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☆ Economists weigh in on Mike Pence suggestion to eliminate the Fed’s employment mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Mike Pence, who served as Donald Trump’s vice president and is vying to helm the White House, is campaigning on eliminating the Fed’s employment mandate. And what would change if the employment mandate is done away with, if anything? Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with the sitting president’s approval, can simply amend the Federal Reserve Act to eliminate the employment mandate or even add another one. In CNN’s town hall with Pence earlier this month, the former vice president again floated the idea of eliminating the employment mandate. It seems clear that Democrats would take issue with any attempts to rid the Fed of its employment mandate.

Persons: Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s, Jerome Powell’s, Jimmy Carter, Powell, ”, Peter Ireland, Laurence Meyer, ” Adriana Kugler, Joe Biden, “, ” Meyer, Ben Bernanke, Pence, we’ve, ” Pence, Maxine Waters Organizations: DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Fed, CNN, Reserve, Boston College, Relief, Economic Security, Fed’s, of Governors, Committee, Lawmakers, Capitol, ”, Financial Locations: Washington, Ireland, CNN’s

☆ Fed Chair Powell is heading to Capitol Hill. Here’s what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before congressional lawmakers this week, starting Wednesday morning with the House Financial Services Committee — just one week after the central bank paused its most aggressive rate-hiking campaign in decades. Indeed, just days after the decision, two Fed officials called for more increases, citing persistent inflationary pressures. Powell will try to quell Democrats’ concerns over the Fed inducing more job losses than necessary and reassure Republicans that the central bank remains committed to fighting inflation. Financial markets see a roughly 77% chance the Fed will hike rates by another quarter point in July, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The Fed has already published Powell’s semiannual report to Congress, which includes mostly what Powell and the post-meeting statement communicated earlier this month.

Persons: Jerome Powell, “ Powell’s, ”, José Torres, “ Powell, Christopher Waller, Thomas Barkin, Biden, Brendan Boyle, Powell, Mike Pence, Madhavi Bokil Organizations: DC CNN — Federal, House Financial, Fed, Interactive Brokers, Richmond Fed, ”, Pennsylvania Democrat, Republicans, US, Moody’s Investors, Moody’s Investors Service Locations: Washington, Pennsylvania

☆ Inside a debt ceiling standoff ‘far more dangerous than people will recognize’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jeremy Diamond Lauren Fox Melanie Zanona Phil Mattingly Arlette Saenz Kevin Liptak | Jeremy Diamond | Lauren Fox | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“She’s well respected by both sides,” McCarthy said of the former longtime House Appropriations Committee staffer, according to White House officials. “Asking me about the communication (with the White House) implies there was communication,” one House Democrat said. For the White House negotiators, that meant late nights and early mornings. The White House negotiators left Capitol Hill abruptly and for hours, it was unclear when the conversations would resume. Quietly, White House negotiators had never actually stopped talking to their Republican counterparts.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, “, “ You’ve, ” Rep, Patrick McHenry, Biden, Steve Ricchetti, Shalanda Young, Louisa Terrell, ” McCarthy, James S, Alex Wong, Young, Garret Graves, ” Graves, Graves, Tom Cole of, ” Cole, White, Jeff Zients, McHenry, ‘, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Ricchetti, ”, ” Terrell, Dan Meyer, –, apprised, decamping, ’, Anna Moneymaker, nonstarters, ” McHenry, McHenry –, —, Susan Walsh, businesslike, Biden’s, Eisenhower, Zients, Jose Luis Magana, Young –, Louisianans –, Jim Clyburn, Clyburn, Annie Kuster, ” Kuster, wasn’t, ” Young Organizations: CNN, White, ”, Republican, Legislative, Young, Management, Brady, Capitol, White House, GOP, McCarthy’s, Pennsylvania, Capitol Hill, U.S, Biden, Democrat, Democratic, Republicans, Building, Air Force, West Executive, LSU Tigers, South Carolina Democrat, New Democrat Coalition, Democrats Locations: Irish, Washington , DC, Louisiana, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, McHenry, Hiroshima, Japan, Washington

☆ Biden and McCarthy lean on holdouts in both parties to pass debt ceiling deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The bill caps non-defense spending, temporarily expands work requirements for some food stamp recipients and claws back some Covid-19 relief funds. Speaking from the White House on Sunday, Biden hailed the agreement as critical to preventing economic disaster. But like Biden, McCarthy acknowledged the agreement required concessions from both sides. Dusty Johnson said on “State of the Union.”Passing the bill through the House will not be the final step. On Sunday, a handful of powerful Senate Republicans had raised concerns about the deal’s defense spending during a Senate GOP conference call, a source on the call said.

