The Ex-Im drama continues… keep reading…
TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: BOEHNER OPTIMISTIC ON TRADE. Scott Wong for the hometown paper: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday said he’s hopeful the House will pass legislation this month granting President Obama fast-track trade powers, but said the votes aren’t there yet.
— WHAT BOEHNER SAID, per Fox News Radio: “I don’t think we’re quite there yet. But over the next couple weeks, we hope to get this bill on the floor and get it passed. It’s an important priority for the country… This is not about the president; frankly, it’s about the country. It’s why I’ve worked with the president on a number of trade agreements over the course of his tenure and my tenure as Speaker.”
{mosads}– THE POLICY BEHIND THE POLITICS, via Wong: “Last month, the Senate passed TPA on a 62 to 37 vote. But the bill is facing a steeper climb in the House, where most Democrats are fiercely opposed. The bill would allow Obama to send to Congress the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations, for an up-or-down vote. Under the fast-track rules, lawmakers would not be able to amend the trade deal. Republicans proponents of TPA estimate they will need about 190 GOP votes, leaving Obama to bring along roughly 30 Democratic votes to get the bill across the finish line.” Story: http://bit.ly/1RKlFWS
— KEEP COUNT WITH THE HILL’s WHIP LIST: http://bit.ly/1FO3FqM And don’t miss Mike Lillis and Vicki Needham’s story about Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) supporting Obama on trade, becoming the 16th House Democrat to do so: http://bit.ly/1dN0TYe
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and it’s hump day. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48. Back to work…
LEGISLATIVE DAYS UNTIL EX-IM’s CHARTER ENDS: 14.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PUSHES BACK AGAINST WARREN, via me for The Hill: “The manufacturing industry pushed back on Wednesday against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who had criticized the Export-Import Bank for not financing enough small businesses. The politically embattled bank — whose charter expires June 30 — is required to finance at least 20 percent of its portfolio to small businesses, a quota it failed to meet in three of the last four fiscal years, as Warren noted during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. A Senate proposal from Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) raises the 20 percent threshold to 25 percent.
— OVERNIGHT MUSES: Warren’s questioning got Ex-Im supporters off-message yesterday during a Hill hearing. But today, they responded in full-force. And their answers are a preview of what Ex-Im Chairman Fred Hochberg could say tomorrow when he faces Warren during a Senate hearing:
— JAY TIMMONS, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), responding to my question at the press conference: “[Warren] did not call me about this. Had she called me? I would’ve said, ‘Senator, thank you for your concern but this is a solution in search of a problem.'”
— DARYL BOUWKAMP, a senior director at the Vermeer Corporation, told me that the threshold would “actually hurt small businesses.” “If a large company wins a big deal — we’re happy for them and we’re happy for our country and we’re happy for the small and medium sized businesses that will benefit in their supply chain,” Bouwkamp said at the press conference. He said that such a threshold or a mechanical ratio could “actually work in the contrary to its intent.” MY STORY: http://bit.ly/1KEXx3K
SANDERS V. BUSH: Rebecca Shabad reports: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday slammed former Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R-Fla.) recent comments about raising the retirement age for Social Security. Bush suggested the age to get Social Security should be raised from 65 to 68 to 70. ‘At a time when more than half of the American people have less than $10,000 in savings, it would be a disaster to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age,’ the Democratic presidential candidate replied in a statement.” http://bit.ly/1FUiTJi
NOT THE ONION – – > DEMS AGREE TO DODD-FRANK TWEAKS. Pete Schroeder has the story: “Key Democrats have unanimously agreed to set a modest tweaks to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, in an effort to build momentum for their plan over various, more dramatic GOP proposals. On Wednesday, top Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees introduced legislation that would make several targeted changes to existing financial rules, and announced that every Democrat on both committees was supportive of the proposal.
— WHAT ARE THE TWEAKS? Schroeder reports: “Most of its provisions are aimed at providing modest relief to smaller institutions by, for example, subjecting them to fewer regulator examinations. Even though Dodd-Frank is largely finished, the fight over the 2010 law still breaks strongly down partisan lines. Democrats have resisted nearly every effort by Republicans to advance significant changes to the 2010 law, arguing that GOP proposals are aimed primarily at defanging the law, rather than improving it.” http://bit.ly/1Q7FaeI
CFPB — SORTA — BACKS DOWN ON CONTROVERSIAL HOUSING REG, via Housing Wire: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will not delay implementing the complex TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure requirements that go into effect Aug.1, but there will be a good-faith enforcement grace period that both the mortgage industry and a bipartisan coalition in Congress have asked for. The TRID rule, which was brought forth by the CFPB, has a sweeping impact on the real estate market through the implementation and compliance costs it requires.” http://bit.ly/1M5t4wg
DOJ SETTLES – – AGAIN — WITH BANKS. Bernie Becker for The Hill: “The Justice Department’s list of Swiss banks seeking to avoid criminal charges in the U.S. added two more names on Wednesday. Rothschild Bank AG and Banca Credinvest SA have both agreed to join the department’s program for Swiss banks, under which financial institutions who believe they might have committed a tax crime strike a deal with the federal government.” http://bit.ly/1dfl6oK
RUBIO UNVEILS CUBA BILL, via Shabad: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would prohibit U.S. financial transactions with Cuban military and security services. The Cuban American, who’s running for president, has staunchly opposed President Obama’s new policy to normalize relations with the Communist-ruled island.” http://bit.ly/1HL37yE
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