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Author: Thornrun

TRP’s Richard White Comments on Possible Changes to the Tax Code

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In a Biz Philly article entitled 5 Concerns Philly Business Leaders Have about the 2016 Election, Thorn Run Partner’s Richard White weighs why none of the Presidential or congressional candidates have a finalized tax plan. “They’re politicians, and they’re putting out what will appeal to the base,” he says. The article notes that it is difficult for businesses to fully align with candidates because their plans keep changing. “What was discussed in January is not what they are talking about now, and what they’re talking about now is not exactly what they’ll move forward with if elected,” the article says.  “The plans are also vague, so we have to look to how these candidates have voted before.”

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TRP Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

A Friday announcement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over Hillary Clinton’s emails as Secretary of State has shifted the narrative in the presidential campaign, which has spent much of the last month focused on controversies within Donald Trump’s campaign. FBI Director James Comey wrote to inform Congress it had discovered more emails related to its investigation of her use of a private email server, which were discovered in the FBI's separate investigation of former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. While no information has been released on the content of those emails, the development has allowed Trump to go on the offensive.

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TRP Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review

In a week dominated by headlines about Donald Trump’s bawdy remarks and Hillary Clinton’s leaked emails, both candidates appear to be focused more on driving up the unfavorability of their opponents than driving a positive message in the campaign’s final weeks. Several Congressional Republicans rescinded their support for Trump last week, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and John McCain (R-AZ), who are up for reelection in closely-watched races. Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told House Republicans on a conference call last Monday that he’s done defending Trump and will focus on maintaining his party’s House majority. While the first major poll (NBC/WSJ) released following last Sunday’s debate shows Clinton with a 10 percent lead nationally, the race will be won in a handful of battleground states – some of which are showing polling that is decidedly closer than at the national level. Keep an eye out for our thrice-weekly updates, ‘Today on the Trail,’ for a closer look at what’s happening on the campaign trail.

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review  

In a presidential debate on Sunday night that focused on personality more than policy, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump briefly addressed their competing healthcare proposals in response to a question on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Clinton said she would take steps to build on the ACA, and urged against repealing the law in order to maintain its popular protections, such as barring insurers from not offering coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health plans until 26.

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Rosenstock: Veep Debate Preview, What about Wall Street?

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In today's "Morning Money," Politico quoted Thorn Run Partner's Jason Rosenstock on tonight's Vice Presidential debate and whether the candidates are likely to discuss Wall Street. “The main purpose of a vice presidential debate is to show the voters an insight into the candidates' decision making process," Rosenstock says. "To the extent that any issue resonates, and Wall Street and banking issues could be one of them, it will likely be passing at best. People expecting fireworks from the debate – either rhetorically or via policy announcements- are going to be disappointed.”

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Health Policy Report

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The Week in Review  

A bipartisan deal ensuring that funding for Flint, Michigan’s water crisis will be handled during the lame duck session allowed lawmakers to quickly approve a continuing resolution (CR) last week maintaining current levels of government funding through Dec. 9, plus packages to provide Zika virus response and flood aid to Louisiana and other states affected by natural disasters. Some Democrats continued to object that the Flint crisis should be handled in the CR, but most were assured that the Michigan city would ultimately receive at least $170 million in federal aid through the Water Development Resources Act. The Senate passed the bill (H.R. 5325) 72-26 before the House sent the measure to the president’s desk on a 342-85 vote. The remaining holdouts mostly consisted of conservative lawmakers who had wanted a longer-term CR to avoid negotiating an omnibus in the lame-duck session.

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Today on the Hill: Appropriations, Cures to Headline Lame-Duck Session

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With Congress officially out of session until Nov. 14, policymakers are looking ahead to the legislative action that will unfold after the dust settles from Election Day. The recently-passed continuing resolution (CR) (H.R. 5325) expires on Dec.9, meaning that lawmakers will need to either pass eleven appropriations bills, an omnibus combining those eleven measures, or a series of “minibuses” that bloc certain combinations of spending bills to make them more palatable to members.

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Today on the Hill: Congress Dashes Into Recess After Approving CR Last Night

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A bipartisan deal ensuring that funding for Flint, Michigan’s water crisis is handled during the lame-duck session allowed lawmakers to quickly approve a continuing resolution (CR) maintaining current levels of government funding through Dec. 9, plus packages to combat the Zika virus and send flood aid to Louisiana and other states affected by natural disasters. Some Democrats continued to object that the Flint crisis should be handled in the CR, but most were assured that the Michigan city would ultimately receive at least $170 million in federal aid through the Water Development Resources Act. The Senate passed the bill (H.R. 5325) 72-26 before the House sent the measure to the president’s desk on a 342-85 vote. The remaining holdouts mostly consisted of conservative lawmakers who had wanted a longer-term CR to avoid negotiating an omnibus in the lame-duck session.

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Financial Services Report

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Our Take
While the 2016 Presidential election has felt like it has been going on for an entirety, hopefully it will all be over soon (though perhaps not soon enough).   Since the beginning, we have been arguing that the 2016 race will be seen as the “Facebook election” meaning that for the first time the majority of individuals are screaming into the echo chamber that is social media.  However, we want to tweak that analysis by adding that this election may also be seen as the first time that the broader public should no longer trust media polling.

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Today on the Hill: Dems to Block McConnell’s CR Due to Exclusion of Flint Aid

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After a fiery presidential debate last night, the Senate convenes today for a key vote on the continuing resolution (CR) proposed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to fund the government through Dec. 9. Democrats, including Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), are expected to vote against the measure in an effort to increase pressure on Republicans to include assistance to help Flint, Michigan clean up its contaminated water supply. While some Senate Republicans have countered that Flint aid is included in the recently-passed Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), Democrats insist that the funding should be included in the must-pass spending bill. The minority party has also taken issue with language that would extend a rider from last year’s omnibus blocking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from completing a rule forcing public companies to disclose their political donations.

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