In the News

Good Thursday morning. BULLETIN at 5:05 a.m.: “LONDON (AP) - Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip will no longer carry out engagements starting this fall.” THINGS ARE FINALLY LOOKING GOOD FOR THE GOP HEALTH CARE BILL. They’ve announced a vote, and most of the time, that’s a good sign for the majority. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters yesterday that they “have enough votes” to pass the American Health Care Act, along with an $8-billion boost for high-risk pools, secured by Reps... Read more

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford has informed House Republican leaders and the White House that he is comfortable with the health care legislation they've been touting. "Barring any further changes that I am not aware of, I would expect to vote 'yes' on it if it comes to floor this week," he said. "There's a lot of good things in here." The Republican from Jonesboro opposed an earlier version of the American Health Care Act; he was the only House member from Arkansas to do so. He portrayed it as fiscally... Read more

Republicans muscled their health care bill through the House on Thursday, taking their biggest step toward dismantling former President Barack Obama's health care overhaul since Donald Trump took office. They won passage only after overcoming their own divisions that nearly sank the measure six weeks ago. Democrats insisted Republicans will pay at election time for repealing major provisions of the law. They sang the pop song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" to the GOP lawmakers as the end of th... Read more

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman was the only member of the Arkansas congressional delegation to vote against the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that passed the House on Wednesday. U.S. Reps. Steve Womack, Rick Crawford and French Hill all supported the legislation, which will keep the government funded through September. Womack, who serves on the House appropriations committee, called the spending package a "reasonable, though not perfect, compromise." The Republican from Rogers said he was pleas... Read more

House Financial Services Committee Republicans May 3 turned aside several Democratic attempts to preserve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s power, while considering a wide-ranging Dodd-Frank overhaul bill that would limit the bureau’s authority. Committee Democrats further dragged out preliminary steps to advance the legislation, offering amendments later in the day that would require analysis of President Donald Trump’s tax returns and whether he stands to benefit from its passage. Pan... Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fair Access to Investment Research Act this week, legislation that would ease the way for brokers and dealers to share research with potential clients about an increasingly popular type of investment. Read more

Jim Jordan, House Freedom Caucus founder, says he hopes Congress will vote on health care this week and that President Trump resonates because he has conservative principles with populist tones. Prior to that, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Ira Jersey says the Fed wants to shrink the balance sheet. Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University, says China could be doing more about North Korea because it’s North Korea’s economic lifeline. Arkansas Congressman French Hill discusses the health-care vot... Read more

The U.S. House approved a bill that would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide a safe harbor for research reports that cover exchange traded funds (ETFs). The Fair Access to Investment Research Act (H.R. 910) addresses anomalies in securities laws and regulations that discourage broker-dealers from publishing research on ETFs. It was sponsored by U.S. Reps. French Hill (R-AR) and Bill Foster (D-IL). Since they were introduced in the 1990s, ETFs have grown to over 1,500 ... Read more

More than 200 supermarket industry CEOs and senior executives from nearly every state have converged on Capitol Hill to discuss federal policies affecting their businesses at the annual Day in Washington fly-in. Members of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the National Grocers Association (NGA), and the Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) sat down with legislators to talk about tougher market competition, the transparency made possible by debit swipe fee reform, and tax code reforms th... Read more

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would reduce obstacles to research on exchange traded funds and registered investment companies. “As the ETF market continues to grow, this bill's common sense clarifications will allow broker/dealers to produce more research on ETFs, providing consumers with greater access to information and fueling capital formation and job creation,” said Kenneth Bentsen Jr., president and CEO of SIFMA, in a statement. The Fair Access to Investment Research... Read more