OVERNIGHT MONEY: Russia trade bill hits the Senate

WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORY: 

On the brink: After months of delays, the Senate will finally take up a bill on Wednesday normalizing trade relations with Russia.

The bill stalled out before the November elections, but has picked up steam in recent weeks with the House passing the legislation on Nov. 16. 

{mosads}Moscow joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) more than three months ago, and to get the full benefits of trade between the two nations, Congress must eliminate Cold War-era restrictions.

The House-passed legislation combines the trade language repealing the nearly 40-year-old Jackson-Vanik provision with human-rights legislation that would punish Russian officials for their involvement in the death of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in prison after reporting government corruption.

The lead sponsor of the Senate’s human-rights bill, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), had hoped to extend the human-rights language to violators around the world. 

“I will continue to work with my bipartisan cosponsors towards passage of the Magnitsky sanctions for other countries so that human rights violators in all corners of the world understand that the United States is still committed to the universal cause of liberty and human dignity for those who stand up against oppression,” he said.

But it remains in doubt whether the Maryland Democrat will be able to expand the bill to global violations.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said last week that he prefers legislation providing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Moscow to focus solely on punishing human-rights violators in Russia instead of a broader, global bill. 

The Senate is expected to complete the measure on Wednesday. Without any changes and following passage, it would be cleared for President Obama’s signature. 

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR 

Senate ledger: The Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee votes Wednesday on Erica Groshen’s nomination to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the government outfit that rolls out the monthly jobs numbers and other statistics.

{mosads}Over the summer, Groshen’s nomination got caught in a back-and-forth between the left and the right after a conservative group said that Groshen sent her kids to a Jewish camp with communist roots.

Storm front coming: The push for a Hurricane Sandy disaster supplemental appropriations bill will gain more force on Wednesday when the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security holds a hearing on the storm’s damage. Spending cardinal Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has vowed to move a bill that provides more than the $5 billion more the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is able to get under the August 2011 budget agreement. New York and New Jersey are seeking $80 billion, and no one knows how that request will be handled by House Republicans who may seek spending cuts to offset the new money. The White House is expected to formally request a bill from Congress by Friday. 

Online could be offline: Chances are looking slimmer that an online sales tax measure will get passed before the end of the year. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told The Hill in an email Tuesday that the Illinois Democrat wasn’t planning on pushing for online sales tax to be in any year-end deal on the “fiscal cliff.”

“He will continue to look for other opportunities to move the bill, but unfortunately, the reality is those options are limited before the end of the year,” said the spokeswoman, Christina Mulka.

FISCAL CLIFF ROUNDUP

Hurry up and wait: Lawmakers spent most of Tuesday throwing out what they would consider as part of a year-end budget deal, although no real progress was made on an agreement that needs to be inked before by the end of the month. 

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that entitlement cuts should remain on the table as party leaders seek to hash out the budget deal.

A number of Democratic leaders — including Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), John Larson (Conn.) and Xavier Becerra (Calif.) — have said they would support some spending reductions in Medicare, but that cuts to direct benefits should not be a part of the negotiations. Along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), they also maintain that Social Security reform has no place at all in the “fiscal cliff” talks.

Over in the Senate, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) applauded House Democrats on Tuesday for filing a discharge petition that would force the House to vote on the Senate’s bill to extend the Bush-era tax rates for the middle class but allow rates to rise for the wealthy.

Democrats are calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to hold a vote in the House, while Republicans argue that raising taxes on the wealthy hurts small businesses and job growth.

Democrats are going to need 218 signatures and the help from their Republican colleagues to leap that hurdle. 

Meanwhile, Reid slammed Boehner’s debt offer, saying on the Senate floor it “would raise taxes on millions of middle-class families.”

While Reid scolded Boehner, the Senate’s top tax writer said that Washington needs to agree to new revenues this month, and shouldn’t punt tough decisions on spending and taxes into next year. 

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Finance Committee, said lawmakers could seek out a longer-term deficit deal after taking care of the looming spending cuts and tax increases going into effect around the end of the year. 

The Montana Democrat’s comments come after House Republicans sent the White House a $2.2 trillion counteroffer on Monday that included $800 billion in new revenue – but not through higher rates.

Lawmakers weren’t the only ones disappointed with the GOP offer. 

Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, said there was “no reason” that Republicans and Democrats couldn’t come together on a deal to avoid going over the so-called fiscal cliff.

But Sperling reiterated that President Obama would only sign a bill that allowed the tax rates currently paid by the highest earners to rise. 

He said the Republican offer that Boehner and other top House Republicans sent over on Tuesday missed the boat.

That chatter all came while Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the outgoing chairman of the Republican Study Committee, decided to cancel a press conference to announce his own “fiscal cliff” plan.

LOOSE CHANGE

FinServ facelift: The makeup of the House Financial Services Committee is becoming clearer by the day after GOP leaders ousted a few rabble-rousers, making the way for new members. Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) were booted from the committee Monday for shirking the party line a bit too often.

Jones said Tuesday that he was “a man of principle.”

“Anytime leadership misunderstands a man’s integrity, they are making a serious mistake,” he said.

Meanwhile, other lawmakers are being named to take their place, along with those on the panel who lost their reelection bids. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) announced he had won a spot on the committee Tuesday, as did Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.). They’ll join Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) and Rep.-Elect Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), who have also secured spots on the committee.

Of course, it’s not just the back bench that is getting shaken up. After Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) easily sewed up the chairman spot on the panel, House Democrats unanimously selected Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) Tuesday to replace the retiring Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as the top Democrat.

A voice for businesses: As “fiscal cliff” talks continue,  House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves wants to give a voice to the many small-business owners who can’t make it to Washington. The panel will send out a release on Wednesday with comments on how an increase in tax rates for those making more than $250,000 a year will effect them. 

“I had hoped to increase the size of my company starting in 2013 but if the law passes and those earning over $250,000 annually pay increased taxes, I will opt not to do it,” said Efrain Gonzalez, owner of Veritec in Denver, Colo. 

“There is no point in killing myself to grow my company only to give it to Obama for increased federal spending.”

ECONOMIC INDICATORS 

ADP National Employment Report: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) will release its November report for private-sector job growth. 

MBA Mortgage Index: The Mortgage Bankers Association releases its weekly report on mortgage application volume. 

ISM Services: The ISM will release its November report for the non-manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 90 percent of the economy and covers industries ranging from utilities and retailing to healthcare and finance. 

Productivity-Unit Labor Costs: The Labor Department releases a report for the third quarter that measures the productivity of workers and the costs associated with producing a unit of output.

Factory Orders: The Commerce Department is releasing data on October factory orders that consist of the earlier announced durable goods report plus non-durable goods orders. 

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Warren tapped for Senate Banking panel

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