Overnight Finance: House GOP grills IRS chief on impeachment | Bipartisan anger over Iran payment | Fed holds rates steady but hints at coming hike

GOP grills IRS chief on impeachment: Conservatives on the House Judiciary Committee clamored Wednesday for the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen as the panel’s chairman zeroed in on the agency’s preservation of email records.

{mosads}Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the panel, offered few clues about whether he might throw his support behind the impeachment effort. 

But conservatives showed no signs of backing down, even as Koskinen aggressively defended his record.

GOP leaders and Koskinen would both like to avoid his impeachment; the hearing was intended to put a lid on pressure from conservative lawmakers who had been calling for a floor vote this month.

Yet it is not clear that vote will be avoided. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us where things stand: http://bit.ly/2cRzreB.

Republican: Impeaching IRS chief least Congress can do: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday said that impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is the least Congress can do.

Koskinen “should have been gone a long time ago,” Jordan said at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee called to explore impeachment charges against the commissioner. 

“All we’re asking is this guy no longer hold this office. In light of this fact pattern, I think that’s the least we can do.” Naomi Jagoda tells us why: http://bit.ly/2d57B0b.

Heads up: We’ll have more from the hearing later on in the newsletter.

Fed steady on interest rates, but suggests hike coming: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady Wednesday but made clear that it sees an increase coming soon.

In its latest policy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) noted that the case for raising rates had “strengthened” but that it was still waiting for a bit more data before acting.

“The Committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives,” the statement read. The Hill’s Peter Schroeder reports on the pressure building within the Fed to raise rates soon: http://bit.ly/2cI8JEa.

Fed chief fires back at Trump: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday dismissed charges from Donald Trump that the central bank is effectively beholden to President Obama.

Yellen fiercely defended the Fed’s political independence while also repeatedly declining to dive deeper into the messy politics of the presidential race.

“I can say emphatically that partisan politics play no role in our decisions about the appropriate stance of monetary policy,” she told reporters. “We do not discuss politics at our meetings, and we do not take politics into account in our decisions.”

But Yellen did tread into other policy matters, and Peter Schroeder tells us how: http://bit.ly/2dkqITg.

Administration takes bipartisan fire over Iran payment: The Obama administration is facing bipartisan skepticism over its $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran to settle a decades-old lawsuit that coincided with a prisoner swap.

Senate Banking Committee Republicans and Democrats said in a Wednesday hearing they’re concerned about the implications and precedent set by the payment. They focused on the fallout from giving Iran–the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism–more than $1 billion in untraceable money.

“Hard cash is the preferred currency of terrorism,” said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), chairman of the Banking subcommittee on national security. “How much more harm can Iran and its terrorist allies to do Americans and the world?”

“An unchecked Iran poses not only a threat, but a grave threat,” added Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), the subcommittee’s top Democrat. “I hope this hearing can shed some light on those answers.” I’ll tell you about their concerns here: http://bit.ly/2dkszXU.

Watchdog requests Iran cash payment records: A government watchdog is asking for documents from the Treasury and State Departments that could shed light on the Obama administration’s controversial $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran.

Cause of Action Institute filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Wednesday for records that outline and document the payment made to settle a nearly 40-year-old case over arms sales between the United States and Iran.

Cause of Action also requested all communications about the payment between the Treasury and State Departments. I’ll tell you why here: http://bit.ly/2dhXfqh.

Levin calls on IRS to audit the Trump Foundation: A top House Democrat on Wednesday demanded that the IRS audit the Donald J. Trump Foundation over questions surrounding compliance with federal tax laws.

Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen highlighting a media report that said Trump’s foundation may have violated self-dealing laws by using the foundation’s funds for personal use.

An article in the Washington Post on Tuesday reported that the Republican presidential nominee used more than $250,000 from his charity to resolve lawsuits or legal disputes that involved his businesses. The Hill’s Vicki Needham has it all here: http://bit.ly/2dbSVwt.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Overnight Finance, where we’re appreciating Washington’s steady slide into autumn. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include Donald Trump getting clowned on his tax returns, Elizabeth Warren’s push to keep Wall Street out of a Clinton White House, progress for coalminer pensions and more from today’s fireworks over the IRS and Iran.

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://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

On tap tomorrow:

• House Workforce and Education Committee: Hearing on multiemployer pensions, 9:30 a.m. http://bit.ly/2cCHT1a.
• House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council,” 10 a.m. http://bit.ly/2d3JOKg.
• House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets: Hearing entitled “Examining the Agenda of Regulators, SROs [Self-Regulatory Organizations], and Standards-Setters for Accounting, Auditing, and Municipal Securities,” 2 p.m. http://bit.ly/2cLuy6W.

Dems hijack IRS hearing to ask about Trump’s taxes: Democrats used a House hearing on whether IRS Commissioner John Koskinen should be impeached to raise questions about Donald Trump’s taxes.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) declared the hearing “an obvious sham” before asking Koskinen about the Republican presidential nominee’s tax returns, which he has said he will not release publicly because he is under a federal audit.

