TRP Financial Services Report

Once again Democrats were smirking as Republicans appeared to wage civil war, this time over the decision to renew the charter for the Export-Import Bank. All Art Vandelay jokes aside, the debate over the Ex-Im bank once again has shown the schism in the Republican party, and how there are really three parties in Congress – Republican, Democratic, and Tea Party. While it looks like both sides may be able to claim victory in this instance by kicking the can down the road for a few years, it is worth noting that we continue to witness similar battles and results on other issues. As a result, more and more items are being added to the lame duck agenda, and it is shaping up to be a very busy November and December in our nation’s Capital – the only question is will there be enough runway to get all things done.

The House and Senate are in recess this week. Further down the road, the Senate Appropriations Committee continues to mark up bills, with Financial Services, Interior, Labor – Health and Human Services, and Energy Water potentially on the docket in July. So far only the Defense bill has been formally scheduled, with a vote to occur on July 17th. Also, the House Financial Services Committee may mark up Congressman Luetkemeyer’s bill to end Operation Choke point as early as the first week back from the recess. Moreover, rumors continue to circulate that the Senate will take up TRIA before it leaves for the August recess.

The full edition of this week's Thorn Run Partner's Financial Services Report is available here.