OVERNIGHT MONEY: House takes up bill to fund government

THURSDAY'S BIG STORY:

Days until Nov. 23 supercommittee deadline: 7

Anyone see the bus?: The deadline draws nigh for work to wrap up on the first — well, right now the only — minibus spending bill. The House is expected to begin the effort on Thursday to keep the government funded.

There were two minibuses but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) couldn't get an agreement to move the second bill in the Senate on Tuesday night.

Earlier this week, House and Senate appropriators released a compromise spending measure on the first minibus that combines three of the 12 annual appropriations bills and a temporary spending bill to fund the rest of the government through Dec. 16.

The conference report, the first on a spending bill since 2009, combines the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development spending bills.

Passage by the House on Thursday would give the Senate time to act before Friday's expiration of the stopgap law that has kept the government operating for more than six weeks, since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1.

The Senate needs to clear the bill on Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, Congress will try to complete the remaining nine regular appropriations bills for fiscal 2012.

Republicans and Democrats each made concessions in the package, giving it a better chance of getting through the House, most likely on Thursday.

The $1.043 trillion measure represents the overall 2012 spending limit set in the August by the debt-ceiling deal. Some House conservatives wanted deeper cuts and will probably vote against the measure. 

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR

Talkin' taxes: A House Ways and Means subcommittee is set to examine on Thursday a draft tax proposal from Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the panel's chairman, that would drastically limit U.S. taxation on foreign corporate profits.

Camp has said that he wants plenty of public input on his plan to shift the U.S. to a so-called territorial system, something he says would make American companies more competitive in the global marketplace. Skeptics of the plan, including a fair number of Ways and Means Democrats, have said such a move would merely encourage corporations to place more jobs and resources offshore. 

Talkin' entitlements: Congressional liberals — Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), not to mention Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) — will lobby the supercommittee to preserve Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare on Thursday. 

Let's vet: The Senate Banking Committee will be mulling a handful of nominations tomorrow, including of one man who hopes to become a top banking regulator. Two nominees are hoping to join the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the name that will garner most of the attention is Thomas Hoenig, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, where he carved out a reputation for being one of the more hawkish members of the central bank. Now, President Obama has nominated him to serve as the vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a spot that opened up after former Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg was nominated to take over the top spot following the departure of former Chairwoman Sheila Bair.

SUPERCOMMITTEE

Time keeps ticking, ticking away: The congressional deficit-reduction panel continues tossing around a variety of proposals, with Republicans and Democrats ping-ponging early blame for the committee's potential failure. 

There seemed to be some progress, at least on the blame-game front, on Wednesday afternoon. 

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Republican co-chairman of the deficit-reduction supercommittee, indicated Wednesday he and his party were willing to listen to proposals from Democrats to consider higher taxes to reduce the deficit, walking back a statement he made Tuesday on television, when he said Republicans “have gone as far as we feel we can go” by offering to raise $250 billion in new tax revenues, Russell Berman reports. 

Briefing reporters Wednesday, Hensarling said Republicans would be “more than happy to negotiate” around a new offer from Democrats, and pointedly declined to say whether $250 billion was the maximum in new revenue the GOP could accept.

Dems react: Supercommittee Democrats expressed dismay Wednesday over comments by Hensarling, expressing concern that Republicans could flee the negotiating table, Erik Wasson reports. 

Those fears were likely calmed after Hensarling spoke to reporters on Wednesday afternoon. 

Times, they are a changin': The third-ranking Senate Republican leader Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), argued Wednesday that Republicans on the supercommittee need to offer more revenues if the deficit panel hopes to balance the country’s books, Mike Lillis reports. 

Gang of Six stands ready: Democratic and Republican members of the Senate’s Gang of Six say they could put together a large deficit-reduction package quickly if the supercommittee misses its Nov. 23 deadline, Alexander Bolton reports. 

The lawmakers say they have almost completed drafting legislation that would implement the deal the group reached this summer. But they say they do not want to step on the toes of the supercommittee.

Turkey Day isn't so far away: As is par for the course when Congress has a slate of important items to clear, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday the Senate could work through the weekend and into next week, staying in town while the supercommittee works on a deficit deal.

Reid said the Senate would not recess for Thanksgiving unless lawmakers had made substantial progress on the Defense authorization bill. That would keep lawmakers in Washington with members of the supercommittee, which is racing to meet its Nov. 23 deadline, Alexander Bolton reports. 

BREAKING WEDNESDAY

That's $15 trillion with a 't': The national debt surpassed $15 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, according to the Treasury Department, and Republicans are seizing on the occasion to pin the blame on President Obama, Erik Wasson reports. 

Blue Dogs sign on to balanced-budget amendment: The conservative Blue Dog Coalition officially endorsed the House Republican balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, breaking with Democratic Party leaders and the White House, Russell Berman reports. 

The support from the 25-member bloc keeps GOP hopes alive that the measure, scheduled for a final vote Friday, could gain the two-thirds' support necessary to pass.

Perks defended: The top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday said their employees deserved the millions of dollars in bonuses they were awarded.

Testifying Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, the executives said they understand why people are upset about the payouts at the mortgage giants, which were brought under federal control in 2008, Peter Schroeder reports.

No insider deals: House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) fired back against a book that claims he engaged in insider trading, calling it rife with "serious untruths."

The push back comes on the heels of the publication of Throw Them All Out, a new book by the Hoover Institution's Peter Schweizer, Schroeder reports.

A little more than 3 percent support: The House on Wednesday evening easily approved a Senate-amended bill that would repeal a rule requiring governments at all levels to withhold 3 percent of payments to contractors. The bill pays for this change by scaling back eligibility for Medicaid and other healthcare programs to make eligibility rules consistent with other federal rules. It also expands unemployment aid for veterans, and creates new tax breaks for companies that hire veterans, Pete Kasperowicz reports. 

The bill also includes tax incentives for employers to hire veterans, part of a plan to provide more jobs for those leaving the military. 

"I want to congratulate Republicans and Democrats in Congress for coming together to pass these tax credits that will encourage businesses to hire America’s veterans," President Obama said in a statement. "No veteran who fought for our country should have to fight for a job when they come home." 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Initial claims: The Department of Labor releases its weekly filings for jobless benefits. 

• Housing Starts-Building Permits: The Commerce Department releases its report on the number of residential units under construction along with building permits, which allow work to start and are a forward looking indicator. 

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Senate Democrats offer formula aimed at adjusting seniors' benefits

— Congressional conservatives target welfare overhaul

— House Dems urge regulators to rethink Volcker Rule

— Cotton producers defend farm bill changes

— Watchdog halts dozens of mortgage-modification scams

— Prices drop for the first time since June

— Corporate execs say tax holiday can’t wait

— Top House Democrat demands explanation of penalties for late foreclosures

— Report: Top committee members rake it in from interested industry

— Builders' outlook less gloomy on the housing market

— Mortgage applications fell 10 percent last week

Tips and feedback, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

---