This week: Congress digs deeper

{mosads}On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold its second hearing on the IRS scandal, this time hearing testimony from a handful of Tea Party groups that say they were subjected to extensive questioning after applying for tax-exempt status.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee will explore another aspect of the IRS with a hearing devoted to potential overspending and misused resources by the agency. George will also testify before that panel.

While Congress puts the IRS through the wringer, the Labor Department will make news on Friday with its jobs report for the month of May. The previous report found strong job gains that lowered the official unemployment rate to 7.5 percent.

The Federal Reserve will chip in with its own economic take Wednesday as it releases the latest version of the “Beige Book” — a collection of anecdotal takes from business contacts across the country.

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday will debate the nomination of Michael Froman, President Obama’s nominee to serve as the next U.S. Trade Representative.

On the Senate floor, lawmakers will continue debating the farm bill. Members have hammered out a number of compromises on the legislation, including on contentious food stamp provisions, but Democrats are still pushing for additional cuts to farm subsidies and payment caps. 

Senate leaders are hoping to pass the farm bill sometime this week to clear the deck for immigration reform later in June.

The Senate Banking Committee will explore the U.S.’s implementation of harsh sanctions on Iran on Tuesday, discussing the matter with officials from the Treasury, State, and Commerce departments.

Also Tuesday, the Senate Budget Committee will discuss the fiscal and economic impact of pursuing austerity policies, hearing from a range of experts, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who also served as a top economic adviser to Obama.

On the regulatory front, the Financial Stability Oversight Council convenes on Monday, and might identify the first financial institutions they want to designate as significant to the financial system and subject to additional oversight. 

And the Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to roll out its proposal to reform money market funds, which is another topic that has been closely watched by the financial industry.