OVERNIGHT MONEY: Online sales tax bill in limbo

The legislation cleared yet another procedural hurdle on Wednesday, with the backing of roughly three-quarters of the Senate.

That would likely set up votes on Thursday afternoon on proposals like Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) amendment that includes seven different changes to the bill.

{mosads}Even though procedural hurdles remain, a vote on final passage for the bill is also possible on Thursday, especially given that senators are scheduled to be back home next week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a sponsor of the online sales tax bill, have both suggested the chamber will stay in Washington until consideration of the bill is done, leaving the door open for work on Friday or even Saturday.

Of course, Reid has threatened to hold the Senate in for weekend work before backing down in the past, though this time he has said he will follow through on his threats.

“I know this sounds like me crying wolf, but this might be the time the wolf is coming,” Reid said. “If we have to be here Friday, Saturday, we’ve got to finish work on this bill.”

Durbin also has said he will do what he can to beat back any amendments that deal with federal revenues, the passage of which could lead to “blue slip” issues for the bill. (Revenue bills are supposed to originate with the House.)

The proposal on the Senate floor would allow states to collect sales tax revenue from Internet retailers, no matter where they were located. Because of a two-decade old Supreme Court case, states and localities can now only charge businesses that are physically located within their borders.

Opponents say the bill merely closes a longstanding loophole that hurts brick-and-mortar businesses and the bottom line for state governments. But skeptics say the measure would be a huge burden on online businesses.

Even if the bill can march through the Senate, its path is less clear in the House. 

Retail groups such as the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association have backed the legislation, which senators have been pushing for years.

Reps. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) have introduced companion legislation in the House.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the measure would not have an effect on federal revenue. 

It added that the bill would not impose any mandates on the private sector, nor would it impose any costs on state or local governments.

WHAT ELSE WE’RE WATCHING 

Taxes and real estate: The House Ways and Means Committee will gather up housing industry experts on Thursday to talk about tax reform and residential real estate. Home builders and real estate agent groups have expressed opposition to lawmakers nixing a mortgage interest deduction as part of broader tax reform. Other significant housing-related tax provisions include the exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence, the low-income housing tax credit and a temporary exclusion from income from cancellation of mortgage debt.

“Homeownership is an integral part of the American dream, and the tax code has long provided a variety of incentives to make it easier for families to buy and own a home,” said panel Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.). 

“Before considering any proposal, the committee must better understand how tax reform might affect the housing sector.”

Budget chat: The House Appropriations Committee continues its talks with top officials in the Obama administration and will chat on Thursday with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about his department’s budget, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on her agency’s proposal. 

On the Senate side, the Appropriations Committee will chat with National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Charles Bolden.

Meanwhile, in House Foreign Affairs, Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will spend another day on Capitol Hill discuss his agency’s budget request for foreign assistance priorities.

Tax oversight: A House Ways and Means subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Internal Revenue Service operations and how things went during the 2013 filing season with Acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller.

Financial market outlook: The Financial Stability Oversight Council will meet Thursday to vote on its annual report, which will outline significant financial market and regulatory developments, analyze potential emerging threats to financial stability and make recommendations. All the top regulators will be there, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Thomas Curry, comptroller of the Currency, Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Debbie Matz, chairwoman of the National Credit Union Administration and Mary Jo White, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

BREAKING NEWS

Finance gavel: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) isn’t expected to challenge Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to become the next chairman of the powerful Finance Committee.

Wyden is in line to take the place of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) who announced on Tuesday that he won’t run for reelection in 2014. 

The Senate Democratic leader has strictly adhered to the seniority ladder when assigning chairmanships or the senior Democratic positions on committees for 100 years. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hasn’t signaled that he would take steps to change the practice. 

Teaming up: The White House said Wednesday it would support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) plan to offset the sequester with savings from the war in Afghanistan.

 “We support Sen. Reid’s effort to postpone the sequester temporarily to allow for time for Congress to adopt a balanced approach to get rid of the sequester and reduce the deficit,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.

New budget director: The Senate unanimously confirmed Sylvia Burwell to serve as head of the Office of Management and Budget.

“Sylvia has spent a career fighting for working families, and she was part of an OMB team that presided over three budget surpluses in a row,” President Obama said. 

“Her experience will be especially important as we continue our efforts to replace the indiscriminate budget cuts that are already starting to cost jobs, hurt families, and inconvenience Americans.” 

Perez on hold: A hearing to vote on President Obama’s nominee, Thomas Perez, to lead the Labor department was postponed as Senate Republicans and Democrats dug in on their positions. 

Pick a debt: The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday approved a bill on a party-line vote to prioritize payments once the nation’s debt ceiling is reached.

Democrats say the bill is a sure sign that House Republicans want to use the debt ceiling to try to force President Obama to slash the budget as they did during the standoff in 2011, and the bill is a way to shield themselves from criticism.

LOOSE CHANGE

Brand new Ben: Benjamin Franklin will continue to adorn a revamped $100 bill set for release on Oct. 8, more than two years later than expected.

The redesigned bill adds some security features, such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon to make it easier for the public to help authenticate and more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate. 

The new design for the $100 note was unveiled in 2010, but its introduction was postponed following an unexpected production delay. 

Fed officials said information about the redesigned $100 can be found at www.newmoney.gov.

Twitter trouble: Securities and Exchange Commissioner Luis Aguilar on Wednesday called for an investigation into the hacking of The Associated Press’s twitter account on Tuesday that sent a shockwave through the stock markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping about 145 points in a split second after maintaining gains around that amount through trading up to that point. 

A hoax tweet from AP’s Twitter feed said there had been explosions at the White House and President Obama was injured. The news organization quickly moved to rectify the problem and confirm with the White House that all was, in fact, well. 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Initial Claims: The Labor Department releases its weekly filings for jobless benefits. 

Mortgage Rates: Freddie Mac is releasing weekly data on fixed-rate mortgages, which have been hovering around historic lows.  

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Business groups back push for fast-track legislation by June

— White House notifies Congress about trade talks with Japan

— Dem congressman launches W.H. postal petition

— Capital One pays $3.5M in fines for deceiving regulators

— Credit union chief: ‘Too big to fail still exists’

— Lawmakers float renewable energy finance bill

— Lew faces skeptical Congress with IMF funding request

Catch us on Twitter: @VickoftheHill, @peteschroeder, @elwasson and @berniebecker3

For tips and feedback email vneedham@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com.