Business & Economy

On The Money: Weekly jobless claims fall to 498K, hitting new post-lockdown low | House to advance appropriations bills in June, July

Happy Thursday 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.

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—Weekly jobless claims fall to 498K, hitting new post-lockdown low: Weekly first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell below 500,000 last week for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

I break it down here.

The upshot: President Biden and Democratic lawmakers are hoping to turn the momentum of the recovering economy behind their push for trillions in infrastructure and social support spending. 

Biden in Louisiana: In search of a deal, Biden on Thursday touted his $2.3 trillion infrastructure package in Louisiana, seeking to highlight the proposal’s bipartisan components as negotiations with Congress intensify.

Biden made two stops in the Gulf Coast state to highlight the American Jobs Plan, which would spend billions of dollars upgrading the country’s water systems, roads, bridges and ports, while weatherizing buildings and making structures better equipped to handle the effects of climate change.

“We have to build back better in a whole series of ways,” Biden said in remarks on the banks of Lake Charles, with the dilapidated I-10 bridge as a backdrop. “It’s about building a strong foundation for the American people. So when I think about the threats of hurricanes, and global warming, and the poor condition of our economy as it relates particularly to infrastructure, I think of one thing. I think of jobs.” The Hill’s Brett Samuels takes us there.

LEADING THE DAY

House to advance appropriations bills in June, July: The House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees are planning to mark up the 12 spending bills to fund the government for the 2022 fiscal year in June, with floor passage expected in July.

“The subcommittee and full committee markups will be in June, and we will be on the floor in July,” Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said Thursday at a Brookings event.

Biden has yet to roll out a full budget proposal, which would include plans for mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as a 10-year spending plan. That request is expected in the coming weeks. The Hill’s Niv Elis tells us about the road ahead here.

The roadblocks:

Rural Democrats urge protections from tax increases for family farms: A group of House Democrats who represent rural communities are urging leaders in the chamber to ensure that family farms aren’t hurt by legislation based on President Biden’s proposed tax increases.

“The repeal of stepped-up basis for capital gains and immediate taxation could especially hurt family farms, some of which have been in families for generations; therefore, we strongly urge you to provide full exemptions for these family farms and small businesses that are critical to our communities,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Thursday to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.). The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda has more here.

GOOD TO KNOW

ODDS AND ENDS