HOUSE GOP MAKES CASE TO IMPEACH IRS CHIEF: The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday took a step toward impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen with a hearing to examine his alleged misconduct during Congress’s investigation into the political targeting controversy.
{mosads}Republicans on the committee assailed Koskinen, saying he failed to comply with a subpoena and made false statements under oath.
The sole witnesses at the hearing were Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who called for Koskinen’s impeachment — an action other Republican lawmakers on the committee also support.
“We’re here today because Mr. Koskinen provided false testimony,” Chaffetz said. “He failed to comply with a duly issued subpoena. And when he knew there was a problem, he failed to properly inform Congress in a timely manner. In fact, I would argue that he actively misled Congress.” The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda takes us there: http://bit.ly/1YWFcGF.
CHAFFETZ: TIME FOR KOSKINEN TO GO: It’s time for Congress to remove the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) chief, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said Tuesday at the opening of an impeachment hearing for John Koskinen.
“As members of Congress we have no reason to have any confidence that Mr. Koskinen will run one of the most powerful agencies with any integrity,” Chaffetz said in his written testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. “Nor can the American people feel confident the agency won’t misuse its power under his direction.
“For these reasons, it is time for Congress to act and remove him as head of the agency,” Chaffetz said: http://bit.ly/1OLDzFW.
BUT KOSKINEN IS HITTING BACK: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen is telling lawmakers that a resolution to impeach him is “without merit.”
“I believe impeachment is a wholly improper tool in this instance,” Koskinen said in a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee.
Koskinen rebutted each of the four articles of impeachment proposed in the resolution introduced last fall by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). Naomi tells us how: http://bit.ly/25eVPkE.
AND LEW SAYS THE IMPEACHMENT PUSH SHOWS A ‘POLITICAL AGENDA”: Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday dismissed a push by House Republicans to remove IRS Commissioner John Koskinen shortly before his impeachment hearing began.
Lew called Koskinen “an outstanding public servant” and said an effort to impeach the IRS chief was beneath the House.
“Having begun my career working in the House of Representatives, I have deep respect for the institution and believe it should keep its focus on the needs of the American people, not the kind of political agenda that an impeachment vote here would represent,” Lew said in a statement: http://bit.ly/20x3SpH.
RYAN SECURES BIG WIN WITH PUERTO RICO DEAL: The bipartisan deal to tackle Puerto Rico’s debt crisis represents Paul Ryan’s first big victory as Speaker.
While the Wisconsin Republican has notched other wins on highway, education and government funding during his short, nearly seven-month tenure, former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a hand in all of those negotiations.
But the Puerto Rico pact, coming in the middle of a contentious presidential election year, is Ryan’s. The Hill’s Scott Wong and I tell us how he got it done: http://bit.ly/1sNW3S9.
PUERTO RICO’S DELEGATE HITS BILL’S CRITICS: Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative to Congress, announced his support Tuesday for a bill to help the commonwealth handle its debt crisis.
Pierluisi, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, urged his colleagues to support the “imperfect, but indispensable” bill and told its critics to “get real” about the lack of alternatives.
The bill has been endorsed by House Republican and Democratic leadership but faces mounting opposition from progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, one of five Puerto Rican members of Congress. More from me on Pierluisi’s comments and the debate over the bill here: http://bit.ly/1UcbP1F
HAPPY TUESDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where everything is warm and sunny and perfect again. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
Tonight’s highlights include some “details” about Trump’s taxes, House rules changes in the wake of last week’s chaos, an IRS haircut and some finger-pointing.
See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-release.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.
CLINTON HITS TRUMP OVER HOUSING CRASH: Hillary Clinton on Tuesday unleashed an attack on Donald Trump, going after the presumptive GOP nominee for his past comments that he hoped for a housing market crash.
“He actually said he was hoping for the crash that caused hard-working families in California and across America to lose their jobs,” Clinton said at a campaign event outside Los Angeles, according to The Wall Street Journal. “All because he thought he could take advantage of it to make some money for himself.”
“I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,” Trump said in a 2006 audiobook for his now-defunct Trump University that was unearthed last week by CNN. “If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money.”
Jesse Byrnes has more on the campaign fight here: http://bit.ly/1OLWv7C
AIDE: TRUMP PAID ‘LOWEST TAX RATE POSSIBLE’: Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, said the presumptive GOP presidential nominee pays the lowest tax rate possible.
“Mr. Trump is proud to pay a lower tax rate — the lowest tax rate possible,” Lewandowski said on CBS News.
He said that Trump, as a businessman in this country, believes people need to fight for every dollar they can get.
“He is going to pay the smallest amount of taxes possible, which I think the American people also understand. Every deduction possible. He fights for every single dollar,” Lewandowski said.
“That’s the mindset you want to bring to the government.”
Trump has yet to release any of his tax returns and says he would not do so until the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) completes an audit of his taxes: http://bit.ly/1NKc1Gb.
HOUSE GOP CHANGES RULES TO THWART DEMS: Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is changing the rules of how the House considers spending measures to try to prevent Democrats from offering surprise amendments that have recently put the GOP on defense.
