On The Money: Democrats make full-court press on expanded child tax credit | White House confident Congress will raise debt ceiling

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THE BIG DEAL—Democrats make full-court press on expanded child tax credit: The Biden administration and congressional Democrats are making a big push to increase awareness about the monthly child tax credit payments that are starting next month, as they also push to extend their expansion of the credit.

The goal: 

• The vast majority of eligible households will receive the monthly payments automatically, but stakeholders want to ensure that the lowest-income households not typically required to file tax returns get the payments. 
• The administration designated Monday as child tax credit awareness day, and White House officials, lawmakers and nonprofits held various events in an effort to educate Americans about the forthcoming monthly payments. 
• A rollout without major issues could give a boost to the efforts to extend the child tax credit expansion Biden enacted earlier this year.

“We’re asking Americans to come together to build support and awareness for this vital tax relief for families, to help us extend it for years to come, and to ensure we get all children in our nation’s low-income families signed up this year,” Biden said in a statement Monday.

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda breaks it down here.

LEADING THE DAY

Psaki says Biden ‘believes’ Congress will lift debt limit despite spending battle: White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that President Biden expects Congress to lift the legal limit on the federal debt despite a looming battle with Republicans over spending.

During a Monday White House briefing, Psaki told reporters that Biden believes lawmakers will once again prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, after legislators raised or suspended the debt ceiling three times under former President Trump.

“The president believes that Congress will do what they’ve done three times during the Trump administration, which is to raise the debt ceiling,” Psaki said. “We know that that will be a central focus and discussion, probably even in here, come the fall, but he expects they will do what they’ve done three times [under Trump].”

I’ve got more here.

The background: The legal limit on how much debt the U.S. government can hold is set to kick back in on Aug. 1, giving Biden and Congress less than two months to either raise or suspend the debt ceiling. But the dynamics over the debt limit are totally different from the Trump administration.

• Republican lawmakers agreed to lift the debt ceiling three times under Trump but have warned Democrats that they will not do so again unless Democrats agree to spending cuts or other debt reduction measures.
• Democrats should have little trouble passing a debt ceiling hike or suspension through the House, which is controlled by the party and can pass legislation with a simple majority. But Republicans could still block the measure in the Senate unless at least 10 GOP senators support it.

“I’d say it’s unlikely,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, when asked if there are enough Republicans who support raising the debt ceiling.

The Hill’s Jordain Carney tells us more about the looming debt cliff here.

House to take big step on eliminating Trump-era rules: The House is gearing up for votes this week to undo three Trump-era rules, using a special legislative tool to repeal some of the previous administration’s agency actions.

• Democrats will draw on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to take aim at rules governing methane regulations, lending practices and employment discrimination cases.
• The three resolutions, which made it through the Senate on simple majority votes that included Republicans crossing the aisle on two of the measures, all have a good chance of clearing the House.
• The CRA resolution would also repeal the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s “true lender rule,” which allows lenders to offer loans at interest rates that exceed state limits if they team up with a federally chartered bank headquartered in a state with a higher cap.

The Hill’s Rachel Frazin explains here.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Senate Banking Committee holds a confirmation hearing on the nominations of Brian Eddie Nelson to be Treasury undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, and Elizabeth Rosenberg to assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing at 10 a.m.
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies about the Fed’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis at 2 p.m.
• A Senate Finance subcommittee holds a hearing on trade policy in the Asia-Pacific region at 2:30 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres is urging governments to use a “solidarity or wealth tax” on those who have profited during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Stocks on Monday bounced back sharply from a week of losses as companies banking on a strong post-coronavirus rebound led the rally.
• Civil rights groups are calling on lawmakers and regulators to crack down on Amazon over its system of monitoring workers’ pace. 
• Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge said student debt is playing a role in limiting homeownership for Black people.

ODDS AND ENDS

• House Republicans are publicly sparring over several high-profile antitrust bills that have bipartisan support, signaling a bumpy road ahead for the legislation.
• Auction house Sotheby’s announced that cryptocurrency will be an accepted payment method for a rare diamond that is up for auction.