Happy Election Day and welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. Subscribe here: digital-release.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Today’s Big Deal: Democrats may actually be able to get their massive economic bill together. We’ll also look at haggling over government funding and updates on President Biden’s Fed picks.
But first, some indecent exposure on the sidelines of COP26.
And a quick reminder: You can follow all of the latest news from the biggest elections around the U.S. at TheHill.com all night.
For The Hill, I’m Sylvan Lane. Write me at slane@digital-release.thehill.com or @SylvanLane. You can reach my colleagues on the Finance team Naomi Jagoda at njagoda@digital-release.thehill.com or @NJagoda and Aris Folley at afolley@digital-release.thehill.com or @ArisFolley.
Let’s get to it.
Lawmakers on cusp of sweeping deal
After months of tense talks, delayed votes and internal clashes, Democratic leaders are on the cusp of solidifying a deal on President Biden’s sweeping domestic agenda, setting the stage for the House to vote on both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger social benefits package in the coming days.
- Party leaders on Tuesday announced a hard-fought agreement on a proposal to rein in prescription drug costs — which stood among the last stubborn divisions between liberals and party moderates.
- Lawmakers said they were also nearing a deal on a new tax cut for those living in high-income regions of the country, which was demanded by centrists.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the final language of the social spending package could be released as early as Tuesday night — “That’s the hope,” she said — and across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the upper chamber is aiming to consider the legislation on the week of Nov. 15.
“We’re coming to our conclusions,” Pelosi said.
The big picture: The rapid-fire developments came after weeks of gridlock, and they were quickly cheered by Democrats of all stripes, who have watched in exasperation as the negotiations dragged on for months of missed deadlines, bad press and public grousing that’s helped tug Biden’s approval numbers underwater.
“We have a bill,” one key negotiator, Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) declared Tuesday. “We did not have that last week” when Biden came to Capitol Hill. “We had a wish and a prayer and a promise and a framework … And now we’re going to have a vote on both bills.”
Mike Lillis, Scott Wong and Peter Sullivan have more here. And we’ve got more on the last push to get the bill together below.
A MESSAGE FROM CITI
Tackling the startup world’s gender, race and ethnic funding gap.
With our $200 million Impact Investment Fund we are seeking opportunities to invest in businesses that are led or owned by women and minority entrepreneurs, helping to create equitable access to venture capital funding.
LEADING THE DAY
Moderate Dems press for CBO score before vote on Biden package
Moderate House Democrats are pushing for more information about the cost of the social spending package prior to a vote, which threatens to slow down the speed at which Democrats advance their economic agenda.
Several key lawmakers are demanding the scores, arguing that estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) or the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) are crucial to ensuring that the bill is “fiscally responsible.”
The upshot: It could take some time for the scorekeepers to provide that information, and a delay would hinder Democrats’ ability to this week pass the social spending bill and a separate bipartisan infrastructure measure already approved by the Senate.
- The latter bill is a top priority for moderates, some of whom are worried the social spending bill might come back to bite them in next year’s midterms.
- If Democrats have to wait for more information from the CBO before voting, it would mark just the latest setback they’ve faced in advancing President Biden’s economic agenda at a time when his approval rating is underwater.
Naomi and Aris explain here.
Read more: Top Democrat dismisses need for budget report before House votes on spending plan
TO BE CONTINUED
Shelby says another CR will be needed in December
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Tuesday said another continuing resolution will likely be needed in December to fund the government, following an initial meeting on Tuesday between top lawmakers on the House and Senate appropriations committees over fiscal year 2022 funding bills.
Shelby, the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters after a meeting with House and Senate appropriators that an additional continuing resolution will probably be needed to fund the government after Dec. 3, when funding from the stopgap bill passed in late September is set to expire.
The vice chairman also said a handful of Republicans would be on board with a full-year continuing resolution. He did note, however, that such a move is not what he would like but is “probably what we got.”
PICK FOUR
Biden says he’ll announce Fed choices ‘fairly quickly’
President Biden said Tuesday he will announce multiple Federal Reserve nominees “fairly quickly” after months of considering how to handle several current and future vacancies on the central bank’s board.
During a press conference at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Biden said several Fed nominees have been “in train” for some time, but did not specify how many he would name or when he would appoint them.
- Biden has a significant opportunity to reshape the Fed’s board of governors, the seven-person panel that controls Fed bank regulation and supervision, oversees the operations of the 12 reserve banks, and automatically serves on the bank’s broader monetary policy committee.
- Biden’s most pressing decision is whether to renominate Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a broadly popular Republican in line with the White House’s views on inflation and employment.
- Whether Biden renominates Powell will also likely affect his decisions regarding up to four other Fed vacancies.
A MESSAGE FROM CITI
Tackling the startup world’s gender, race and ethnic funding gap.
With our $200 million Impact Investment Fund we are seeking opportunities to invest in businesses that are led or owned by women and minority entrepreneurs, helping to create equitable access to venture capital funding.
Good to Know
Social Security survivor benefits will now be available to same-sex partners who had been ineligible because they were not married to their spouses for the required minimum amount of time due to marriage laws.
Here’s what else have our eye on:
- The passage of President Biden’s sweeping economic plan could shorten the time frame in which Congress must act to avert a debt default even as Democrats remain divided over how to raise the borrowing limit.
- President Biden said Tuesday that no world leaders at the United Nations climate summit asked him if his Build Back Better agenda will pass Congress, and stressed instead the work his administration has made so fair on climate.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.{mosads}