House Republican leaders have been blindsided multiple times by Democrats offering politically volatile amendments to appropriations bills. And, starting as soon as next month, Ryan will make it harder for the minority party to attempt to embarrass the majority.
Ryan announced at a House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning that members will now have to submit their amendments ahead of time so that they are printed in the Congressional Record, according to leadership aides.
The change will not yet be in effect this week for a bill to fund the Energy Department and water infrastructure projects. But lawmakers will have to abide by the requirement, which before now was optional, starting with appropriations bills considered after Congress’s Memorial Day recess. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos tells us how it went down and how Democrats are reacting: http://bit.ly/1sOwdxf.
SENATE VOTES TO BLOCK OBAMA FINANCIAL ADVISER RULE: The Senate voted Tuesday to strike down a controversial Obama administration rule for financial advisers, setting up a showdown with the White House. Senators voted 56-41 to overturn the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule, which requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of retirement savers.
The Senate’s vote paves the way for a battle with the White House, which has pledged that President Obama will veto the legislation once it reaches his desk. Jordain Carney has more on the brewing fight: http://bit.ly/1NKwXN8
LAWMAKER BEMOANS ‘BUZZSAW’ FOR ON-DEMAND WORKERS: The chair of the House’s small business panel on Tuesday probed ways in which the tax system is failing workers in the so-called on-demand economy.
House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) praised on-demand economy companies like Uber and Lyft for the way he said they had empowered individuals to strike out on their own.
“However, in their enthusiasm these entrepreneurs are running smack dab into the buzzsaw of an outmoded tax code that is not designed to accommodate them,” he said.
Chabot was echoing concerns raised by many involved in the on-demand economy that the government’s tax apparatus has trouble handling the independent contractors who form the backbone of companies like Uber and Lyft. Chabot said that many forget to file their taxes or pay too much because they are unaware of benefits that might be available to them. The Hill’s David McCabe tells us why: http://bit.ly/1Vh5jsO.
IRS GETS BUDGET CUT IN SPENDING BILL: The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday released legislation that cuts overall funding to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) while maintaining spending levels aimed at improving the agency’s customer service.
The fiscal 2017 financial services measure provides $10.9 billion for the IRS, a cut of $236 million below last year’s enacted level and $1.3 billion below President Obama’s budget request.
The bill maintains $2.1 billion for taxpayer services and an additional $290 million to improve customer service, such as phone and correspondence response times, fraud prevention and cybersecurity.
“The IRS has been plagued in recent years by the inappropriate actions of its employees and political leadership, resulting in the waste of taxpayer dollars and in unjust treatment and targeting of certain ideological groups,” the committee said in releasing the bill. The Hill’s Vicki Needham breaks it down: http://bit.ly/246ngdZ.
DEM MOCKS TRUMP’S ‘SHORT FINGERS’ ON HOUSE FLOOR: A House Democrat worked in a taunt about the size of Donald Trump’s hands while blasting the presumptive GOP presidential nominee for saying he’d take advantage of the housing market crash.
In a House floor speech on Tuesday, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) called on the real estate mogul to apologize for comments made in 2007 counseling Trump University students to use the housing bubble as an investment opportunity.
“He rooted for that bubble to burst. Well, the crash in the housing market devastated my hometown of Las Vegas, which was one of the hardest hit in the country,” Titus said, noting that thousands of people in her district lost their homes as a result of the housing bubble’s burst. Here’s more from Cristina Marcos: http://bit.ly/1Ro4QOx.
NEW HOME SALES HIT HIGHEST MARK SINCE 2008: New home sales surged 16.6 percent in April to the highest sales pace since January 2008, a good sign for the spring buying season even as inventory remains constrained.
Sales rose last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units, up from 531,000 in March and a jump of 23.8 percent above the April 2015 estimate of 500,000, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.
“Rising home sales combined with tight inventory will translate into increased housing production as we move onward in 2016, especially as job creation continues and mortgage rates remain low,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 243,000, only a supply of 4.7 months at the current sales rate and down from 5.5 months in March.
“The gain reflects a sharp increase in demand from homebuyers and a healthy U.S. economy, and should put to rest fears of an oncoming recession,” said Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist with Trulia. Vicki Needham tells us more: http://bit.ly/1WQQDCo.
BANK OF AMERICA PENALTY TOSSED IN BAD LOANS CASE: Bank of America on Monday won a reprieve from paying a $1.27 billion penalty over shoddy mortgages sold by its Countrywide arm.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court decision and concluded the federal government failed to prove that there was fraudulent intent by the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit to sell risky mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ahead of the financial crisis.
The federal appeals court said that the Justice Department failed to present sufficient evidence for the jury to reach the 2013 decision that Countrywide and one of its executives deliberately misrepresented the quality of the mortgages they sold.
“The government did not prove — in fact, did not attempt to prove — that at the time the contracts were executed Countrywide never intended to perform its promise of investment quality,” the appeals court said: http://bit.ly/246ni5n.
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