On The Money: White House counters with $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal, GOP unimpressed | USDA to start loan forgiveness for thousands of minority farmers

Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where I’m handing off the reins of the newsletter to Naomi and Niv next week. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL—White House counters with $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal in GOP talks: White House officials are presenting a $1.7 trillion counterproposal to Republicans on Friday in pursuit of a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, reducing the price tag of President Biden’s infrastructure proposal by $550 billion.

“In our view, this is the art of seeking common ground,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing Friday. “This proposal exhibits a willingness to come down in size, giving on some areas that are important to the president … while also staying firm in areas that are most vital to rebuilding our infrastructure and industries of the future.”

Breaking down the counteroffer: 

• According to a three-page memo obtained by The Hill outlining the counterproposal, the White House is offering to reduce funding for broadband expansion to $65 billion to match a Republican offer spearheaded by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). 
• The new measure also reduces proposed investments in roads, bridges and other major infrastructure projects from $159 billion to $120 billion, which is still more than double the $48 billion originally proposed by Republicans.

The reception: Well, not good. The offer is still well above the price tag offered by Republicans and was received tepidly on Capitol Hill, suggesting a bipartisan compromise remains out of reach.

A Capito spokesperson called the counteroffer “well above the range of what can pass Congress with bipartisan support” and said the White House and Senate Republicans continue to disagree on “the definition of infrastructure, the magnitude of proposed spending, and how to pay for it.”

“Based on today’s meeting, the groups seem further apart after two meetings with White House staff than they were after one meeting with President Biden,” the Capito spokesperson said.

The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant tells us where things stand.

LEADING THE DAY

USDA to start loan forgiveness for thousands of minority farmers: The Department of Agriculture on Friday announced it would begin distributing loan forgiveness funds to thousands of minority and disadvantaged farmers starting in early June as part of a program established under the American Rescue Plan. 

The fund, which is meant to provide government aid to “socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers,” marks a “major civil rights victory,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a USA Today op-ed published Friday. 

• The law specifically directs the USDA to pay off the farm loans of nearly 16,000 minority farmers, and Vilsack told The Washington Post on Friday that those who will benefit include Black, American Indian, Hispanic, Alaskan Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander farmers.
• “Today, after months of planning, USDA begins this historic debt relief program,” the secretary wrote in his op-ed.

Here’s more from The Hill’s Celine Castronuovo.

Cost of Biden’s COVID-19 rescue bill revised up to $2.1 trillion: What’s a few hundred billion dollars between friends? President Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill that became law in March will end up with a $2.1 trillion price tag over the next decade once interest costs are taken into account, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Friday.

The revised estimate — higher than the $1.9 trillion associated with the measure earlier this year — came in response to an inquiry from Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

• CBO said the spending plan would lead to $208 billion in borrowing costs.
• But the budget scoring office noted that its latest estimate does not take into consideration how implementation of the legislation will affect the economy.
• A larger economy would likely lead to higher tax revenues, as well as lower spending on safety net programs and lower borrowing costs.

Niv breaks it down here.

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Tuesday:

• The Senate Finance Committee holds a confirmation hearing on the nominations of Lily Batchelder and Benjamin Harris to be assistant secretaries of the Treasury, Nellie Liang to be an undersecretary of the Treasury, and Johnathon Davidson to be deputy undersecretary of the Treasury at 9:30 a.m.
• Federal Reserve Vice Chairman of Supervision Randal Quarles testifies before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m.
• A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing entitled “”The Legacy of George Floyd: An Examination of Financial Services Industry Commitments to Economic and Racial Justices” at 12 p.m.

Wednesday:

• The chief executives of Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m.
• Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman testifies before the House Small Business Committee on the SBA’s pandemic relief programs at 10 a.m.
• A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing on consumer credit report accuracy and compliance at 12 p.m.
• Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before the House Appropriations subcommittee for an oversight hearing at 2 p.m.

Thursday:

• A House Ways and Means subcommittee holds a hearing on paid family leave at 10 a.m.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee for an oversight hearing at 11 a.m.
• The chief executives of Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 12 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The Biden administration on Friday rolled out a new temporary rule paving the way for employers to obtain 22,000 new guest worker visas — a one-third increase over current levels — starting Tuesday.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday signed into law “tax holidays,” or suspensions of taxes, for products such as back-to-school supplies and certain activities in order to encourage spending in the state following the loosening of coronavirus restrictions. 

ODDS AND ENDS

• Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the company’s App Store rules during testimony Friday, claiming they protect users’ security.
• Environment and climate leaders from Group of Seven (G-7) countries, made up of several advanced economies, said Friday that they will aim to put restrictions on funding for international power produced from coal.