OVERNIGHT MONEY: Food stamp bill teed up

The Obama administration said the change also “weakens our nation’s farm and rural economies.” 

The White House called on Congress to pass a comprehensive farm bill that reduces the deficit.

“The president’s budget proposes specific balanced reforms that would accomplish this goal without creating hardship for vulnerable Americans.” 

{mosads}The difference — $40 billion in the House vs. $4 billion in the Senate — could make it impossible to complete a planned House-Senate farm bill conference.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) railed against the House bill on the Senate floor on Wednesday, saying that “what the House Republicans are voting on is nothing more than an extremely divisive, extremely partisan political exercise that is going nowhere.”

“It’s time to stop the political games around hunger and poverty in America,” she said. “It’s time to work together to pass a farm bill, grow the economy and reduce the need for food assistance the right way, by making sure every American has the opportunity to have a good-paying job so they can feed their families and achieve their part of the American Dream.”

She said those receiving SNAP are working families and that the average new recipient only receives assistance for 10 months or fewer.

When it was introduced on Monday, House Agriculture Committee ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) pounced on it. 

“Even if this bill is defeated, as it should be, I worry the debate will eliminate any remaining goodwill needed to pass a farm bill,” he said.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Wednesday he is undecided on the food-stamp-cutting bill.

That could be a sign that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) doesn’t have the 217 votes he needs to pass it.

Democrats are hoping that 17 Republicans will defect on the bill, especially after Cantor said he could not get enough Republicans to vote for a farm bill that contained $20 billion in food stamp cuts. 

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said he is done making predictions, in another sign of the uncertainty around the contentious measure.

WHAT ELSE WE’RE WATCHING

South of the border: Vice President Biden is headed to Mexico on Thursday for two days of meetings, including talks with President Enrique Peña Nieto as part of the launch of the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue in Mexico City. 

Going postal, again: The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Thursday will look again at the budget woes of the U.S. Postal Service and how Congress can provide the best financial avenue forward to keep the agency humming along. 

Talking exports: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will meet on Thursday with the President’s Export Council to discuss recommendations on how to increase U.S. exports. President Obama will make an appearance to deliver brief remarks at a meeting on the importance of helping U.S. companies sell their goods and services around the world. 

Insurance extension: The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday will discuss the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, which will sunset at the end of 2014 without an extension. The 11-year-old law gives the insurance industry a federal backstop for acts of terrorism. 

World view: Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, will talk to the business community on Thursday about the global economy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

BREAKING NEWS

So, let’s get this straight: House Republican leaders threw out a bunch of legislative decisions on Wednesday, including a plan that would include a defunding of the healthcare reform law on a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after Sept. 30.

The decision raises the stakes in a fiscal fight that could lead to a shutdown of federal government. 

It led to a quick changes of recess plans, too. 

The House is vowing to work, possibly, into the weekend, with a return set for next Wednesday. The lower chamber is scheduled to be out of session for a district work period next week. 

The House plans to vote on the continuing resolution (CR) as soon as Thursday, although it will probably get pushed to Friday if not into the weekend.

The measure, aiming at appeasing conservative concerns about the healthcare law, is not expected to survive the trip across the Capitol, where the Senate is expected to pass a base CR that funds the government until Dec. 15. 

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told his members in a meeting on Wednesday that “every member in this room is for defunding ObamaCare while letting the rest of the government continue to operate. We’re going to put ObamaCare defunding directly into the CR. And then we’re going to send it over to the Senate, so our conservative allies over there can continue the fight. That’s where the fight is.”

That move would bounce the clean measure back to the House for another vote next week, just before the end of the fiscal year.

Also on Wednesday, GOP leaders told their members they would move legislation in the next week to raise the federal debt ceiling while delaying the implementation of ObamaCare for a year and laying out a path forward for tax reform and the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. 

House Republicans immediately sent their plan to the Rules Committee on Wednesday as an amendment to the CR they introduced last week. 

If the House does not vote on the spending bill by Friday, it will stay for a rare weekend session.

The House measure would keep the government funded through Dec. 15 at the current $986 billion spending rate, rather than the lower $967 billion level called for in the 2011 Budget Control Act. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday urged Congress to move forward and quickly pass bills funding the government and raising the debt limit. 

n a letter to lawmakers, the Chamber took direct aim at House Republican plans to use an Oct. 1 shutdown and mid-October debt-ceiling deadlines to try to stop the implementation of ObamaCare.

“It is readily apparent none of these important issues are ripe for resolution,” wrote Bruce Josten, the Chamber’s top lobbyist.

“We therefore urge the House to act promptly to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government and to raise the debt ceiling, and then to return to work on these other vital issues.”

