Overnight Finance: Budget breakthrough?

PRICE’S PROPOSAL: House Republican leaders believe they have found a breakthrough in a weeks-long intraparty battle over the 2017 budget resolution.

The House Budget Committee put forward a proposal Monday that would maintain spending levels from last fall’s deal with the White House, while promising to hold votes on deficit-reducing measures sometime this year, according to an aide. The Hill’s Sarah Ferris walks us through the proposal from House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) here: http://bit.ly/1Oqvbdd.

{mosads}DEMS READY TO ATTACK IF BUDGET FAILS: House Democrats are set to pounce if GOP leaders decide to skip a budget this year. If the Republican proposal to keep last year’s budget deal levels falls through, Democrats will jump on it, claiming the GOP dysfunction runs too deep for House Speaker Paul Ryan to fix. The Hill’s Mike Lillis has the Democratic playbook: http://bit.ly/1TvvcmI.

BUSINESSES EYE POST-SCALIA SCOTUS: The death of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia can have a major impact on several pending cases. With the court likely down to eight justices until 2017 and missing a powerful conservative voice, cases Scalia could have swung might turn out vastly different. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda and Peter Schroeder talked to business groups about the most important cases they’re tracking: http://bit.ly/1L6dqFf.

THE CASES:

• Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, on whether public employees who don’t join unions have to pay their fees anyway.
• The challenge to the EPA Clean Power Plan, which regulates carbon emissions from power plants.
• CRST Van Expedited v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on when the EEOC has to pay a company attorney’s fees after its claim against the company is dismissed.
• Green v. Brennan, which is about when the statute of limitations period for a specific type of claim against an employer begins.
• Tyson Food v. Bouaphakeo, which will help determine who qualifies to be part of a class-action lawsuit.
• A challenge to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which allow millions of undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status.
• Puerto Rico v. Franklin California Free Trust, in which bond investors have taken Puerto Rico to court over a law it passed giving itself the ability to restructure its debt.

SENATE DEMS SLAM SHELBY ON BANKING NOMINEES: Senate Democrats say they’re tired of Sen. Richard Shelby’s refusal to move forward on banking nominees.

Led by ranking member Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee demanded in a Monday letter that the chairman take action on the 16 nominations before the panel. I’ve got the letter here: http://bit.ly/1oDK2N6.

THE HOLDUP: Shelby, an Alabama Republican, has served in the Senate since 1987 and faces three primary challengers on March 1. He told Bloomberg News in January he’d freeze the Banking Committee’s work until he clears that hurdle.

HAPPY MONDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re sending a big happy birthday to George Washington. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include some cautious optimism from the White House on trade, some tasty tax analysis from Ben and Jerry, a look at the week ahead and a major payout from Fannie Mae.

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://www.digital-stage.thehill.com/signup/48.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in D.C. on Tuesday, and Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer is on hand to speak in Houston on monetary policy.
• The Internal Revenue Service’s National Taxpayer Advocate is set to host a public forum on Tuesday about the agency’s future.
• The Center for American Progress (CAP) hosts a panel on “Financial Services, Consumer Protection, and Mobility: The Next Five Years.”
• The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) hosts a public meeting.
• The American Action Forum hosts an event on the recent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative.
• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services: Budget hearing for the Office of Management and Budget, 3 p.m.
• House Appropriations Subcommittee: Budget hearing for the Department of Commerce, 4 p.m.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Department of the Interior Budget featuring Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, 10 a.m.
• Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department budget featuring Secretary of State John Kerry, 10 a.m.
• Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Solutions to the opioid crisis, 10 a.m.

ON TAP THIS WEEK: Lots of budget hearings with high-profile guests, House Ways and Means Committee’s international tax reform kickoff and action on Puerto Rico. Plan your week here: http://bit.ly/1mT2yz4.

FANNIE MAE SET TO PAY TREASURY $2.9 BILLION: Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Friday that it will pay the Treasury Department $2.9 billion in dividends next month after a strong finish to the year. The government-controlled mortgage company reported net income of $2.5 billion in the October-December quarter, up from the $2 billion posted in the third quarter.

“Our strong 2015 results demonstrate our commitment to improving both our company and the broader housing finance system,” said Timothy Mayopoulos, president and chief executive officer. The Hill’s Vicki Needham has more: http://bit.ly/1XIhopr.

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE DEPARTMENT OF OPTIMISM: Today was Projections of Good Economic News Day for the Obama administration. Obama himself said he was “cautiously optimistic” that Congress would pass the massive Pacific Rim trade deal despite shaky legislative support (http://bit.ly/1UioNfA), and the White House Council of Economic Advisers predicted economic growth to rise to 2.7 percent this year while the jobless rate ticks down to about 4.5 percent by the end of the year: http://bit.ly/24mpclq.

INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY BANKERS PUSH FOR REG RELIEF: The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) updated its regulatory relief platform, the “Plan for Prosperity.” They’re calling for “common-sense legislative priorities to promote lending and stimulate local economies.” You can find it here: http://bit.ly/1RjmpCn.

STUDY PAINTS SUNNY PICTURE FOR GAS TAX: Low fuel prices make this a “good time” to increase gas taxes to help pay for transportation projects, according to a newly released study.

The study, from Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, argues that U.S. fuel prices are likely to remain low for the foreseeable future, which should help to increase the political viability of gas tax hikes in states like its native Indiana. The Hill’s Keith Laing explains: http://bit.ly/1TAtTnS.

BEN AND JERRY TALK TAXES: The founders of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, who are supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the presidential race, said they don’t think wealthy people and big corporations are paying enough taxes.

“I think there’s a tremendous amount of loopholes that allow for people to shelter that income in offshore tax havens and allow them to not pay taxes on estates of over $4 million,” Ben Cohen said Monday in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business. “And plus, you have all these really profitable corporations that end up paying zero tax,” Jerry Greenfield added. “And that’s not fair. That’s not what everybody wants.” http://bit.ly/1L6MwNH.

BUFFETT ON CNBC: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett will join CNBC’s Becky Quick for his ninth annual “Ask Warren” appearance in a special edition of CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Feb. 29.

NIGHTCAP: Good news for caffeine addicts: Starbucks’ rewards program will now be based on dollars spent, not the number of visits.

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-stage.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-stage.thehill.com; pschroeder@digital-stage.thehill.com, and njagoda@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder; and @NJagoda.