OVERNIGHT MONEY: Geithner headed to Capitol Hill

By Vicki Needham, Bernie Becker, Peter Schroeder and Erik Wasson - 11/28/12 07:15 PM ET

THURSDAY'S BIG STORY:

The heat is on ... Those "fiscal cliff" talks will get a bit chattier on Thursday when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Rob Nabors, the White House's director of legislative affairs, head to Capitol Hill to meet with Democratic and Republican leaders of both chambers.

Geithner and Nabors will sit down in four separate meetings with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

The meetings come after President Obama pressed his position that Congress should take a budget deal that includes tax increases on the wealthiest workers.

He also warned about what could happen if middle-class tax rates expire.

"I’ll go anywhere and I’ll do whatever it takes to get this done," Obama said on Wednesday.

“It’s too important for Washington to screw this up. Now’s the time for us to work on what we all agree to, which is let's keep middle-class taxes low. That’s what our economy needs. That’s what the American people deserve.”

On Friday, the president heads to Pennsylvania to continue making the public case for action by visiting a business that depends on middle-class consumers during the holiday season, and could be affected if taxes go up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year.

“The American people are watching what we do,” Obama said. “When the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, Congress listens. The lesson is that when enough people get involved we have a pretty good track record.”

Even though the talks haven't really shown much sign of progress — and the clock is ticking — Obama hopes an agreement can be wrapped into a neat little package before Christmas.

The president is applying pressure on the Republican-controlled House to extend existing rates for families earning under $250,000 a year.

That idea wasn't flying with House Republican leaders, who pushed back on it after a party meeting on Wednesday morning.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) suggested on Tuesday that Congress get the middle-class tax cuts done, even without simultaneously extending them for top earners.

“I told Tom earlier in our conference meeting that I disagreed with him,” Boehner said.

Meanwhile, a new ABC/Washington Post poll shows that 60 percent of those asked support raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 a year.

House Democrats are rallying around that plan, as well.

Still, there are other voices out there — notably venture capitalist and Obama backer Warren Buffett — who want a higher income threshold, perhaps $500,000.

With only a few weeks left before the holidays, lawmakers and the White House will need to work fast to craft a deal before Santa and his reindeer hit the trail.

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR

Examining identity theft: A House panel will tackle the growing problem of identity-theft-related tax fraud and the problems it creates for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management will hold its fourth hearing on the issue and how the IRS is trying to detect and prevent the fraud that could pay out more than $21 billion in fraudulent tax returns over the next five years.

In recent years, IRS has implemented several new policies to help combat identity theft. The hearing will review the effectiveness of these initiatives and review other potential solutions to identify theft-related tax fraud with witnesses from the IRS, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Government Accountability Office.

Sandy, can't you see: The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on Superstorm Sandy's aftermath with lawmakers from the region hit by the storm set to testify. The hearing comes as Congress gears up for a major battle over Sandy disaster aid. The Obama administration is expected to request a supplemental appropriations bill next week. Northeast lawmakers want it to ask for at least $80 billion, a tough ask in the middle of "fiscal cliff" talks on reducing the deficit.

Basel brou-ha-ha: A pair of House Financial Services subcommittees will be diving into the international bank capital framework known as Basel III tomorrow. One week after their Senate counterparts, House lawmakers will be exploring the effort to beef up bank capital to protect the financial system, and the resultant critiques from a financial sector wary of it. Banks are concerned the complex rules could weigh down U.S. banking and tighten lending capacity, while international counterparts are urging U.S. regulators to hold the line and implement it.

Coin chat: A separate Financial Services subcommittee will devote Thursday afternoon to a discussion of the $1 coin. A series of studies from the Government Accountability Office spanning decades have consistently found that replacing the dollar bill with a shiny new coin could save the government plenty of green. A new study released earlier this week pegged the savings at $4.4 billion, as hearty coins last far longer than the far more vulnerable paper bill. The federal government has taken a crack at dollar coins in the past, but so far they have been met by a wary and unwilling public.

Better than an abacus!: Feel like the "fiscal cliff" is a bit too esoteric? Well, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center on Wednesday released a new tax calculator, laying out all sorts of potential end-of-the-year tax incomes and how they would affect taxpayers across the income spectrum.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The Commerce Department will release its second measure of the nation's economic activity for the July-September quarter. The estimate could approach 3 percent, as the economy has grown faster than initially estimated.

Initial Claims: The Labor Department releases its weekly filings for jobless benefits, which have see-sawed in the weeks since Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast and put many people out of work.

Mortgage Rates: Freddie Mac is releasing weekly data on fixed-rate mortgages, which have hit historic lows.

Pending Home Sales: The National Association of Realtors will release its index for October that gauges contract signings, a forward-looking indicator of home sales.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Simpson vows to 'protect' lawmakers who break with Norquist tax pledge
— GOP lawmakers tap Bowles to gain clout
— Lawmakers press for pricey Sandy bill amid fiscal-cliff talks
— Rogers earns second term as Appropriations chairman
— Fed report reflects expanding economy
— Hensarling officially tapped to head Financial Services panel
— Deficit-busting campaign hits the Hill
— Student loan debt continues to rise
— New home sales dip slightly in October