Economy

Senate Small Business Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on Wednesday said her chamber will pass legislation by the end of the week that creates a $30 billion lending pool for small businesses and provides approximately $12 billion in tax relief for these organizations. 

Leading tax-writers in the House on Tuesday balked at the notion that the Senate might strip the loan provision from its small-business bill in order to pass the legislation from their chamber. 

The Senate voted Tuesday to proceed to a final vote on an extension of unemployment benefits.

Centrist GOP Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) deflected a question Tuesday about whether he would support the appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer protection agency established by the Wall Street reform bill.

“I’m not comfortable commenting on prospective nominees because she hasn’t been appointed yet,” Brown told The Hill. “Once she is, I might have more to say.”

Meanwhile, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who ushered the Wall Street bill through his committee and the floor debate, said President Obama should resist the urge to appoint Warren during an upcoming congressional recess.

Senate Democrats have reached out to one of the more conservative members of the GOP caucus to pass small-business legislation.

The House will vote this week on legislation suspending tariffs on hundreds of imports that Democrats say will provide a boost to domestic manufacturers.

The tariff bill, which Congress moves every two years, is generally uncontroversial, but this one could be more difficult.

House Republicans have adopted a strict earmark ban written to cover the miscellaneous tariff bill, and it’s unclear whether the GOP will vote for this year’s legislation.

The House is expected to pass an extension of unemployment benefits sometime Wednesday, ending a six-week wait for more than 2.5 million Americans who have been out of work for at least six months. 

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon on a stand-alone $34 billion bill -- the stripped down tax extenders package -- that will provide those extended benefits of up to 99 weeks through November. 

Then the House will take up the measure on Wednesday, likely pass it, clearing it for President Obama's desk, according to a senior Democratic aide. 

Democrats and Republicans continued their sharp-edged rhetoric Monday, beginning with a morning speech by the president that urged Congress to pass the bill and criticized Republicans for holding it up. 

Home builder confidence declined for the second straight month in July to its lowest level since April 2009, a signal that the tax credit expiration could hamper the housing market's recovery. 

The index dropped to 14 in July, before the forecast, down two points from a downward revised 16 from 17 in June, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Monday.

"The pause in sales following expiration of the home buyer tax credits is turning out to be longer than anticipated due to the sluggish pace of improvement in the rest of the economy," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe in a statement. 

The White House on Tuesday will host a discussion with community leaders, stake holders and energy experts from the federal government on ways the country can transition to a clean energy economy that will help create jobs and make the United States more competitive abroad. 

The discussion is slated to begin in the morning and is expected to focus on the importance of sustainable buildings in a clean energy economy. Current initiatives and pending legislation is expected to be a part of the conversation. 

A poll found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush than President Obama for economic problems.