judge dismiss the lawsuit entirely as they appeal his order to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

McFadden followed through with that request on Monday, formally dismissing the complaint for “lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

What’s next: The move opens the door for the House to appeal its entire to case to an appeals court, where the judges could decide to rule in its favor — or similarly decide that lawmakers can’t sue the administration. The Hill’s Jacqueline Thomsen has more on the lawsuit here.

Also: Senate Democrats filed an amendment, spearheaded by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would prohibit Trump from using national defense funds authorized by the mammoth policy bill toward the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

  • Mastercard will now allow transgender and nonbinary customers to use chosen names on their credit cards, the company announced Monday.
  • Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Monday penned an op-ed criticizing the federal agencies in charge of antitrust enforcement for divvying up their probes of the country’s largest tech giants, saying only one agency should be in charge of investigating companies such as Facebook and Google.
  • The progressive oversight group Restore Public Trust on Monday requested that the Department of Transportation (DOT) inspector general investigate Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao over potential financial conflicts of interest.
  • Deutsche Bank is considering ending its U.S. equities trading operation, according to American Banker.
  • Huawei says the U.S. ban will cost it $30 billion in sales.
  • In an op-ed, Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains why Chinese tariffs on U.S. factories have had a minimal impact while taxes on U.S. crops have been severely damaging.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

Tags Dick Durbin Donald Trump Elaine Chao Elon Musk George Stephanopoulos Justin Trudeau Mike Lee Mitch McConnell Nancy Pelosi Robert Lighthizer

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