“Is there anything that would prohibit someone from releasing their tax returns, if they want to, because they’re under audit?” Nadler said, without mentioning Trump by name.

“No,” Koskinen responded. The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes has more: http://bit.ly/2cDMr4x.

Taste the rainbow: Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) brought a bag of Skittles to the House IRS hearing, consuming the snack as he knocked Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Gutiérrez was delivering a nod to a Monday tweet from Donald Trump Jr. comparing Syrian refugees to Skittles.

“I really love Skittles, because as you see, they come orange and yellow, red and purple, all the different colors, and they come all together in a bag … kind of like a rainbow,” Gutiérrez told the IRS commissioner, who chuckled as the lawmaker munched on the candy: http://bit.ly/2cSglTR.

Life comes at you fast: Donald Trump mocked former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns until late in the 2012 campaign in a tweet getting new attention as the date passes for the current GOP nominee.

“Mitt Romney didn’t show his tax return until September 21, 2012, and then only after being humiliated by [then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)]!” Trump, who continues to withhold his own returns, tweeted earlier this year: http://bit.ly/2cpyFX3.

House passes bill requiring report on Iranian leaders’ assets: The House passed legislation on Wednesday requiring the Treasury Department to publicly list the known assets of top Iranian political and military leaders.

The bill, approved in a 282-143 vote, is meant to impose more transparency into how Iran’s senior officials accumulate wealth, the legislation’s supporters said.

President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation, however, as the White House argues that publishing the data could compromise intelligence methods and be perceived by Iran as an attempt to undermine the international nuclear deal.

“This bill would adversely affect the U.S. Government’s ability to wield these tools, would undermine the very goals it purports to achieve, and could even endanger our ability to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is and remains exclusively peaceful,” the White House said in a Statement of Administration Policy. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos breaks it down: http://bit.ly/2cDYXAP.

Dem tries to tie GOP on Iran to Trump’s taxes: A House Democrat questioned why Republicans were bringing up a bill requiring more transparency into Iranian leaders’ financial assets on Wednesday while largely staying quiet on whether Donald Trump should release his tax returns. 

During floor debate on the bill Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) suggested Republicans should demand more transparency from their party’s White House nominee like they are of the Iranian regime. Trump has cited an ongoing IRS audit as the reason for declining to release his returns, in a break from decades of precedent established by past presidential candidates.

“I gotta tell you, I’ve been doing this a long time and I think it’s safe to say that Donald Trump’s lack of transparency would make Richard Nixon blush,” said McGovern, who’s currently serving his tenth term in the House. 

He called on Republicans to pressure their nominee to release his tax returns and pledge to end involvement with his namesake Trump Organization. Cristina Marcos takes us to the showdown: http://bit.ly/2cDYXAP 

Warren: Let’s keep Wall Street out of a Clinton Cabinet: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made clear Wednesday she has no interest in seeing a Clinton administration filled with officials tied to Wall Street.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund in Washington, Warren detailed her support for Hillary Clinton for president. But she also made clear that if Clinton gets elected, Warren will be interested in who fills top spots in the administration.

Warren singled out financial firms as the home of power players who would love to move the levers of power in Washington before moving on to another lucrative gig in the private sector. And she made clear that trying to confirm those types of officials would be an uphill battle against the likes of her and other liberals. Peter Schroeder explains: http://bit.ly/2d0wBUY.

Business groups pressure Obama, Congress to pass Pacific deal: Four powerful business groups on Wednesday kept up their pressure on Congress to speed passage of a massive Pacific trade agreement.

The industry leaders in technology, services, manufacturing and agriculture sent a joint letter urging President Obama and congressional leaders to work together and expedite passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement this year.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), American Farm Bureau Federation, Coalition of Services Industries and Information Technology Industry Council highlighted the importance of expanded trade to private-sector economic growth and how TPP passage would expand U.S. access to nearly 500 million consumers in the Asia-Pacific region: http://bit.ly/2cRztDf.

Senate panel approves pension rescue for coal miners: The Senate Finance Committee voted Wednesday to rescue the coal miner union’s pension plan and avoid its likely insolvency by the end of the year.

The panel advanced a bill, known as the Miners Protection Act, that would transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from a federal fund meant for cleaning abandoned mines to the United Mine Workers of America’s (UMWA) multi-employer pension plan.

Supporters of the bipartisan bill said it fulfills promises that the federal government has made to coal miners for decades.

But some Republicans warned that the bill would set a dangerous precedent in which Congress would be expected to bail out the more than 1,000 multi-employer pension plans at risk of insolvency. The Hill’s Timothy Cama tells us more: http://bit.ly/2d2Clfc.

Panel votes to extend nuclear power tax credit: The House Ways and Means Committee voted Wednesday to remove a key deadline for a nuclear power plant tax credit.

The legislation from Reps. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) would remove the requirement that newly built nuclear power plants be in service by 2020 in order to receive a tax credit for producing power.

The credit was first enacted in 2005 to spur construction of new nuclear plants, but it has gone completely unused because no new plants have come online since then.

The bill passed 23-9, with only Democrats opposed: http://bit.ly/2cDLVTU.

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