BIG DEAL: FED HACK COULD AFFECT 14M. Cory Bennett: “A massive hack of the federal government is expected to grow to encompass as many as 9 to 14 million people… the largest data breach at the federal government.” http://bit.ly/1I7qDWJ
TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: BIG TRADE VOTES FRIDAY. Cristina Marcos: “President Obama’s trade agenda survived a bad scare in the House on Thursday when the GOP rule governing debate for the package narrowly survived a 217-212 vote. Thirty-four Republicans voted against the rule, while eight Democrats backed it.
{mosads}”A handful of pro-trade Democrats withheld their votes, watching the tally closely from the floor. Then, when it was apparent Republicans would not be able to pass the typically partisan measure on its own, they threw their votes in favor all at once. The tight vote foreshadows the challenge GOP leaders will face Friday, when the House votes on two critical pieces of Obama’s trade agenda: fast-track authority and a separate bill offering help to workers displaced by trade.” http://bit.ly/1GAMvPi
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48. I’ll be in Delco this weekend for a friend’s wedding. BUT… before I can enjoy a hoagie back home, I’ll be having breakfast with Ex-Im Chairman Fred Hochberg tomorrow morning…
DAYS UNTIL EX-IM’s CHARTER SHUTS DOWN: 9. Export-Import Bank president Hochberg will be the guest of honor at tomorrow’s Christian Science Monitor breakfast. Here’s what’s happening with the embattled bank:
1.) SCHUMER: LET’S ATTACH EX-IM TO AFRICA TRADE BILL. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to use an Africa trade bill as a vehicle to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Ex-Im’s charter is set to expire on June 30, and many observers expect its authority to lapse. The House approved a bill granting trade preferences to African countries on Thursday. The Senate must still take up the legislation.
It seems unlikely Ex-Im’s extension would be added to the Africa bill, however, since it would then have to be approved by the House for a second time. The bank’s supporters are eying a highway bill that Congress must pass next month as a possible vehicle. http://bit.ly/1FW4ZTL
2.) ABOUT LAST NIGHT: HOW SENATE VOTE PLAYED: The Hill, “Senate Shows Ex-Im Support in Test Vote.” … Roll Call, “Export-Import Bank Has Big Majority in Senate Vote.” …The New York Times, “Senate Shows Support for Export-Import Bank.” … Reuters, “U.S. Senate Shows Strong Support for Ex-Im Bank in Test Vote.” … WSJ, “Senate Shows Support for Export-Import Bank.” … Bloomberg, “Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization Gets Support in U.S. Senate Test.”
We pick it up in Texas…
3.) HOUSTON CHRONICLE TACKLES EX-IM, via Kevin Diaz: “Although Texas is the nation’s No. 1 exporting state, the attack on the bank has been led by a contingent of Texas lawmakers who view it as a taxpayer-backed slush fund for politically connected companies selling abroad…. No state has more skin in the fight than Texas.”
— Tony Bennett (not that one), president of the Texas Association of Manufacturers tells Diaz: “It is absolutely baffling that our members of Congress have chosen ideology over jobs… Their actions will deliberately harm Texas… All we can say is we sure hope somebody can pull a rabbit out of the hat.”
— Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas): No comment… because… well, we’ll let the Chronicle explain: “A Brady press aide said he did not have time to talk to the Chronicle this week, citing the annual congressional baseball game.” http://bit.ly/1MLZuwA
This town…
NOTABLE: OBAMA’S FINSERV NOMINEES IN LIMBO, via Justin Shardin for Bipartisan Policy Center: “There are currently five vacancies at independent financial regulatory agencies: two Federal Reserve Board (Fed) governorships, a seat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a directorship at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the spot of vice chairman for supervision at the Fed.” http://bit.ly/1Fbuccj
QUOTABLE, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on a conference call with progressives last night: “I think it’s just irresponsible for Democrats to sign off on a six-year fast-track deal.” http://bit.ly/1GhlIUX
WARREN’S ‘HAIL MARY,’ via Joshua Green for Bloomberg: “With a critical series of House votes scheduled for Friday, [Warren] is making a last-minute push to kill [TPA]. The vote is expected to be close, and many Democrats are angry about a funding mechanism contained in the Senate version of the bill that would pay for a worker retraining program by taking money from Medicare.”
