Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) clued us in on one of his Banking Committee priorities… keep reading…
TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: REID SAYS HE WON’T OBSTRUCT GOP. Alex Bolton for the hometown paper: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday pledged to work with Republicans when they are in the majority and eschew the strategy of obstruction he has accused them of using against Democrats.”
{mosads}— WHAT HE SAID: “’I am ready, Mr. President, to work with him in good faith to make this institution function again for the American people. I saw firsthand how a strategy of destruction was debilitating to our system,’ he said, addressing the Senate chair. ‘I have no desire to engage in that manner.’”
— BOLTON BREAKS IT DOWN: “Democrats accused Republicans of using filibusters over the past four years to paralyze the Senate and drive down public opinion of Congress and government as part of a broader political strategy. With Republicans set to take control of the upper chamber in January, it has raised questions about whether Democrats might seek revenge by blocking Republican initiatives in order to run against a dysfunctional GOP Congress in 2016.” http://bit.ly/1xNW6d0.
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. Tomorrow is Thursday. Tweet:@kevcirilli email: kcirilli@digital-stage.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-stage.thehill.com/signup/48.
TERROR INSURANCE TALK — HENSARLING ON OFFENSE? House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) hit back against critics’ who suggested that his push for reforming Congress’s terrorism insurance program (TRIA) is unpatriotic.
In a tough op-ed for the Washington Times, Hensarling doubled-down on his position that the program is putting taxpayers at risk following deadly terror attacks. http://bit.ly/1u39sRO
Let’s drink…
— SHOT, Hensarling’s op-ed: “Critics have and will likely continue to contend that such reforms are somehow unfair or unpatriotic. Nothing could be less true… The federal government, free from competition and unable to make hard choices, has a long and ugly history of insurance schemes that underestimate and misprice risk. Each time the purported beneficiaries end up more at risk while taxpayers end up footing the bill.”
— CHASER, Host Hotels and Resorts CEO Ed Walter, in a separate op-ed in the same paper: “[With] the growing terrorist threat from the turbulent Middle East, America must maintain safeguards to ensure that the economy will recover from terrorist attacks… Economic resiliency is an essential part of homeland security.”
— LEADERSHIP OK’s SHORT-TERM TRIA BILL? More from my story with Pete Schroeder for the hometown paper: “House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement, ‘a short-term extension may be necessary’ in order to include reforms to the program. ‘I support Chairman Hensarling’s goal of enacting a long-term TRIA extension with reforms that protect taxpayers,’ Boehner continued.” http://bit.ly/1unLp1q.
SHELBY: DODD-FRANK WILL BE ONE OF MY PRIORITIES AS CHAIRMAN. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is poised to take the gavel as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee in January. In an interview with OVERNIGHT, he highlighted one issue that will be on his radar screen:
— Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.): “It’d be a great honor [to be chairman]. I’ve been there before and I hope to get there again… Dodd-Frank would be one of my priorities.”
But Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who will likely become ranking member, blasted the notion of reopening Dodd-Frank: “I expect Republicans to go after Dodd-Frank like they go after the Affordable Care Act. They’d like to eliminate the consumer agency. They want to go back to the safety and soundness rules of pre-Wall Street crash. They say we want the Republican growth strategy – they want to weaken bank laws and consumer protections… I’m against opening up and rolling back Dodd-Frank. [And we can show voters] the public embarrassment of being in Wall Street’s back pocket again and causing the economy to tank.”
QUOTABLE, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Tuesday in an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” discussing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): “Four random initials! It was named by the Republicans. I’ve never said this publicly, but yes I do think they gave it a bad name. We had better names! No more cheatin’ banks was what I wanted to name it.”
— Warren’s takeaway from midterms: “We have to be really clear about what we’re fighting for… I don’t think anyone went to the polls and said, I am casting my vote to make sure that Wall Street has better chances to make bigger profits off the backs of the American people.”
— Warren on Scott Brown’s loss in New Hampshire: “We hear he’s going to Maine.” Video: http://on.msnbc.com/1v5fK6C.
Ouch…
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: HOUSING HEARING NEXT WEEK. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) announced today that he will hold an oversight housing hearing with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt at 10 a.m. on Wed., Nov. 19.
HAPPENING TOMORROW — CFPB UNVEILS PREPAID CARD RULE. CFPB officials will discuss it at an 11 a.m. field hearing in Wilmington, Del.
MANCHIN MAKES ROOM FOR CAPITO? Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) signaled Wednesday he’s willing to move off the Senate Banking Committee in order for Sen.-elect Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) to join the panel…
Manchin says: ‘I enjoy the Banking Committee, but I haven’t seen other opportunities… There are other committees I’m interested in also, and sometimes you have to try to shuffle them around.’ Senate rules only allow for one senator from each state to serve on a committee. My story: http://bit.ly/1yApR0S.
— QUICK Q – – > Who are your picks for which Dem replaces Manchin?
NOTABLE: LEW TALKS TOUGH ON EUROPE, via Bloomberg: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew called on Europe to do more to avert a lost decade of growth, saying central bank easing alone isn’t enough.” http://bloom.bg/1GP6fMy.
EXTENDERS WATCH: SMALL BIZ URGES PASSAGE. Michael Cohn for Accounting Today: “Small businesses overwhelmingly support extension of the expired tax breaks known as tax extenders during Congress’s lame duck session, according to a new survey by the National Small Business Association…
“According to the survey, the most broadly supported item for action in the lame duck session is approving spending bills, followed closely by the enactment of tax extenders and immigration reform and border control.” http://bit.ly/1unXUds.
BIG NUMBER: $2 TRILLION, via Jeff Cox for CNBC: “U.S. companies are for the first time holding more than $2 trillion overseas, according to an analysis that paints a bleak picture of whether that money will make its way home and the limited economic impact it would have even if it does. Corporate cash has hit $2.1 trillion, a sixfold increase over the past 12 years, Capital Economics said, citing its own database as well as that of Audit Analytics and other sources.” http://cnb.cx/1xiAvN1.
BANKS: RETAILERS NEED MORE REGS, via me: “The finger-pointing over cybersecurity between retailers and financial institutions heated up Wednesday, with banks and credit unions pushing for more oversight of the retail industry to help protect consumers.
“In a scathing joint letter sent to Senate and House leadership, the top banking and credit union trade groups noted that their industries have had “significant regulatory requirements and internal safeguards” since 1999 because of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB)…
“The letter was signed by the American Bankers Association, The Clearing House, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), Independent Community Bankers of America and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.” http://bit.ly/1sF8t7B.
TRADE TALK: MORE MOMENTUM FOR TRADE DEALS: It looks like supporters of trade agreements might not have to wait for the new Republican Congress. Vicki Needham reports:
“More than 200 business and agriculture groups on Wednesday urged congressional leaders to give President Obama expanded trade powers before the end of this year. The Trade Benefits America Coalition — a group of many of the nation’s largest companies — is pushing for passage of updated Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) before the next Congress, they wrote in a letter sent to House and Senate leadership.” http://bit.ly/1qEqUZt.
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