Senate members propose bipartisan IRS reform bill

Policy Watch

• Senate members proposes bipartisan IRS reform bill. On Thursday, a pair of bipartisan lawmakers (Sens. Rob Portman [R-Ohio] and Ben Cardin [D-Md]) on the Senate Finance Committee proposed legislation to overhaul areas of the IRS with provisions aimed at improving protections for taxpayers and helping low-income Americans. The bill is designed to complement a bipartisan IRS bill that the leaders of the Finance Committee unveiled last week. Lawmakers in both parties have been interested in making improvements to the IRS so that it better helps taxpayers. [The Hill]

• House GOP leadership divided on Rosenstein’s impeachment. Efforts to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein by House conservatives has divided GOP leadership, thereby creating an issue that could become an early indicator for the race to replace retiring Speaker Paul Ryan. On Thursday, Majority Whip Steve Scalise said that he would vote in favor of impeaching Rosenstein if the resolution were brought to the floor today. [The Hill]

  Economic News

• After hitting a 48-year low, Jobless Claims rise. The Jobless Claims index indicated that, in the week ending with July 21, the number of initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 217,000. This climb is after initial jobless claims had hit a 48-year low the previous week. On Thursday, the government said that the average claims fell by 2,750 to 218,000. The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 1.75 million as well [MarketWatch]

• Durable-goods orders remain strong. In June, the durable-goods orders rose by 1%, its first increase in three months. This is, however, below the anticipated figure of 3.8%. The government said that orders, minus transportation, rose by 0.4%. This is excluding defense, which rose by 1.5%. [MarketWatch]