On The Money: House passes monthlong stopgap | Broader spending talks stall | Judge orders Democrats to give notice if they request Trump’s NY tax returns | Progressives ramp up attacks on private equity

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re wondering if newsletter writers get official portraits too. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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.

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-stage.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-stage.thehill.com and nelis@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @NJagoda and @NivElis.

 

THE BIG DEAL–House passes stopgap as spending talks stall: The House on Tuesday passed a monthlong continuing resolution (CR) in a 231-192 vote, pushing off a government shutdown fight until Dec. 20, even as more comprehensive spending negotiations stalled.

“This CR will allow additional time to negotiate and enact responsible, long-term funding for priorities that make our country safer and stronger and give working families a better chance at a better life,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said.

But even as the stopgap progressed, negotiations over how to allocate funds have hit a wall, and appropriators are expected to miss their self-imposed Wednesday deadline for striking a deal on how to divvy up the $1.37 trillion in annual spending among 12 bills. 

The Hill’s Niv Elis and Juliegrace Brufke explain why here.

• Lawmakers have put off a final deal on the border wall funding in order to tackle the funding allocations first.

• But Democrats don’t want to add the $5 billion in money for the wall that President Trump requested for the homeland security bill. Doing so would mean taking funds from other bills such as the labor, health and human services, and education spending measures.

 

What comes next: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Tuesday said the deal was unlikely before Thanksgiving.

“That would be quite optimistic right now,” he said. “We haven’t resolved anything yet. We seem to be getter closer, and then we’re stalled.”

 

ON TAP TOMORROW

• The House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on U.S.-Japan trade agreements, 10 a.m.
• A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing and regulatory efforts to “preserve and promote” minority depository institutions, 10 a.m.
• The House Budget Committee holds a hearing on the economic costs of the federal debt, 10 a.m.
• A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee holds a hearing on building a clean economy, 10 a.m.
• A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing on health and safety conditions in federally subsidized public housing, 2 p.m.

 

LEADING THE DAY

Judge orders Democrats to give notice if they request Trump’s NY tax returns: A federal judge on Monday granted President Trump “very limited relief” in his legal case aimed at preventing House Democrats from obtaining his New York state tax returns.

Judge Carl Nichols, a federal district judge in Washington, D.C., appointed by Trump, ordered the House Ways and Means Committee to provide the court and Trump with contemporaneous notice if committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) requests Trump’s state tax returns under a New York law.

Nichols also ordered the committee to not receive any requested state tax returns for a period of 14 days, during which time the court could decide whether the request is lawful.

“In the Court’s view, this relief ensures that Mr. Trump has an opportunity to press his claims before they become moot while treading as lightly as possible on the Congressional Defendants’ interests,” Nichols wrote.

 

What comes next: Neal has not yet decided whether he will request Trump’s state tax returns, according to the House’s lawyers. The Ways and Means chair has focused on trying to obtain Trump’s federal tax returns from the IRS.

 

Progressive Democrats ramp up attacks on private equity: Democrats on Tuesday made the case for a crackdown on private equity firms during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee as several of the party’s presidential contenders take aim at the controversial investment firms.

A proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a 2020 candidate, to curb debt-laden corporate buyouts dominated the hearing, with Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) touting provisions of the Stop Wall Street Looting Act she said would stop private equity firms from “destroying companies and preying on hardworking Americans to maximize their profits.”

“People’s lives and health are at stake,” Waters said, citing the 2018 bankruptcy of HCR ManorCare, a nursing home chain where health-code violations soared 26 percent after it was purchased by The Carlyle Group, a powerful investment firm. I’ve got more from the hearing here.

 

2020 implications: Warren has made reining in private equity a centerpiece of her plans for Wall Street, and her rise in the Democratic primary has posed a serious challenge for the industry.

For many Democrats on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, private equity is increasingly becoming their new Wall Street punching bag. 

Several GOP lawmakers bashed Democrats for “vilifying” an industry responsible for thousands of jobs, suggesting they were doing Warren’s bidding instead of fostering a competitive economy.

“Hooray, we’re here today to debate presidential politics,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the panel’s ranking member. He called the hearing “a presidential rally for Sen. Warren.”

 

Dem differences: But the hearing also highlighted divides among Democrats over how to regulate powerful nonbank investment firms, with some lawmakers questioning the Warren bill’s tough rules.

• “We’ve seen private equity attacked for doing things that are done elsewhere in our economy,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who described himself as “not hostile” to the industry.

• Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said that while lawmakers have the responsibility to ensure workers laid off by private equity firms face “a softer blow,” Congress must also protect those “dependent upon a return on investment from private equity.” 

• Ocasio-Cortez, though, fired back that lawmakers who focus on pension returns “almost betray the priorities” of their most vulnerable constituents.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced Tuesday their approval of the merger of BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks. Inc. into what will be known as Truist Bank.

• Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday released draft legislation aimed at addressing climate change by extending and expanding tax breaks for renewable energy.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

• Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that congressional leadership is trying to work out differences between competing measures to protect patients from getting hit with massive, “surprise” medical bills. 

• California has announced plans to stop buying vehicles from automakers that backed President Trump during the state’s battle over whether it can set tougher emissions standards.