–Senate Leaders Push Tactical Votes On Obama, Rep. Ryan Budget Plans
–Vice President Biden To Resume Budget Talks On Tuesday
–House Ways and Means Panel To Hold Hearing On Corporate Tax Reform
–House Financial Services Subcommittee To Take Up Bill on Derivs Reg

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – In a move that is only likely to exacerbate the
partisan divide on fiscal issues on Capitol Hill, the Senate will vote
this week on budgets drafted by House Republicans and President Obama.

But as an indication of the partisan slant of the votes, it is
Senate Democrats who are pushing for a vote on the House Republican’s
fiscal year 2012 budget and Senate Republicans who are vowing to bring
up Obama’s FY’12 budget.

The Senate budget votes could occur as early as Wednesday

The most important fiscal event of the week will be the reconvening
Tuesday of the budget talks that are being chaired by Vice President
Biden.

So far, Biden has held three rounds of talks with congressional
leaders to explore a deficit reduction package that might be developed
to coincide with this summer’s vote on debt ceiling legislation.

Biden is negotiating with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate
Minority Whip Jon Kyl, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan
Inouye, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Assistant House
Minority Leader Jim Clyburn and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat
on the House Budget Committee.

The administration is represented by Biden, Treasury Secretary Tim
Geithner, White House budget director Jack Lew and the director of the
National Economic Council Gene Sperling.

Kyl, the Senate Republican representative to the Biden talks, said
last week that there is a general agreement in the talks on about $150
billion in savings. This is a considerable sum but well below the
“trillions” in reductions that congressional Republicans want as a
condition for voting for an increase in the debt ceiling this summer.

In other matters this week, a subcommittee of the Senate Banking
Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. ET on how
derivatives clearinghouses will work. A host of think tank and academic
witnesses will testify.

The full Banking Committee will hold a hearing Thursday at 10 a.m.
ET on the future of the housing finance system. Representatives of
various trade associations will testify.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold separate hearings this week
on the U.S. trade agreements with Panama and Korea. The Finance panel
will examine the Panama accord on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET and the Korea
pact on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a mark up Tuesday
at 10 a.m. on legislation that would delay implementation of derivatives
regulation that was created by last year’s Dodd-Frank law.

One subcommittee of the House Financial Services panel will hold a
hearing on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on reform of government-sponsored
enterprises while another subcommittee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. ET
Wednesday on the future of the Federal Housing Administration.

Yet another subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee will
hold a hearing Thursday at 9:30 a.m. on the FDIC.

The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday at 2
p.m. on how other nations have reformed their international tax regimes.

The full House will take up legislation related to veterans
programs this week as well as the defense authorization bill.

The Senate will vote on the Obama and Ryan budgets after first
considering legislation to expend the Patriot Act, the 2001
anti-terrorism law.

Also this week, the Peterson Foundation is hosting a fiscal summit
Wednesday. Speakers include Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent
Conrad, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Whip
Dick Durbin, former President Bill Clinton and others.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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