— WARREN-WORLD EMAIL: “On Thursday afternoon, Warren e-mailed her liberal supporters, imploring them to call their representative and urge a ‘no’ vote on the trade bills. ‘We have one last chance to stop Fast Track on trade–right now!’ Warren writes.” http://bloom.bg/1QryFU6
FIDUCIARY FIGHT: UNITED NATIONS READIES RESEARCH. The UN’s Fiona Reynolds in an op-ed for Capital Finance International: “This autumn, [the United Nations] will be publishing a report… covering fiduciary duty across eight national jurisdictions: US, UK, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. We hope that this report will serve as a global roadmap – or action plan – for ESG [environmental, social and governance considerations] integration across the financial services sector and help remove the last remaining barriers to the question of ESG and fiduciary duty.” http://bit.ly/1f5oSSI
SEC’S REVOLVING DOOR SLAMMED SHUT? WSJ’s Andrew Ackerman: “As the Obama administration looks to fill a vacancy on the Securities and Exchange Commission, a potential hurdle has emerged from an unexpected source: former SEC officials who are warning candidates that the agency has become dysfunctional. Some of the at least five individuals the White House is considering for a Democratic opening on the commission have been urged by colleagues to think long and hard about going to the agency if offered the job. Among the reasons they cite: A tumultuous confirmation process and the increasingly gridlocked nature of the commission, according to people familiar with the discussions.” http://on.wsj.com/1cOuwXQ
ON-TAP FOR TOMORROW: YOUTH FINANCIAL LITERACY SUMMIT. Per a release: “Bank of America is convening a panel discussion on millennials and financial literacy. Mandi Woodruff of Yahoo! Finance is moderating the discussion with the following panelists: George Washington University economist Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, Randy Plunkett of the Wounded Warrior Project, Dedrick Muhammad of the NAACP and Andrew Plepler of Bank of America. The event, which is part of Bank of America’s Better Money Habits initiative, will be held in U.S. Capitol Hill Visitor Center, HVC 200 from 12-1:00 PM.”
FUN READ: SETH MEYERS ON 2016, via Bruce Fretts for Vulture: “With Late Show’s David Letterman off the stage and The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart soon to follow, the genre’s two highest-profile political voices are going silent. Before Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah can try to fill the power vacuum, Meyers is stepping up his game, most notably by booking presidential candidates in the run-up to 2016… Unlike, say, the Jimmys, Meyers ‘has always been a political guy,’ says executive producer Mike Shoemaker… Perhaps it’s because Meyers was born and raised in the home of the nation’s first presidential primary.”
— ON HIS FAVORITE POLITICAL INTERVIEWS: “I thought Ted Cruz was more fun than Carly Fiorina. And I never thought I would ever say the words, ‘Ted Cruz was more fun.’ …The Bernie one turned out pretty well, balance-wise, in terms of getting him to talk about both real issues and ridiculous ones.”
— ON GOP FIELD: “We’re nearing a tipping point on the Republican side — if you haven’t declared yet, we might not get to you. Throw your hat in soon, because we’re really booking up.”
— ON POLITICAL DYNASTIES: “I don’t know if it’s good for all those kindergarteners who we tell anyone can grow up to be president. I’m more worried about what it says about the state of dynasties in American politics than how it’ll work out for our show.” http://bit.ly/1e6cNN9
ONE MORE THING: JAY LENO’S WARNING. Conservatives Guy Benson and Mary Katherine Ham tell WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin: “People have been complaining about ‘political correctness’ for years, too. As an aside, Jerry Seinfeld’s recent comments about PC hall monitors threatening the lifeblood of comedy — a concern echoed by Jay Leno and Chris Rock, among others — indicates that the merchants of feigned and tendentious outrage aren’t just making the country less free. They’re making it less fun, too.” http://wapo.st/1MtFdLz
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