Overnight Finance: Senate leaders agree to two-year budget deal | Fiscal hawks revolt | Pelosi wants assurances on immigration | Trump calls stock sell-off a ‘big mistake’ | Lawmakers push Trump to preserve NAFTA

Senate leaders agree to two-year budget deal: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday announced a deal with Senate Democrats to fund the government and set spending levels for defense and nondefense programs over the next two years.

The legislation would avert a government shutdown on Friday, when federal funding is due to expire, and boost defense and nondefense programs.

It also lifts the debt ceiling to March 2019, which White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hailed as a decision that would move Congress away from “crisis-to-crisis budgeting.”

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The deal is backed by McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and will almost certainly be cleared as part of a stopgap funding measure by the Senate before a Feb. 8 deadline to prevent a shutdown.

It is not entirely sure the package will win enough support to pass the House, however.

It also does not include language sheltering thousands of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children who could face deportation next month. http://bit.ly/2EagtKR.

 

White House applauds Senate’s budget deal: The White House on Wednesday cheered the bipartisan, two-year budget deal announced by Senate leaders.

“We applaud the steps forward that they’ve made,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. 

Sanders stopped short of saying President Trump would sign the agreement, saying he would “need to see what’s in the final bill.”

But the spokeswoman said the White House is “certainly happy with the direction that it’s moving, particularly that we’re moving away from the crisis budgeting that we’ve been on in the past.” http://bit.ly/2Ea4k8C.

 

And defense hawks are on board…

 

Armed Services leaders endorse Senate budget deal: The leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services committees endorsed a bipartisan budget deal announced by Senate leaders Wednesday.

“This budget agreement is indispensable for our national security,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said in a joint statement. “Without it, our military would not be able to defend our nation, as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and our military leaders have repeatedly warned. Today’s agreement will provide our men and women in uniform with the training, capabilities and support they need to keep America safe and rise to all of the challenges that we ask of them.”

On the defense side, spending would be increased by about $80 billion over the next two years: http://bit.ly/2EMIMjJ.

 

House conservatives though are not sold…

 

GOP fiscal hawks revolt against Senate budget deal: House conservatives on Wednesday revolted against a massive bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling and bust spending caps, complaining that the GOP could no longer lay claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility.

“I’m not only a ‘no.’ I’m a ‘hell no,'” quipped Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), one of many members of the Tea Party-aligned Freedom Caucus who left a closed-door meeting of Republicans saying they would vote against the deal.

It’s a “Christmas tree on steroids,” lamented one of the Freedom Caucus leaders, Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.).

“This spending proposal is disgusting and reckless — the biggest spending increase since 2009,” conservative Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) tweeted after the meeting. “I urge every American to speak out against this fiscal insanity.”

The debt hike, in particular, is giving conservatives “heartburn,” said Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), a member of the GOP vote-counting team.

The swift backlash from fiscal hawks means that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his leadership team will need dozens of Democratic votes to help get the caps-and-funding deal through the lower chamber to avert a government shutdown set for midnight Friday.

At the same time, some Republicans predicted a majority of the majority would back the package.The Hill’s Scott Wong and Melanie Zanona report: http://bit.ly/2EOAM1x.

 

And House Democrats want stronger assurances on immigration…

 

Pelosi sets record with eight-hour House speech on immigration: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) staged the closest thing to a filibuster in the chamber on Wednesday as she spoke for more than eight consecutive hours, setting a House record as she demanded a commitment from Republicans to vote on an immigration-reform bill.

As Senate leaders unveiled a bipartisan budget deal across the Capitol, Pelosi held the House floor warning that she wouldn’t vote for it without a firmer commitment from Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) that the House will consider legislation to protect young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Pelosi, 77, stood in dark blue, four-inch stilettos the whole time as she read aloud stories of individual immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” and argued the merits of allowing them to stay in the country.

Pelosi, who began just after 10 a.m., spoke for a total of eight hours and seven minutes, drawing praise after she finished for her “endurance” even from a top aide to Ryan.

Pelosi’s extraordinarily long speech underscored the level of pressure she faces from liberal activists who are urging Democrats to hold firm in negotiations to protect Dreamers. At the same time, Democratic leaders have been working with Republicans to find a way to avoid another government shutdown. Cristina Marcos has more: http://bit.ly/2C2SP1b

 

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Overnight Finance. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-stage.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

 

On tap tomorrow

• Senate Banking Committee: Vote on the nominations of Jelena McWilliams to be FDIC chairman, Marvin Goodfriend to be a Fed governor, and Thomas Workman to be the FSOC member with insurance industry experience, 11 a.m.

 

More on the Senate budget deal…

 

Senate budget deal includes $20 billion for infrastructure projects: A bipartisan budget deal announced by Senate leaders Wednesday includes $20 billion for U.S. infrastructure programs, an investment plan that comes ahead of the Trump administration’s highly anticipated rebuilding proposal.

The funds would go toward “existing” projects for water and energy infrastructure as well as expanding broadband to rural regions and surface transportation, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech detailing the proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the budget agreement “will clear the way for a new investment in our nation’s infrastructure, a bipartisan priority shared by the president and lawmakers of both parties.”

The deal comes as the White House prepares to unveil its long-awaited infrastructure proposal on Monday following a number of delays and widespread speculation over revenue streams for the plan: http://bit.ly/2EN2agq.