☆ Republican tries to scuttle debt limit bill in House Rules Committee as pressure grows on key swing vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Manu Raju | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That would essentially doom the debt ceiling bill since Roy – who sits on the panel – and another conservative committee member are trying to stop the bill from advancing. A third conservative who sits on the panel – Massie – has been mum about how he plans to handle the rule vote in committee. But in January, Massie told CNN he was reluctant to vote against rules to stop bills in their tracks. “And when I checked, there wasn’t a rule that something has to come out of Rules Committee unanimously. “I think that comment was that it had to be unanimous to come out of the Rules Committee to go to the floor is the tweet that I read.

☆ AOC says Feinstein should resign, won’t primary Gillibrand in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Haley Talbot | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

I think criticisms of that stance as ‘anti-feminist’ are a farce,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on Bluesky, a new social media app. Feinstein, who has been away as she recovers from shingles, is a member of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee where her absence has created issues for Democrats as the panel works to process judicial nominees. Several other House Democrats have also expressed support or called for Feinstein to resign as a result. The spokeswoman also told CNN that Ocasio-Cortez will not primary New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2024. Not long after, however, Republicans formally blocked a request from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to temporarily replace Feinstein on the committee.

☆ Ron DeSantis: Florida GOP lawmakers clear path for governor to run for president without resigning
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Contorno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Florida lawmakers gave final passage Friday to a measure that clears a path for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without resigning from his current job. The legislation approved Friday exempts “any person seeking the office of President or Vice President of the United States” from the resign-to-run law. “I can’t think of a better training ground than the state of Florida for a future commander in chief,” Republican state Rep. Tyler Sirois said. This is not be the first time that Florida lawmakers have voted to amend the resign-to-run law to help clear a path for a governor to reach the White House.

☆ Kevin McCarthy’s Debt-Ceiling Marker
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Washington is cruising toward another showdown over the federal debt ceiling, and Americans can be forgiven for turning the channel. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy laid out the House Republican offer on Monday, and it might even succeed if the GOP can stay united. “Debt limit negotiations are an opportunity to examine our nation’s finances,” Rep. McCarthy said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange, and the picture isn’t pretty. U.S. debt held by the public is more than $25 trillion. Spending as a share of the economy is 23.7%, the Congressional Budget Office reported in February, and rising to 24.9% by 2033, a level reached only twice since 1946—in 2020 and 2021 when Congress shoveled money into the pandemic emergency.

☆ Premarket stocks: The FDIC could ask big banks to clean up $23 billion mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While regional and mid-sized banks are behind the recent turmoil, it appears that large banks may be footing the bill. Ultimately, that means higher fees for bank customers and lower rates on their savings accounts. The law also gives the FDIC the authority to decide which banks shoulder the brunt of that assessment fee. Passing it on: Regardless of who’s charged, the fees will eventually get passed on to bank customers in the end, said Isaac. In 2021, Wall Street was estimated to be responsible for 16% of all economic activity in the city.

☆ Where TikTok users may go if the app gets banned
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —On the eve of a high-profile TikTok hearing this week, the company shared that it now has more than 150 million US monthly active users. “This uncertainty could push some TikTok content creators to focus more on, and possibly begin, pushing their audiences to other social network platforms,” Mogharabi said. Snap’s stock rose in the days leading up to TikTok’s appearance before Congress amid renewed talks among federal officials of a TikTok ban. Alex Brandon/APIf that happens, Lian Jye Su, an analyst with ABI Search, believes users will follow their favorite TikTok influencers and content creators wherever they go. For now, talk of a TikTok ban may still be premature.

