Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re eager to hit the museum circuit again. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL—Judge agrees to leave CDC eviction pause intact for now: A federal judge on Friday agreed to delay the enforcement of her ruling earlier this month that struck down a nationwide freeze on evictions, handing a temporary reprieve to cash-strapped renters.
- In a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich agreed to stay her earlier decision, which invalidated the nationwide freeze on evictions that was put in place by federal health officials amid the pandemic.
- The move allows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium to remain intact while the Biden administration appeals her May 5 decision.
The rationale: In granting the emergency stay, Friedrich said the CDC’s “strong interest in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and protecting public health” outweighed other factors, including the potential loss of revenue to landlords. The Hill’s John Kruzel breaks it down here.
The background: Enacted in September, the CDC order was designed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus by helping financially distressed tenants remain in their homes instead of forcing them into homeless shelters or other crowded living spaces. The eviction pause was later extended through June.
Delaying the enforcement of her earlier ruling “will no doubt result in continued financial losses to landlords,” Friedrich, a Trump appointee, wrote Friday. “But the magnitude of these additional financial losses is outweighed by the Department’s weighty interest in protecting the public.”
LEADING THE DAY
Infrastructure deal imperiled by differences on financing: President Biden and Republican lawmakers say they’re making progress on an infrastructure package but still disagree on one key area: how to pay for it.
Biden said he was encouraged after meeting with top congressional leaders about the infrastructure deal on Wednesday, but the meeting didn’t delve into financing for the package. The president met Thursday with Republican senators but again suggested the discussion would focus on the scope of the package.
The snag:
- Biden has suggested paying for the plan through an increase in the corporate tax rate, an idea against which Republicans have drawn a hard line.
- The White House has in recent days signaled a subtle but important shift in its willingness to pay for a package through means other than a corporate tax hike.
- But aside from corporate taxes, there are few other proposals for how to pay for an infrastructure deal: user fees through a gas or mileage tax, or passing it without a way to pay for it and opting for deficit spending.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels walk us through the issue here.
April retail sales flat following March surge: Retails sales in April remained virtually unchanged from March, according to census data released Friday, a significant drop off following the major 10.7 percent surge the previous month.
- Retail sales came in at $619.9 billion, slightly higher than March, but falling short of the 1 percent rise economists had expected.
- The March growth in retail sales was fueled by $1,400 stimulus checks, though additional payments have continued to trickle out in April and May.
Despite the unexpected stall in growth, the latest figures are significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, which reached $525.8 billion in February of last year, before the pandemic shuttered the economy. The Hill’s Niv Elis breaks it down here.
ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Tuesday:
- The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on China’s Belt and Road initiative at 10 a.m.
- A House Small Business subcommittee holds a hearing on community development financial institutions at 10 a.m.
- The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program at 10 a.m.
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee holds a hearing on paid family leave at 10 a.m.
- A Senate Commerce subcommittee holds a hearing on reviving international travel to the U.S. at 3 p.m.
Wednesday:
- Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Jelena McWilliams, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chair Rodney Hood, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu testify before the House Financial Services Committee at an oversight hearing at 10 a.m.
- The House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on paying for infrastructure investments through the tax code at 10 a.m.
- A House Appropriations subcommittee holds a hearing on global climate finance at 10 a.m.
- IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on tax enforcement at 2 p.m.
Thursday:
- The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on expanding economic opportunity through infrastructure investments at 10 a.m.
GOOD TO KNOW
- The House on Friday passed bipartisan legislation to ensure that workplaces provide reasonable accommodations for employees dealing with pregnancy or childbirth.
- Lawmakers unveiled Friday a $1.9 billion supplemental appropriations bill to address security weaknesses exposed in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
- Gas shortages in the Southeast are likely to linger for several days as a result of panic buying sparked by the recent outage of the Colonial Pipeline.
- Walmart and Trader Joe’s no longer require customers and employees to wear face masks inside of its stores if they are fully vaccinated.
ODDS AND ENDS
- Five takeaways from new CDC guidance on going maskless
- Security guards at Amazon’s Bessemer, Ala., facility had keys to a mailbox that the company recommended workers use to vote in the unionization election earlier this year, a worker at the facility alleged during a National Labor Relations Board hearing Friday.