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OVERNIGHT MONEY: Senate sets up passage of 3 percent bill with provisions to help vets
THURSDAY'S BIG STORY:
Days until Nov. 23 supercommittee deadline: 14
Keep an eye on the Senate floor: That's likely the place for all the action on Thursday with the Senate setting up to pass a bill repealing the 3 percent withholding rule with an amendment that would provide tax incentives for business that hire veterans and take several steps aimed at helping returning veterans transition to civilian employment.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants to ensure that a measure repealing a government withholding provision still targets contractors who evade their taxes.
The Nevada Democrat told reporters that he would look to amend House-passed legislation that would scrap the yet-to-be implemented withholding rule, which would require many governments to withhold 3 percent of certain payments to contractors.
But Reid also signaled that he would not tinker with a measure intended to offset the $11 billion in revenues lost from repeal — a proposal to make it tougher to qualify for Medicaid and private insurance subsidies.
The measure would provide businesses with a “Returning Heroes” tax credit for 2012-2013, a $2,400 credit for hiring an unemployed veteran who has been unemployed for at least a month. The tax credit would increase to $4,800 for hiring a veteran who has been unemployed six months or longer.
The amendment, offered by Reid, adds a new "Vow to Hire Heroes" section to the bill, which broadly boosts retraining assistance for veterans. It also requires a study on how veterans with certain skills learned in the armed forces can find related jobs in the private sector.
The amendment is expected to be approved by the Senate in a Thursday vote that will require 60 votes for passage.
The Senate also is set to vote on a motion to vote on moving forward on the so-called 'minibus' spending measure, which expires Nov. 18.
Also ... Democratic and Republican members of the supercommittee huddled separately behind closed doors on Wednesday trying to find a way out of the panel’s stalemate, Erik Wasson reports.
Each side says it is waiting for the other to make a fresh offer and claiming that it has made “painful” concessions.
There have been no bipartisan supercommittee meetings since Monday night, when the GOP presented Democrats with a compromise proposal that involved hundreds of billions in new tax revenue for the first time.
WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR
Native American development: The Senate Banking Committee will be discussing the economic challenges facing Native American reservations tomorrow — in particular, ways to boost economic development in those areas, which typically lag behind non-reservation areas. On hand to offer their takes will be a variety of experts in Native American finance, as well as the community development adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Sue Woodrow.
Unemployment insurance: The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on unemployment insurance with several witnesses testifying, including Stephen Wander, visiting fellow at the The Urban Institute; Larry Temple, executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission; Charles Fogarty, director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training; and Don Peitersen, director of unemployment insurance and workforce projects for the American Institute for Full Employment.
It's always sunny in Hawaii: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk begin their rounds at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Obama administration officials will each hold meetings with various representatives from the Asia-Pacific region.
BREAKING WEDNESDAY
No way for Norquist: Grover Norquist’s group, Americans for Tax Reform, says it will not remove the names of House members who have disavowed its pledge to oppose tax increases, Russell Berman and Bernie Becker report.
Several Republican lawmakers and one Democrat have told The Hill they no longer feel bound to uphold Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which many of them signed more than a decade ago.
Show me the bling, no?: Internal Revenue Service mugs and Homeland Security sweatshirts could soon become collector’s items. President Obama is set to unveil an executive order on Wednesday aimed at cutting wasteful spending on excess travel, printing, cellphones and government “swag.” The swag under fire includes plaques, clothing, mugs and other agency-identified items distributed to employees, Erik Wasson reports.
Durbin makes a break for it: Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) diverged from Democratic colleagues Wednesday and applauded the Republican offer to raise $300 billion in new taxes as part of a deficit-reduction deal, Alexander Bolton reports.
Democratic members of the supercommittee on Tuesday had panned the GOP offer as insufficient.
Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democratic leader, chose to focus on the positive and hailed the latest development as a “breakthrough.” He was worked on a massive deficit-reduction package for more than a year as a member of the Simpson-Bowles commission and the Senate’s Gang of Six.
My way or the highway: A new, two-year federal highway bill was approved Wednesday by a key Senate committee, setting up a standoff with the House, which has proposed a longer bill that spends less money per year on roads and bridges, Keith Laing reports.
After a markup hearing Tuesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works approved its Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The measure will be one of several pieces of legislation intended to extend highway funding, which is set to expire at the end of March next year, at current levels adjusted for inflation for two more years.
Stocks down on Europe concerns: U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday as concerns grew that political turmoil in Italy could send Europe into an even scarier sovereign debt crisis, AP reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average sank about 390 points, or 3.2 percent, while the broader S&P 500 index fell 47 points, or 3.7 percent. The Nasdaq tech index was down 106 points, or 3.8 percent.
Strange bedfellows?: According to The Wall Street Journal, Jay Timmons of the National Association of Manufacturers appears to be warming to President Obama.
Timmons says the president has been talking up important manufacturing issues — like corporate tax reform and the free-trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea — more frequently than other top 2012 presidential candidates.
And what about GOP contenders Mitt Romney and Herman Cain? They skipped a NAM forum in Iowa last month.
Across the pond: The Council on Foreign Relations holds a morning conference call on the debt situation in the U.S., Europe and the world at large, with Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman, and Jack Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, set to take part.
Guess which way he’ll come down: Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, is expected to speak tomorrow morning at the National Lawyers Convention.
According to a release, Sessions will discuss what he sees as the government’s habit of overregulating. (Republicans throughout Congress, of course, have been pounding that drum for months, saying that regulations are hampering too many businesses during a sluggish recovery.)
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Initial claims: The Department of Labor releases its weekly filings for jobless benefits.
Trade balance: The Department of Commerce releases the latest data on exports and imports of U.S. goods and services.
Treasury budget: The Treasury Department releases its monthly budget data, which is used mostly by the market for year-over- year changes in receipts and outlays.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
— Senators hope to kick a covered bond market into gear
— Sponsor says 'clean' balanced budget amendment has edge for floor vote
— Norquist wades into balanced-budget debate
— US trade officials will consult Congress on Japan's entrance into trade talks
— Senate panel presses ahead with postal reform bill
— Senators push bipartisan bill to collect Internet sales taxes
— Disaster aid issue clouds appropriations conference
— Fannie, Freddie bonuses become legislative targets
— Former Rep. Tom Loeffler hired by major K Street firm
— Heated Rep. Walsh: 'Don't blame banks'
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