☆ Is TikTok’s time up? CEO’s skewering before Congress raises questions about app’s future in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“TikTok’s fate in the US is on shakier ground than ever following lawmakers’ grueling questioning of Chew,” Insider Intelligence principal analyst Jasmine Enberg said. The 40-year-old Harvard-educated Chew was never going to get a warm welcome from US lawmakers. Chew, welcome to the most bipartisan committee in Congress,” Republican Rep. That said, Chew needed to provide clear, direct answers to questions posed by lawmakers, particularly those regarding fears of potential Chinese authority over the company. Instead, his murky answers on questions pertaining to the Communist Party of China led to added confusion at times.

☆ House Committee Lays Out Case for China Threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Charles Hutzler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Members of the new House committee adopted rules for the panel ahead of a prime-time hearing at the Capitol. WASHINGTON—A new House committee holds its first hearing Tuesday evening to draw attention to China’s policies on human rights, business and military power that the panel says pose a challenge to U.S. interests and values. “We may call this a ‘strategic competition,’” Rep. Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, is expected to say, according to prepared remarks. “But this is not a polite tennis match. This is an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century, and the most fundamental freedoms are at stake.”

☆ U.S. food benefits for poor to shrink as pandemic provisions end
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Leah Douglas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives may also pursue further cuts to food assistance to shrink the U.S. deficit. “It’s going to put millions of households at risk of hunger,” said Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger. The changes mean cuts of about $82 a month beginning in March for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, said Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger group. But in December’s spending bill fight, Congress negotiated a compromise to end them in February in exchange for a new summer food program for children. More than 76% of the current farm bill’s $428 billion price tag went to food assistance programs that serve 41 million people annually.

Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has slashed its staff, relaxed some of its content moderation policies and reinstated a number of incendiary accounts that were previously banned. Those moves raised concerns that Musk’s Twitter could contribute to a rise in public displays of hate and antisemitism offline. Musk, however, has repeatedly pushed back at claims that hate speech is rising on the platform. Twitter, which eliminated much of its public relations team during last year’s layoffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “With this direct and heightened threat environment in mind, how will you work with other stakeholders to combat the rise of antisemitism on Twitter?,” Moskowitz concludes in his letter to Musk.

☆ Missouri decides not to ban unsupervised minors from carrying guns on public property
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Supporters were disappointed Wednesday when an amendment aimed at restoring the language failed in the state House of Representatives on a vote of 104 opposed and 39 in favor. Last year the legislature passed a state law banning enforcement of federal gun laws that officials believe violate the U.S. Constitution's protection of a citizen's right to bear arms. A state law, for example, allows people of any age to openly carry weapons in many locations, even though federal law prohibits ownership of handguns by minors. The amendment's author, Representative Donna Baringer, a Democrat from St. Louis, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on Thursday. The Associated Press reported that she said she made the proposal to stop "14-year-olds walking down the middle of the street in the city of St. Louis carrying AR-15s."

☆ Near-Collisions on Runways in New York and Texas Rattle Aviation Officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A FedEx cargo plane was involved in a close call on a runway in Austin, Texas, this month. WASHINGTON—Air-safety officials and members of Congress are raising fresh concerns about recent near-collisions on runways in New York and Texas, close calls that threatened a relatively long stretch without domestic aviation accidents involving major planes. “We can’t take our eye off the ball,” Rep. Brian Babin (R., Texas) said at a House Transportation Committee hearing Tuesday focused on the Federal Aviation Administration.

☆ A Consumption Tax Is the Shock Our Broken System Needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( John H. Cochrane | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Buddy Carter introduced the “Fair Tax” bill to the House of Representatives, and secured a promise of a floor vote. The bill eliminates the personal and corporate income tax, estate and gift tax, payroll (Social Security and Medicare) tax and the Internal Revenue Service. It replaces them with a single national sales tax. Business investment is exempt, so it is effectively a consumption tax. Each household would get a check each month, so that purchases up to the poverty line are effectively not taxed.

☆ Rep. Michael McCaul on Air Force general's prediction of war with China: 'I hope he's wrong... I think he's right'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A top congressional Republican on Sunday said he agrees with a memo by a four-star Air Force general that predicts the U.S. will be at war with China in two years. In the memo sent Friday and obtained by NBC News, Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, wrote, “I hope I am wrong. McCaul also accused the Biden administration of “projecting weakness” on the world stage and argued that there are “very high” odds of war with China because of it." The Air Mobility Command has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes and is responsible for transport and refueling. The signed memo was addressed to all air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders.

