The White House said the legislation would "threaten the full faith and credit of the United States."

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised questions on Tuesday about why the trade gap between the United States and South Korea has increased sharply since a free trade agreement went into effect nearly a year ago. 

During a nomination hearing for Fred Hochberg, head of the Export-Import Bank, Warren asked him if there was anything he could do to stop the trend since part of his job is "increasing exports and lowering the trade deficit." 

"Obviously, based on the math, it seems to be working at cross purposes with what you're trying to accomplish," Warren said during the Senate Banking Committee hearing. 

Government agencies filed twin charges against debt-relief companies for fraud and deception on Tuesday, the first suit of its kind.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed civil complaints against two firms that claimed to lower customers' overall debt by negotiating with banks and credit card companies for charging consumers illegal fees. Separately, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed criminal charges against one of the companies for mail and wire fraud.

The Justice Department charged New York-based Mission Settlement Agency, its owner and three employees with defrauding more than 1,200 people for millions of dollars. The department claims that from 2009 through May 2013, the company lied about its fees and falsely claimed to be affiliated with the federal government to trick consumers into paying for its services, resulting in $2.2 million in fees for the company while ignoring its customers.

The agency's owner used the profits to run a Brooklyn nightclub, lease two luxury cars and pay for his mother's credit card bills, the Justice Department alleges.

Tensions ran high during a House joint hearing on Tuesday over the alleged actions in several discrimination cases of President Obama's nominee to head the Labor Department.

Democrats argued that Republicans were using the hearing to derail Thomas Perez's nomination on the eve of a Senate committee vote.

But House Government Reform and Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) argued that, despite the timing, the motive for the hearing is part of his panel's long-running investigation, which started well ahead of Perez's nomination. 

He said a series of letters dated from early last year "clearly show" that the examination of Justice's handling of the cases started long before "anyone could've imagined" that Perez would be tapped to head Labor. 

The fireworks started early when Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) said that Republicans' only motive is to "discredit" Perez.

Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray said they are at a stalemate on reconciling the House and Senate budgets.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) tried for a third time to get agreement from Republicans to form a conference committee on the House and Senate budget resolutions.

“Senate Republicans have now blocked our efforts to move to conference not once but twice,” Murray said Tuesday before asking for agreement for a third time. “Some say they want a framework before going to conference, but that’s exactly what a budget is. … There is no reason to wait.”

The Speaker said he hasn't spoken with the Judiciary Committee chairman about the bill that passed the Senate.

Senior investors aren’t terribly confident that tax reform will get enacted this Congress, according to a new survey.

A third of the two dozen investors surveyed in the poll of Potomac Research Group clients, released Monday, said that a broad rewrite of the tax code would be done before 2014 ends. Half of the respondents did not expect a tax overhaul in the next 18 months.

The two tax-writing chairmen, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) at House Ways and Means, and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) at Senate Finance, are facing perhaps their final term at the helm.

Baucus is not seeking reelection and Camp is term-limited as chairman, meaning the two lawmakers could have extra incentive to finish off a tax revamp this Congress.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) criticized the Senate on Monday for moving so quickly on Internet sales tax legislation and said the House will take its time considering it.

The Senate approved the bill, the Marketplace Fairness Act, in a 69 to 27 vote on Monday.

“It is disappointing that the latest version of the Marketplace Fairness Act did not follow regular order in the Senate, but instead bypassed the Senate committee having the subject matter expertise," Goodlatte said in a statement. The Senate skipped over the Finance Committee, whose chairman, Max Baucus (D-Mont.), was skeptical of the bill. 

"Consideration in the House will be more thoughtful," Goodlatte said.