Economy

The House will delay until Thursday a vote on a $34 billion unemployment benefits extension bill that is expected to pass the Senate momentarily. 

The House is expected to take up the bill first thing Thursday, according to senior Democratic aides. 

The Senate’s late completion on the bill would likely push passage of the measure beyond midnight, House aides said. The House Rules Committee would need to provide an hour’s notice to Republicans to meet. The House would then have to debate the rule, vote on the rule, then debate the bill and take a final vote, probably amounting to at least four or five hours of time, aides said. 

—This story is developing. 

Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) on Wednesday told reporters that his support for the small-business jobs bill could hinge on Democratic leaders tweaking the legislation to his liking. 

Lawmakers and government watchdog groups are questioning the effectiveness of the Obama Administration’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to prevent foreclosures.

They say that the Treasury department’s refusal to identify benchmarks, goals and expectations for the mortgage modification program indicates a lack of transparency and accountability. 

“Treasury still has not established proper goals or benchmarks for the program, meaning that there is no effective way for us to know if the $50 billion invested in the program is accomplishing what it set out to do,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. “That’s not accountability, that’s not transparency; it’s more taxpayer money flying out the window.”

The House Ways and Means Committee could move legislation combating currency manipulation when lawmakers return to Washington after the August break. 

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.