The Week Ahead: Mar. 7-13, 2016

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The House is on a district work period, but the Senate is in session. There are a host of budget hearings on tap for several government agencies, including USDA and the US Forest Service. From the political side, attention will build for the following week when several states hold their primaries on March 15, a situation which could help further clarify the presidential sweepstakes situation on the Republican side in particular.

The Senate has three major topics on the floor agenda this week: legislation to address the epidemic of opioid abuse, to boost energy efficiency and to combat Flint’s contaminated water.

The energy legislation, S 2012, would revise programs related to energy cybersecurity, efficiency, infrastructure and supply management. The bill’s fate has been tied to a measure that would help Flint, Michigan, respond to its contaminated drinking water.

Nominations. Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said he will look to move ahead on confirming pending Securities and Exchange Commission nominations. “We’ve got two nominees, one Republican and one Democrat,” he said. “We’ll see if we can move them.”

Shelby has been holding up other nominations to pressure the White House to nominate a Federal Reserve vice chairman for supervision. “We’ve made them a good proposition,” he said. “We’ll hold a hearing on the vice chair, which is mandated by law and that they’ve ignored for five years, when we’ll have a hearing on the others.”

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee plans a markup Wednesday on the nomination of John King to be Education Secretary. The panel also will consider S 2512, which aims to create incentives at the Food and Drug Administration to spur drug companies to develop a Zika vaccine.

FY 2017 budget. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the department’s Fiscal 2017 budget request.

• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans a hearing Tuesday on the fiscal 2017 request for the State Department.
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also plans a hearing Tuesday on the fiscal 2017 budget request for the Forest Service.
• The Senate Indian Affairs Committee plans a hearing Wednesday on the fiscal 2017 request for tribal programs.

Appropriations. The Senate Appropriations Committee also has teed up another series of hearings on the Fiscal 2017 budget:

• Johnson will testify Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee.
• The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee plans a hearing Tuesday on funding for the Treasury Department.
• The Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee plans a hearing Wednesday on money for the Agriculture Department.
• The Energy and Water Development Subcommittee plans a hearing Wednesday on funding for the Energy Department.
• The Transportation-HUD Subcommittee plans a hearing Thursday on funding for the Housing and Urban Development Department.
• The Interior-Environment Subcommittee plans a hearing Wednesday on funding for the Indian Health Service.
• The Defense Subcommittee plans a hearing Wednesday on funding for the Defense Health Program.
• The Legislative Branch Subcommittee plans a hearing Tuesday on funding for the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office.

EPA regulations. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans a hearing Wednesday on jurisdiction over environmental regulations between states and the Environmental Protection Agency.

A light economic report week lies ahead with a smattering of updates. The week opens with the Labor Market Conditions Index and Consumer Credit updates on Monday followed by Wholesale Trade figures on Wednesday. Weekly jobless claims and the Treasury Budget update arrive on Thursday with Import & Export Prices data rounding out the week on Friday.

The attention will remain on China and their economic situation, but the key focus will be on what comes out of the weekend session of their parliament, with particular attention on their economic goals and projections for 2016.

Europe will also figure into the mix as the March European Central Bank meeting is expected to see an increase in economic stimulus actions to bolster the euro zone economy.

The pre-Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) blackout period arrives Tuesday. Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer is on the schedule to deliver remarks, so attention for markets will remain on how the limited amount of economic data could factor into the Fed rate hike potential. Interestingly, as the week wound down, there are now expectations of more than 50% odds for a Fed rate rise in November based on Fed funds futures on the CME.

Weather and USDA data will form the major focal points in ag markets, with conditions in the US Southern Plains still an attention point with some forecasts for expanded dryness in the region. As for the USDA data, the monthly Supply/Demand update comes on Wednesday, with expectations for the data to show minimal changes on the US front at this point. Other USDA data releases on the week include livestock and meat trade data Monday, the US-Canada Cattle and Hog reports on Tuesday, Weekly Export Sales figures on Thursday and the annual update to price reactions following USDA reports arrives on Friday. Export developments are still a key attention point as well.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.