On The Money: Congress faces September spending scramble | GOP chair aims to mark up ‘tax reform 2.0’ next week | Vulnerable Dems face GOP attacks on tax law | Amazon hits $1T in market value

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL–Congress faces September scramble on spending: Congress is facing a September scramble as it returns to Washington ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline to avoid a government shutdown. 

Lawmakers get back to the Capitol on Tuesday, giving them just a matter of weeks to clear spending legislation while also juggling other high-profile fights like the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 

Senators, who stayed in Washington instead of taking their usual August recess, have made quick work of their funding packages, passing nine out of the 12 individual appropriations bills. 

But lawmakers still need to get a deal on the three spending packages they have not cleared so far, a challenge that will require them to defuse partisan policy riders included in the House bills. The Hill’s Niv Elis and Jordain Carney explain here.

Trump, GOP powwow: President Trump will meet with GOP leaders on Wednesday to discuss the legislative agenda ahead of November’s midterms, which includes avoiding a government shutdown at the end of this month. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will be in attendance at the White House meeting with congressional leaders, according to his office. Democratic leaders were not invited.

 

ON TAP TOMORROW

• House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “The Future of Money: Coins and Banknotes,” 10 a.m.
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: Hearing on the impact of zero tariffs on U.S. autoworkers, 10 a.m.
• The Heritage Foundation hosts an event entitled “Let Entrepreneurs Raise Capital Using Finders and Private Placement Brokers,” 11 a.m.
• House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “The Cost of Regulation on Affordable Multifamily Development,” 2 p.m.

 

LEADING THE DAY

Woodward: Cohn stole from Trump letter to pull US out of South Korea trade deal: Trump’s former top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, twice pulled paperwork off of Trump’s desk that the president was intending to sign to withdraw the United States from trade agreements, according to a forthcoming book from veteran journalist Bob Woodward.

The Washington Post, which obtained an advance copy of the book, reported Tuesday that Cohn “stole a letter off Trump’s desk” that would have formally withdrawn the U.S. from a trade agreement with South Korea.

Cohn later told an associate that Trump didn’t notice the letter was missing. Cohn also reportedly said he took the letter from Trump to protect national security.

The then-director of the National Economic Council separately pulled a different letter from Trump’s desk in spring 2017 that would have pulled the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to the Post.

And click here for more on the frenzy over Woodward’s latest book.

 

Latest on ‘tax reform 2.0’: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Tuesday that he intends for his panel to mark up a second round of tax cuts next week.

“It’s full steam ahead on 2.0 because the main question here is, will we make tax cuts for families and small businesses permanent as we did for corporations? The answer is yes,” Brady said. “Plus it’s incredibly pro-growth.”

What’s in the legislation: The package will have three components: making the individual tax cuts in the 2017 tax law permanent, providing incentives for taxpayers to save money, and providing incentives for business innovation.

Brady’s timeline: He is aiming to have his panel mark up the bill next week with plans for a House floor vote this month. But, it’s unlikely that the legislation will pass the Senate.

Speaking of the tax bill, The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda explains how Republican candidates are taking aim at vulnerable Senate Democrats by reminding voters that their opponents did not support the 2017 tax-cut law.

 

Amazon hits $1 trillion valuation amid Trump attacks: Amazon briefly exceeded $1 trillion in value Tuesday amid growing criticism from President Trump, becoming the second U.S. corporation to reach that threshold.

The online retail giant eclipsed the $1 trillion mark Tuesday morning when the price of one of its 487,741,189 shares rose to $2,050.27, according to CNBC. The stock value slipped to close at $2,039.51, but still up 1.33 percent for the day.
Apple was the first U.S. corporation to exceed $1 trillion in value when it crossed the threshold on Aug. 2. The combined value of both companies is equal to roughly 10 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

While Amazon’s plans to build another headquarters have attracted offers of lucrative tax breaks and benefits from dozens of state and city leaders, the company has been fiercely attacked by Trump over its size and influence.

• Trump told Fox News last week that Amazon and fellow tech giants Google and Facebook could be in a “very antitrust situation,” but declined to say whether they should be dismantled.
• Trump has been critical of several Silicon Valley titans over what he considers rampant anti-conservative bias, but has been particularly hostile toward Amazon. The president frequently attacks Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, and links the online retailer to the newspaper’s White House coverage. The Post has said that Bezos plays no role in its editorial decisions.
• Trump has also frequently criticized Amazon’s agreement with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to ship packages at reduced rates, blaming it for the fiscal woes at USPS. An upcoming Treasury Department report on revamping the debt-riddled USPS is expected to add more fuel to that fight.

 

FINANCE IN FOCUS–Ten years later, wounds run deep from the 2008 crash: Ten years have passed since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and the U.S. has emerged as a more prosperous but less equal nation.

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 set off a series of collapses that froze the global financial system and triggered a massive recession.

Millions of Americans would lose their homes to foreclosure and their jobs to the contracting economy. The devastation helped fuel the election of former President Obama, who enacted sweeping new rules for banks and a massive stimulus package over the opposition of Republicans.

A decade later, joblessness is close to all-time lows, corporations and banks are boasting record profits, and consumer spending has gradually risen as the economy expands. But the wounds still run deep for millions of Americans who haven’t felt the full benefits of the recovery.

Inflation-adjusted wages have sunk despite the hot job market, rising housing costs have locked out many first-time homebuyers, and the working class has struggled to overcome the growing chasm between the richest and poorest Americans.

Analysts say scores of new federal rules accomplished their goal of stabilizing the financial system, allowing the U.S. to rebuild after the crisis. Even so, there are growing concerns that the economy they helped create poses new, less familiar risks to American consumers. I’ve got more on America’s economic future here.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• President Trump on Tuesday said he thinks Nike is sending a “terrible message” by featuring NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick in its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” advertising campaign, but also said “in another way, it is what this country is all about.
• Utah-based, Varo Bank has received preliminary and conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a national bank, according to American Banker. 
• The Agriculture Department on Tuesday officially began offering economic aid to farmers suffering under retaliation to tariffs imposed by President Trump. USDA opened applications for $4.7 million in direct payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, and wheat producers, and $1.2 million in crop purchases.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

• A Twitter official said Tuesday that President Trump does not have a “blanket exception” from a possible ban by the social media platform.
• State Farm on Tuesday agreed to pay $250 million to settle a suit alleging it secretly worked to help elect an Illinois high court justice, according to Law360.

 

THE HILL EVENT

Join us Wednesday, September 12 for “A Healthy Start: Infant and Early Childhood Nutrition,” featuring Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service Brandon Lipps. Editor in Chief Bob Cusack will sit down with the headliners to discuss maternal, infant, and early childhood nutrition, and what steps can be taken to establish healthier eating patterns across all communities. RSVP Here.