Overnight Finance: Treasury sees late October debt deadline

WORTH NOTING: Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) met with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) yesterday. One of the items on the agenda: how to recruit more GOP women to join the powerful panel. Wagner and Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) are the only Republican members. My scooplet: http://bit.ly/1Da0Jpk

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT – – OR ACTUALLY THIS FALL. Congressional leadership’s handling of the federal transportation reauthorization (highway bill) has only added to what will become a contentious, high-stakes battle this fall. Lawmakers will have to deal with government funding, the debt limit, the Export-Import Bank, Iran deal… and… oh yeah, a presidential campaign that will be kick-started into high-gear next week at the Aug. 6 presidential debate. The short-term transportation bill has left many in the business community stunned at Congressional leadership’s handling of wonky, in-the-weeds issues that once were bipartisan votes, according to multiple business lobbyists I spoke with earlier today.

{mosads}– SENIOR LEVEL EXECUTIVE WORKING TO REAUTHORIZE EX-IM tells me exclusively: “The longer the bank is closed, the harder it is to re-open. Boehner has just shown us where he’s at: he’s terrified of his right flank. I don’t know how he goes to the Chamber of Commerce or to the National Association of Manufacturers and says, ‘I’m for you guys.’ Why would Boehner bring it up in September? That’s what people need to get their minds around… I think he just showed his hand.”

— MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Ex-Im’s financing is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, though appropriations packages in both chambers include language to allow the bank to continue its day-to-day operations. Hypothetically, conservatives (i.e. Heritage Action) will get a chance to fight for funding of Ex-Im to be yanked from any government spending bill. That means you could have a situation where Ex-Im workers are forced to “shut down” day-to-day operations Oct. 1.

THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and we apologize to anyone who did not make The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People list. But as you can see, wonks, the financial services world had bigger fish to fry today. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe:http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48.

NOTABLE, DEBT LIMIT IN OCTOBER, via Schroeder: “Lawmakers will likely have at least until the end of October to haggle over raising the nation’s debt limit, according to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.” http://bit.ly/1fIwniF

HOUSE PASSES HIGHWAY BILL: From The Hill’s Keith Laing: The House voted Wednesday to approve an $8 billion bill that would extend federal transportation funding until the end of October, sending it to the Senate with just two days to go before the nation’s road and transit spending expires. 

The bill passed in a 385-34 vote, with Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) voting present. Senators are expected to accept the patch to prevent an interruption in the nation’s infrastructure spending during the busy summer construction season. http://bit.ly/1ILETut

PERRY ‘THE POPULIST’ BACKS GLASS-STEAGALL. The Hill’s Pete Schroeder: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is taking a position to Hillary Clinton’s left on financial reform, and pushing for a policy to break up big banks staunchly advocated by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The GOP presidential candidate laid out his vision for Wall Street reform in a speech Wednesday. And among his policy proposals, Perry apparently advocated for the return of the Glass-Steagall Act, which established a firewall between traditional commercial banking and investment banking. Perry’s stance would put him further to the left on that particular point than Clinton, and squarely in the camp of Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

— WHAT PERRY SAID, via Schroeder: In remarks delivered in New York, Perry did not mention Glass-Steagall by name, but floated among several policy proposals one that is practically identical. “We could once again require banks to separate their traditional commercial lending and investment banking and related practices,” he said, according to prepared remarks. Perry also floated an alternate idea of requiring large banks to hold additional capital as a cushion, but the idea of cleanly separating commercial and investment banking was a signature provision of Glass-Steagall. http://bit.ly/1Jw6cI9

— TIM PAWLENTY RESPONDS, the former GOP presidential candidate turned CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable told Neil Cavuto on FBN: “Look, let’s agree — no more too big to fail, no more bailouts, no more subsidies, no more too big to jail, and if you don’t think Dodd-Frank did it — then what’s your proposal? Let’s see what [Perry] has to say in specifics. Going back to Glass-Steagall probably isn’t realistic at this point.” http://bit.ly/1I2BKmx

FED WATCH: NO NEW CLUES ON RATE HIKE. Schroeder: “The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it was not raising interest rates just yet. While the central bank said the labor market has improved, it said in its latest policy statement that there is room for further growth while inflation remains low.” http://bit.ly/1VNCKSN

QUOTABLE, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), comparing Obama administration to Nixon over IRS targeting at a Senate hearing: “If the IRS has become a partisan arm of the Democratic National Committee, there can be no stronger argument for ending the IRS as we know it… “Richard Nixon’s ghost must have been smiling.” http://bit.ly/1IqV0Hv

HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES PASSES BIPARTISAN BILLS. The HFSC left town with a bang — and a day early! Perhaps the most notable move today was advancing legislation that would cap salaries of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which earlier this month gave themselves at $4 million pay raise. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) was the lead sponsor on the bill. His remarks: “Multi-million dollar paydays for the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie represent a failed grasp of reality on the part of both the GSEs and their regulator.” http://bit.ly/1MVmh8X

FIDUCIARY FIGHT – – > TIM SCOTT JOINS GROWING CALLS FOR RE-PROPOSAL, via me: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is calling on the Department of Labor to rework its plan to regulate financial advisers.

In a brief interview with The Hill, Scott said that “there should be a re-proposal” of President Obama and DOL’s effort to change disclosure requirements under its so-called fiduciary rule. Scott and the business community have argued that the proposed regulation would end up keeping low- and middle-income Americans from receiving financial advice. “In the real world — having sold financial products — the fact of the matter is that what they’re going to do is eliminate experts for those who need it the most.” My exclusive: http://bit.ly/1I9xRtR 

Three quick points:

1.) WAGNER’S LETTER: Scott’s comments come as a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez calling for him to revisit the proposal. Two Democrats joined 18 Republicans in signing the letter, which was circulated by Reps. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), David Scott (D-Ga.) and Lacy Clay (D-Mo.). Rep. Scott told The Hill that he expects more Democrats will come out against the administration’s plan, which failed in 2010.

2.) REP. DAVID SCOTT LAMBASTS PROPOSAL: “You can sit in an ivory tower and make up all of these [seemingly] wonderful things, but they don’t have practicality of making sure it doesn’t suffocate our financial system. Furthermore, the people who hurt the most with this proposal are those in the lower income stream and the middle income stream.”

3.) BUSINESS COMMUNITY’S STRATEGY: Lawmakers could look to use the fall’s looming budget fights as a way to stop DOL from implementing the controversial rule. Appropriations bills in the House and in the Senate would nix funding to DOL if they try to implement the new rule. And the business community is banking that Obama wouldn’t let the government shut down over the fiduciary regulations.

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