On The Money: Senate scraps plan to force second shutdown vote | Trump tax breaks for low-income neighborhoods draw scrutiny | McConnell rips House Dems for holding up trade deal

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THE BIG DEAL–Breaking — Senate scraps plan to force House to vote again on shutdown vote: The Senate dropped a plan to make a technical change to a stopgap spending bill that was threatening to send the legislation back to the House with hours left until a shutdown deadline. 

 

Background: Senate Republicans had indicated earlier Wednesday that they were going to change the shell used by the House for the continuing resolution (CR) — a move that would have attached the language of the spending measure to a different bill, and sent it back to the House for a second vote. 

House Democrats however, had pushed back, suggesting that a move on substantive changes could lead to a precarious impasse ahead of a tight shutdown deadline.

“The House will not accept any substantive changes to the CR we passed yesterday,” a Democratic aide told The Hill.

 

Senate backtracks: Instead, as part of a vote schedule announced when Republicans wrapped up the chamber for the day, the Senate will vote on the continuing resolution as it passed the House.

An aide confirmed that the Senate will vote on the CR as it passed the House, instead of trying to attach it to a different bill.

That will allow it to go to President Trump’s desk, who is expected to sign it, and avoid a second vote in the House that would eat up time hours before the shutdown deadline.

 

Timing: The Senate is expected to hold three votes related to the CR starting at 11:30 a.m.: a vote related to an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a vote to end debate on the spending legislation and then final passage of the CR.

 

The deadline: The government is currently funded through Thursday, giving Trump under 12 hours to sign the bill and avoid the second shutdown of the year.

 

The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more on this breaking development.

 

ON TAP TOMORROW

• The House Financial Services Committee‘s task force on financial technology holds a hearing on data and the financial services industry, 9 a.m.

• Funding for wide swaths of the federal government expires at midnight.

 

LEADING THE DAY

Trump tax breaks for low-income neighborhoods draw scrutiny: A section in President Trump’s tax law aimed at revitalizing economically distressed communities is receiving increased scrutiny from lawmakers. 

The GOP tax law, enacted in late 2017, created the “opportunity zones” program, which provides capital gains tax breaks to those who make investments in certain low-income census tracts.

• There is broad bipartisan support for the objectives behind opportunity zones and interest from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in providing more transparency.

• But Democrats are pushing for more substantive changes to the program. Recent news reports highlighting how wealthy developers are influencing and benefiting from the program have heightened Democratic concerns.

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda fills us in here.

 

McConnell rips House Democrats for holding up USMCA trade deal: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ripped House Democrats on Wednesday, arguing they were holding President Trump’s trade deal with Canada and Mexico in perpetual limbo. 

McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was “always close to allowing a vote” but had so far not done so. 

“Speaker Pelosi has refused to allow a vote,” he said. “In public, House Democrats insist and insist and insist that they care about more things than simply impeaching the president. They insist that they want to work together and legislate. But actions speak louder than words.”

McConnell’s comments come after President Trump lashed out at Pelosi over the trade deal in a tweet, saying “Nancy Pelosi will go down as the least productive Speaker of the House in history.” 

 

The background: The Speaker said in a statement on Tuesday that House Democrats are still waiting for the USMCA to contain stronger worker protections.

Other Trump administration officials, such as National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow, have been complimentary of Pelosi’s handling of USMCA talks thus far, saying she has been “cooperative and “accommodating” while expressing optimism the deal will ultimately pass.

 

Buttigieg releases tax returns from time working as McKinsey consultant: Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday released two more years of his tax returns, ahead of the presidential debate in Atlanta later in the day.

Buttigieg released tax returns for 2007 and 2008, years when he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. The South Bend, Ind., mayor previously released his tax returns for 2009 to 2018 in April.

Buttigieg’s 2008 federal tax return reports adjusted gross income that year of $122,680 and total taxes of $25,776. His 2007 return reports adjusted gross income of $80,397 and total taxes of $13,954. Buttigieg worked at McKinsey from 2007 to 2010.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• President Trump on Wednesday toured an Apple manufacturing plant in Texas with company CEO Tim Cook, where he demurred on the possibility of exempting the tech giant from tariffs, pointing to the need to sustain a balanced playing field.

• Sixty-eight percent of Americans want Congress to permanently reduce federal excise taxes for alcohol producers, according to a Beer Institute poll released on Wednesday.

• United Auto Workers (UAW) President Gary Jones resigned Wednesday as he was being targeted with a federal investigation for allegedly embezzling over $1.5 million in union funds, The Detroit News reports.

• The Trump administration has begun issuing licenses for U.S. companies to do business with the Chinese company Huawei, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday.