Congress returns | North Korea | Harvey aid | Stopgap spending bill | Debt limit | Trade policy
Lawmakers return from their long summer recess to must-pass issues that have they lingered for months. One exception is aide for Hurricane Harvey victims, with the White House sending the initial aid requests late Friday. The Trump administration sent Congress a $14.55 billion emergency funding request to ensure that federal agencies can continue with Hurricane Harvey response and recovery efforts. Details here.
President Trump plans to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) along with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday to discuss Harvey relief money.
Events outside Congress have eclipsed the legislative list and those include the escalating war of words between the U.S. and North Korea, including President Trump saying he is considering, besides other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea (link for details).
Also on trade policy, Trump sent signaled he may withdraw the U.S. from the South Korea-U.S. (KORUS) trade accord. Link for more information.
The second round of NAFTA 2.0 talks continue in Mexico City through Tuesday.
Of note is a likely decision by Trump soon that he will end protections for young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children (DACA), but with a six-month delay, allowing the slumbering U.S. Congress a half year to put its stamp on the issue.
The White House late Friday announced a big list of nominees, including three important ones for USDA. This link gives you the details, along with comments on the nominees by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue.
In Congress, the House will vote on a shutdown-avoiding spending package (HR 3354) that pulls together all eight appropriations bills that weren’t passed before the recess. Lawmakers have already filed over 900 amendments for the package, but not all will be considered.
Meanwhile, an across-the-board, stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution (CR) is necessary to prevent a shutdown, as none of the 12 spending bills for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 have been sent to President Trump. Republican leaders and the White House have been discussing such a bill, likely stretching appropriations into December. Lawmakers are weighing whether to use that must-pass bill to extend several federal programs due to expire Sept. 30, including the National Flood Insurance Program and the Federal Aviation Administration’s operations.
By the end of the month, Congress must come up with a plan to raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit to steer away from a default. The real question is not whether to raise the debt limit, but how to do it. Some White House officials have signaled a possible linking of Harvey aid to the debt-hike measure.
Regarding defense funding, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), being treated for brain cancer, will return to Washington to lead the annual defense authorization bill through the full Senate. She plans to take up the vehicle for the bill, the House-passed HR 2810, and substitute language from its committee-approved measure, S 1519, which would authorize $700 billion for national defense in fiscal 2018, which starts Oct. 1.
Other congressional issues for the month or months ahead include:
Tax Reform: White House and Republican legislative leaders have still not released major details of coming proposals. While the focus is on this topic, aid for Hurricame Harvey victims have dealt tax reformists another hurdle.
Health Care: Repeal of ObamaCare is dead, but lawmakers continue to press for modest changes, including efforts to stabilize insurance markets. Also, Congress must reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program by Sept. 30 so that states don’t begin running out of money.
Infrastructure: Lawmakers are still waiting for President Trump’s promised plan to jump-start $1 trillion in roadbuilding and other infrastructure projects.
New Farm Bill: Ag panel aides have been busy working on coming proposals to be released as early as this fall, triggering battles over efforts to cut food stamps and crop insurance payments.
Key economic reports include Factory Orders (Tuesday), International Trade and the Fed’s Beige Book (Wednesday), Productivity and Costs (Thursday), and Wholesale Trade and Consumer Credit (Friday).
Several Federal Reserve officials will speak this week, including three on Tuesday: Fed Governor Lael Brainard speaks at the Economic Club of New York; Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari gives a speech; and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan participates in a moderated conversation before the Dallas Business Club. Other Fed officials speak on Thursday, including Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley and Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George.
On health care, Governors John Hickenlooper of Colorado and John Kasich of Ohio on Friday discuss a bipartisan plan to stabilize the health-insurance market, at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
In the agriculture sector, key USDA reports include the delayed release Tuesday of Crop Progress and the delayed Friday release of Weekly Export Sales. Updates on agriculture trade data comes Wednesday and Thursday. County Cash Rents report is released Friday.
On Wednesday, Statistics Canada releases data on July grain stockpiles and Tyson CEO’s presents at a Barclays conference in New York. The FAO food price index is released Thursday.
On the international front, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a two-day trip to Russia. And, Putin was slated for a private meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at some point at the BRICs meeting in China. On Thursday, the European Central Bank meets, and issues its decision on interest rates. It may also discuss prospects for winding down its asset purchase program, although concerns about the euro surpassing $1.20 to the dollar probably will weigh on its decision.
