Overnight Finance: McConnell sets up spending fight

SEN. AYOTTE (R-N.H.) SLAMS FELLOW REPUBLICANS OVER PLANNED PARENTHOOD FIGHT. From The Hill’s Jordain Carney: Sen. Kelly Ayotte slammed her Republican colleagues who are suggesting that Congress should use a government spending bill to defund Planned Parenthood. “We all know where the votes are, and it’s not going to happen,” the New Hampshire Republican said from the Senate floor. “I’m tired of the people on my side of the aisle who have been pushing this strategy, even though they know they don’t have the votes to pass it in the United States Senate, and they certainly don’t have the votes to override a presidential veto.” http://bit.ly/1Kz9DKG More on the budget battle in a second…

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: POPE FRANCIS ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON. Jordan Fabian for The Hill: President Obama and Vice President Biden greeted Pope Francis on Tuesday, as the Holy Father landed at Andrews Air Force Base for a historic six-day visit to the United States. 

It’s the first visit to the United States for the popular pope, who was greeted with the pomp and circumstance of a papal visit and the raucousness of a football game.  As his plane approached the runway, dozens of greeters assembled on the tarmac erupted in cheers.

{mosads}“We love Francis, yes we do. We love Francis, how about you?!” chanted the crowd, which included school children from local Catholic schools.

The pope walked off his aircraft at 4:05 p.m. and onto a red carpet lined by a military honor guard and a gathering of Catholic bishops. He shook hands with Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Sasha and Malia. 

Francis also greeted Vice President Biden, who is Catholic, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and their granddaughters, Maisy and Finnegan. Francis left Andrews in a Fiat with the license plate SCV1.

The pope’s three-city U.S. tour includes a meeting with Obama at the White House, speeches to Congress and the United Nations and a ceremony in Philadelphia that’s expected to draw more than one million people.

The White House has sought to stress areas where the pope and Obama agree, such as global warming, income inequality and diplomacy with Cuba. But spokesman Josh Earnest downplayed the political import of Francis’s visit. 

“This is not a meeting between politicians, and this is not an effort to advance anybody’s political agenda,” Earnest said Tuesday. “But rather it’s an opportunity for two respected world leaders, with significant influence around the globe, to spend some time talking about the values that they hold in common and to do so in an atmosphere of respect.”  http://bit.ly/1PpZDXx

THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, Happy Pope week.  Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48.

BACK TO SPENDING: From The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: “Senate Republicans are taking the lead in a carefully orchestrated plan with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to avoid a government shutdown next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday filed a motion to advance legislation that would redirect Planned Parenthood funding to community health centers and fund the government until Dec. 11.

“The action sets up a Thursday vote, the same day Pope Francis speaks to a historic joint session of Congress. Democrats will filibuster the stopgap funding measure because of the Planned Parenthood rider, setting up votes on a so-called “clean” continuing resolution next week. Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the Senate’s No. 3 Republican, said the House and Senate had been in talks and leaders decided that it was better for the Senate to move forward first, to show that a funding bill cutting off Planned Parenthood would fail.”

CLINTON OPPOSES KEYSTONE XL. Timothy Cama for The Hill: Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton came out Tuesday against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, arguing the debate over its construction was a distraction from efforts to tackle climate change.

The announcement follows years of pressure from environmentalists, and as Clinton seeks to reassure supporters surprised that she faces a tough challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an opponent of Keystone.

Clinton announced her shift at a campaign event in Iowa, one of two early-voting states where some polls have shown Sanders in the lead.

“I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone pipeline as what I think it is, as a distraction to the important work we have to do on climate change,” she said. “And unfortunately, from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward with all the other issues.” http://bit.ly/1gKJjVg

EX-IM WATCH, via me: House Democrats say they’re confident lawmakers will reauthorize the federally backed Export-Import Bank — they just don’t know when. On a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that a federal transportation bill lawmakers could take up next month might be the best vehicle to reauthorize the bank, whose charter formally lapsed June 30. Hoyer said he has “drawn the conclusion that in fact there is a sense amongst some in leadership that” the bank needs to be reauthorized. http://bit.ly/1V97hax

— HEITKAMP, SEINFELD AND EX-IM, for all you funny wonks out there. Check out this Storify from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) using Seinfeld to make the case for Ex-Im. http://bit.ly/1FdROUN

SEC TARGETS MUTUAL FUNDS, via Pete Schroeder: The Securities and Exchange Commission advanced rules Tuesday aimed at reducing risk in the multitrillion-dollar market made up of mutual funds and exchange traded funds. The proposed rules take aim at so-called open-end funds, requiring them to be prepared to weather a significant number of exiting investors without risking the overall fund. http://bit.ly/1V8ri6v

CYBER-WATCH, via Cory Bennett: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled charges Tuesday with an investment adviser that allegedly failed to properly protect its clients’ data in what might be a first-of-its-kind enforcement action. Because of the security shortcomings, the SEC alleges, suspected Chinese hackers were able to crack the network of St. Louis-based R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management, accessing roughly 100,000 people’s information. http://bit.ly/1j7VFbQ

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