Week ahead: Republicans search for budget unity

House Republican leaders plan try to get a budget back on track in the coming week after two major bumps.

The conservative Republican Study Committee says it will oppose any budget based on last year’s deal struck by then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama. The more than 170 members want Ryan to forge a deal with less spending, which is a nonstarter for Democrats.

{mosads}This comes after House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) announced his concerns with part of a tentative plan from the House Budget Committee. The plan calls for sticking with last year’s budget numbers but allowing lawmakers to vote on deficit cuts through appropriations bills.

Lawmakers are also heading into crunch time to find a fix for Puerto Rico’s debt crisis

The House Financial Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee examined the fallout and the Treasury’s plan Thursday, as Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) end-of-March deadline for a legislative plan approaches.

Puerto Rico is saddled with $72 billion in debt across 18 different issuers, exceeding its gross national product. The commonwealth government defaulted on $174 million in payments due in January, with more than $2.4 billion due this year.

Roughly 12 percent of Puerto Ricans are unemployed, and its labor force has lost 300,000 workers since the mid-2000s. The commonwealth’s funds have also been depleted by subsidized electricity, government inefficiency and a dysfunctional tax collection system.

The Senate is scheduled to also dive deep into other high-profile economic issues.

The Judiciary Committee plans to investigate areas of the country affected by EB-5 immigrant investor visas amid a fight between Senate leaders over the controversial program.

The Finance Committee is scheduled to look at how trade agreements should be implemented.

Your week ahead

Tuesday, March 1: 

• House Energy and Commerce Committee: Examining the Financing and Delivery of Long-Term Care in the U.S., 10:15 a.m.
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: Hearing on Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Reducing Federal Office Space Costs, 10:30 a.m.
• House Ways and Means Committee: Hearing on “Getting Incentives Right: Connecting Low-Income Individuals with Jobs,” 10 a.m.
• House Financial Services Committee Task Force on Terrorism Financing: Hearing on “Helping the Developing World Fight Terror Finance,” 2 p.m.
• House Appropriations: Budget Hearing on the Department of Housing and Urban Development with Secretary Julian Castro.
• Senate Finance: Hearing to examine the multiemployer pension plan system, focusing on recent reforms and current challenges, 10 a.m.
• Senate Appropriations Committee: Hearing on the state of the farm economy, 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 2

• House Ways and Means Committee: Hearing on “Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses” 10 a.m.
• House Small Business Committee: Hearing on Commercializing on Innovation: Reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs, 11 a.m.
• House Appropriations Committee: Budget Hearing on Department of the Interior with Secretary Sally Jewell, 1 p.m.
• Senate Judiciary Committee: Hearings to examine EB-5 targeted employment areas, 10 a.m.
• Joint Economic Committee Hearings to examine the Economic Report of the President, 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 3

• House Science Committee: Hearing on the Department of Energy Oversight: The DOE Loan Guarantee Program, 9:30 a.m.
• House  Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture: Budget Hearing – Department of Agriculture, Marketing and Regulatory Programs, 10:15 a.m.
• Senate Banking Committee: Hearings to examine regulatory reforms to improve equity market structure, 10 a.m.
• Senate Small Business Committee: Hearings to examine the impacts of federal fisheries management on small businesses, 10 a.m.

Recap the week with Overnight Finance

• Monday: Budget breakthrough?
• Tuesday: Trouble for GOP budget plan
• Wednesday: Romney targets Trump on taxes
• Thursday: House conservatives want to break spending deal

Today’s stories:

• IRS: Nothing prevents Trump from releasing tax returns, by Naomi Jagoda
• US economy showing signs of life in the new year, by Vicki Needham
• Senate Dems split with White House on Israel trade positions, by Vicki Needham
• Ex-IRS agent: ‘Very unusual’ that Trump has been audited for 12 years, by Naomi Jagoda

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