As speaker, McCarthy has the authority to choose a chairman and Republican members of the panel. Jeffries, as minority leader, can nominate Democrats to serve on the panel, but McCarthy has the power to reject them. He has specifically targeted Schiff and Swalwell who played a major role in the impeachments of former President Donald Trump. Those actions angered McCarthy and for months he has vowed to block Schiff and Swalwell from the Intelligence panel. As recently as Jan. 12, McCarthy told reporters he would not seat Schiff and Swalwell who regularly antagonize McCarthy during cable news appearances.

☆ New York Democrats ask Republican leaders to ‘forthrightly cooperate’ with Santos investigations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Two Democratic lawmakers from New York called on GOP leaders Sunday to “forthrightly cooperate” with all the investigations into freshman Rep. George Santos, the Republican who confessed to having fabricated large parts of his résumé. The letter points to a recent New York Times report that detailed GOP leaders’ awareness of Santos’ false claims before the November midterms election. The report expanded "upon the degree to which each of you had at least some foreknowledge of Mr. Santos’s lies," Goldman and Torres wrote. "But it is altogether something else if the top levels of Republican leadership knew about Mr. Santos’s lies during the campaign and chose to be complicit." House Republicans’ calls for Santos to resign have grown in the past week after state GOP leaders and lawmakers in New York said he should step aside.

☆ Justice Department Probes to Come Under Congressional Investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to lead the subcommittee while also serving as chair of the Judiciary Committee itself. WASHINGTON—House Republicans are preparing for an expansive investigation into federal law enforcement, setting the stage for standoffs with the Biden administration over access to information about some of the Justice Department’s continuing criminal inquiries, including its scrutiny of former President Donald Trump. Days after ending a drawn-out speaker election, House lawmakers are expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on a resolution creating a panel within the Judiciary Committee focused on what Republicans have termed the “weaponization of the federal government.” Rep. Jim Jordan , an Ohio Republican and close ally of Mr. Trump, is expected to lead the subcommittee while also serving as chair of the Judiciary Committee itself.

Obviously, this is not a story about Washington, D.C., where Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s unsuccessful — and still ongoing — attempt to become speaker will go down in history. Gregory said he was joking around with state Rep. Tim O’Neal, a member of the Republican leadership, about tapping Rozzi to be speaker. State Democrats, however, list Rozzi as a Democratic speaker on their official website. House Republicans told NBC News they are not looking to work with Democrats to elect a more center-right speaker to govern their new majority. Gregory said the Pennsylvania election was "not really apples to apples" with the ongoing battle for control of the U.S. House.

There are no active House lawmakers. Other business in the House is paralyzed, as well, and the rules that previously governed the lower chamber have expired. Some members worry they and their staff members will stop receiving paychecks if the new Republican majority remains unable to elect a speaker. Incoming House Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said members are expecting to get paid through Jan. 13. Some lawmakers are asking questions about whether their staffers will be covered by health care if the Republican impasse drags on.

On Thursday, the House enters its third day of the new Congress without a speaker under the new GOP majority. Until Republicans have enough votes for a candidate, all other House business remains at a standstill. During the six speaker votes this week, 20 conservatives have stuck together to deny GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California the 218 votes needed to win the speaker's gavel. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the House Chamber following a day of votes for the new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Kevin Dietsch / Getty ImagesAfter the sixth failed vote, McCarthy and his must trusted allies huddled with his most fervent opponents for more than two hours in the first-floor Capitol office of Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

WASHINGTON — Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and his conservative detractors will square off for a second consecutive day as lawmakers prepare to resume voting Wednesday to pick the next House speaker. Three separate votes were held, and each time McCarthy, R-Calif., a veteran member of GOP leadership, fell short. It was the first time in 100 years that the speaker vote has gone to multiple ballots. Without a speaker, House lawmakers can’t be sworn in, committees can’t be formed, and GOP investigations into the Biden administration can’t begin. Trump, who previously endorsed McCarthy for speaker and had been making calls on his behalf, has gone silent on his support.

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