 

Also in the budget deal:

A $2 billion boost for the NIH http://bit.ly/2Ecwekk

Two years of funding for Medicaid in Puerto Rico http://bit.ly/2GVVAoJ

$6 billion to fight opioid abuse http://bit.ly/2BLNPT1

Funding for community health centers http://bit.ly/2BeMdzM

 

Trump: Wall Street sell-off would be ‘big mistake’: President Trump said traders selling stocks are making a “big mistake” on Wednesday, his first comments about the wild swings in the stock market that have cut into the gains made during his presidency.

Trump said the economy is strong and that those trading stocks will regret their actions.

“In the ‘old days,’ when good news was reported, the Stock Market would go up. Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down,” Trump tweeted. “Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy!”

The sell-off has been triggered by fears that a growing economy will raise inflation and lead the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates. I’ve got more here. The day ended with the Dow down 19 points. http://bit.ly/2E5vv4v.

 

Lawmakers push Trump to preserve NAFTA: House and Senate lawmakers urged President Trump and his top trade official in Wednesday meetings to complete negotiations of an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Several members of the Senate Finance Committee, who met with Trump at the White House, stressed the importance of the 24-year-old NAFTA pact with Mexico and Canada to the U.S. economy along with their concerns about the U.S.-China trading relationship.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called the conversation “robust.”

“In our meeting, we underscored that preserving NAFTA is vital for the millions of Americans whose jobs depend on trade in North America, and that weakening the agreement would jeopardize American economic growth,” Hatch said.

“We committed to working with the president to improve and modernize the agreement,” Hatch added. “We also discussed the mutual desire to confront the challenges China poses to American businesses and workers.”

Last week, 36 Republicans senators called on Trump to preserve NAFTA and not to follow through with threats to withdraw from the agreement, in a letter ahead of the State of the Union address last week.

Republicans have expressed concern about the direction of Trump’s trade policy. Vicki Needham has more here: http://bit.ly/2EPCzUa

 

Deep Dive: What the GOP tax law means for inequality: The GOP said its tax plan was built with the middle class in mind. Critics say it overwhelmingly favors the wealthy and corporations. Who’s right? 

In a special Deep Dive episode of HillCast, The Hill’s podcast, we look at the GOP corporate tax cut and examine how much ends up in the hands of workers, how much in the hands of investors and what it all means for inequality.

Host Niv Elis talks to Ben Cook, the CEO of LASIK company Vision Group Holdings, about how he intends to spend the tax windfall. Also here to talk with The Hill are Jennifer Blouin, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Lenore Palladino, a senior economist at the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute. http://bit.ly/2EN1JCO.

 

Chipotle announces new employee bonuses, citing tax cuts: Chipotle employees will see one-time bonuses of between $250 and $1,000, as well as expanded training programs and parental leave, the company announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes less than two months after President Trump signed a sweeping series of tax cuts into law that slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

Chipotle said Wednesday that tax savings from the new law prompted it to offer its roughly 71,000 hourly and salaried employees the bonuses and new benefits. Hourly crew employees can earn $250 bonuses, while general managers will be eligible for $1,000 bonuses.

“We have always been proud of our ability to attract and retain top talent who share our passion for cooking delicious food by hand and creating an extraordinary guest experience,” Steve Ells, the company’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement: http://bit.ly/2EPinls.

 

Mattis dodges on cost of military parade: Defense Secretary James Mattis on Wednesday dodged a question about why the Pentagon should spend time and money planning a military parade requested by President Trump.

Asked during a White House press briefing why the Pentagon would “divert time, energy, financial resources” to fulfill Trump’s request for a military parade amid defense budget woes, Mattis responded that the parade request is an example of Trump’s “respect” for the military.

“I think what my responsibility is to make certain I lay out the strategy and make the argument for the oversight of Congress to make the determination of fully funding us. As far as the parade goes again, the president’s respect, his fondness for the military, I think is reflected in him asking for these options,” Mattis told reporters.

Rebecca Kheel has more here: http://bit.ly/2BhscJ5

And for more on the parade planning and what fiscal hawks are saying, click here: http://bit.ly/2FXzmkT

 

Brown leads creation of pension-crisis committee: House and Senate lawmakers will form a committee aiming to solve, by year’s end, the looming pension crisis facing about 1.5 million Americans.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio on Wednesday announced the creation of a bipartisan House and Senate joint select committee tasked with providing a legislative solution that will produce a bill for votes in the House and Senate during the last week of November.

“Washington bailed out Wall Street and Wall Street turned around and stole the pensions Ohioans worked for,” Brown said.

“Now Congress has [the] responsibility to protect the pensions workers earned before it is too late,” he said. The Hill’s Vicki Needham reports: http://bit.ly/2EMI85E.

 

GOP super PAC launches ad tying Pennsylvania Dem to Pelosi on taxes: A super PAC tied to House GOP leadership released a television ad on Wednesday that links the Democratic candidate in a special election in Pennsylvania to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) “crumbs” comments on the new tax law.

The Congressional Leadership Fund’s ad connects comments from 18th Congressional District Democratic candidate Conor Lamb suggesting that the GOP tax efforts are a “complete betrayal” to comments Pelosi made that the law is “armageddon” and that the bonuses companies have announced are “crumbs.”

“Pelosi and Lamb. Too out of touch. Too many taxes,” the narrator says in the ad, part of a $1.7 million buy.

It’s the latest effort by Republicans link Pelosi to Lamb, who has called for new House Democratic leadership. The CLF last month released an ad arguing that Lamb will “join Pelosi’s liberal flock.” http://bit.ly/2EPZXkc.