Democrats Start Loading the Campaign Shots: BGOV Starting Line

In Search of Sharp Elbows

As the Senate preps for a monster floor debate, senior budget reporter Jack Fitzpatrick will be on the lookout today for the perfect storm of legislative wishing and partisan knifing.

Senators will caucus over lunch this afternoon, a Capitol Hill routine that includes leaders facing a swarm of microphones and cameras while many in the rank and file skirt the crowd of hungry journalists.

Fitzpatrick will be paying special attention to comments from the minority party — they’ve got scant hope for getting any amendments onto the budget resolution, but numerous opportunities to frame their proposals in ways that could provide fodder for attack ads or social media arguments.

Today’s BGOV Budget Brief has more on what to expect in the debate over a framework for President Donald Trump’s agenda (S. Con. Res. 7).

Senators Examine Wireless Future

If you use Wi-Fi, have a mobile phone, bought an appliance that connects to the Internet, or serve in the Armed Forces, you have a stake in one of today’s Senate hearings.

Technology policy reporter Oma Seddiq will be in the room when the new Senate Commerce Committee chairman takes a step toward renewing a lapse in the law that governs how America uses its radio waves.

There’s a limited supply of radio spectrum, and lots of disagreement about who should get dibs. The military and wireless providers including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are among the big interest groups.

It’s such a thorny maze to navigate that Congress gave up trying and let the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction off radio spectrum expire. New dynamics make it more likely an agreement can be reached this time around.

Majority Republicans are looking for ways to bring in money to help pay for, among other things, renewing tax cuts scheduled to end. Senate aides say a radio spectrum auction could bring in around $100 billion.

Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Seddiq he’s already working with House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) on options for reviving the lapsed spectrum law, including using the budget reconciliation process as a fast-track vehicle. Read More

Next on the Confirmation Track: Loeffler for SBA

Look for another of President Donald Trump’s nominees to get the Senate’s OK today: Kelly Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration.

There’s a little more uncertainty about Trump’s choice to lead the Labor Department, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whose nomination gets a hearing in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee today.

She probably needs the support of a Democrat on the panel since Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he’d oppose the former Oregon congresswoman over her past support for union-friendly legislation.

Bloomberg Government subscribers, check out Congress Tracker for more of what’s ahead on Capitol Hill.

Maiming the Mortgage Goose

Two numbers policymakers watch to gauge how the economy’s doing will be refreshed today with the latest on home-building and mortgage applications.

Those updates come as reporter Courtney Rozen, who’s tracking the upheaval of the federal workforce, scoops that the Trump administration is planning to lay off at least 40% of the workers at the Federal Housing Administration, which is one of the largest mortgage insurers in the world.

FHA backs loans for buyers who have enough income to pay monthly mortgages but not the cash for the size of a down payment that banks prefer. Those transactions generate billions for the US Treasury; one staffer described the agency as the goose that laid the golden egg.

Kasey Lovett, spokesperson for HUD Secretary Scott Turner, said the description of staff-cut plans isn’t accurate; she declined to elaborate. Read More
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