President Obama got in on the act, too. 

Speaking to the Business Roundtable, a group of top business executives, Obama said Republicans were pursuing an “ideological fight … that says we’re not going to pass a budget and threaten a government shutdown unless we repeal the Affordable Care Act.”

Obama implored the CEOs to use “your influence, in whatever way you can, to get back to what used to be called regular order around here,” arguing that the threat of “apocalypse every three months” was hurting the American economy.

A survey released on Wednesday morning showed that about 60 percent of CEOs say the uncertainty in Washington is forcing them to hold back on hiring, which would lead to a more robust recovery. 

To that end, the White House told federal agencies to prepare for a government shutdown. 

White House budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a memo that the agencies should get ready in case Congress doesn’t act in time. 

While there is time for Congress to act, Burwell wrote that “prudent management” requires agencies to prepare for a shutdown. 

As Democrats scramble to line up against the House GOP bill, Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday that he can’t support the CR at the current $988 billion level because it “continues the lunacy” of policies “that are killing jobs” and undercutting services.

Surprise, surprise: The Federal Reserve stunned its watchers on Wednesday with the announcement that it will continue its $85 billion in monthly stimulus until the economic recovery is self-sustaining.

The Fed said one of the primary reasons for the decision was the fiscal fight in Washington, which is “restraining economic growth.” 

The central bank also noted that mortgage rates had spiked since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the central bank was preparing to slow down its stimulus.

The Fed also announced Wednesday it planned to keep interest rates near zero. 

Well, maybe Bernanke can rest easier as he heads for exit with a slightly positive reputation with the overall public. 

A new poll from the Pew Research Center found that 38 percent of the public have a favorable impression of the two-term Fed head, while 31 percent view him unfavorably — the remaining 32 percent did not know enough about him to offer an opinion.

Meanwhile, as talk about his replacement heats up, Bernanke said he is not worried about it even amid drama on Capitol Hill.

“The Federal Reserve has strong institutional credibility,” he said. “It’s independent. It’s nonpartisan, and I’m not particularly concerned about the political environment.”

Bernanke’s comments came days after Larry Summers removed his name from consideration as Democrats piled on opposition to his nomination. 

LOOSE CHANGE

Trade concerns: The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with eight other business associations, expressed concern on Wednesday that an Asia-Pacific trade deal currently under negotiation might not meet the high standards they want. 

In a letter to the chief negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), who are meeting in Washington, the groups “urge you to redouble your efforts toward the goal of a comprehensive, high-standard, and commercially meaningful agreement that removes barriers to trade and investment and addresses 21st Century challenges in all sectors. We stand ready to support you in achieving this outcome.”

For the U.S. retail and apparel industries, this means that the TPP should include more flexible rules that promote trade and investment in sectors that have historically been subject to very restrictive rules, such as apparel and footwear.

New BRT chairman: The Business Roundtable (BRT) announced Wednesday that Randall Stephenson, the head of AT&T, will take over for a two-year stint as chairman on Jan. 1. 

He will succeed Jim McNerney, CEO of Boeing. 

The BRT is an association of 211 chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $7.4 trillion in annual revenues and more than 16 million employees.

“Randall Stephenson is an outstanding business leader who has worked tirelessly to promote growth and innovation in the private sector, and he fully understands what it will take for the United States to sustain its leadership in the global marketplace,” McNerney said.

Stephenson took the top slot at AT&T in 2007.

“We’re entering a crucial time where we have tremendous opportunities to improve our nation’s economy for the long haul,” Stephenson said.

“America’s leading companies have a critical role to play, working in collaboration with the administration, Congress, our colleagues in small business, and many other stakeholders.”

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Initial Claims: The Labor Department releases its weekly filings for jobless benefits. 

Mortgage Rates: Freddie Mac is releasing weekly data on fixed-rate mortgages, which remain around historic lows.

Existing Home Sales: The National Association of Realtors releases August figures for sales of existing homes. Existing-home sales are completed transactions across a broad range of housing types, including single-family homes.  

Leading indicators: The Conference Board will release a batch of previously announced economic indicators for August: new orders, jobless claims, money supply, average workweek, building permits and stock prices.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Goodlatte officially rolls out online sales tax principles

— Schumer endorses Janet Yellen to become next Fed chairman

— GOP brings focus back to IRS controversy

— Ayotte: Shutdown not ‘good for America’

— Poll: Public split over raising debt ceiling

— Travel industry urges Congress to speed up U.S. entry process for travelers

— Single-family housing construction picks up pace in August

— Business leaders urging compromise on budget, debt issues

– SEC proposes rules on CEO pay

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