Washington DC

With the threat to tax exempt municipal bonds looming in a Congress searching for pay-fors, private activity bonds supporting hospitals and higher education are high on the list of potential first targets.

Texas investor John Kleinheinz now controls Texas Central, which has spent more than a decade trying to build the Dallas-to-Houston high speed train.

The MSRB's rate card RFI and municipal fund securities will be among agenda topics at next week's quarterly board meeting.

"Settlor's remorse" is no justification for upsetting a settled order, SEC says.

Rep. French Hill and committee leaders urged House Ways and Means to protect tax-exempt municipal bonds as Congress gears up to tackle tax policy.

The Senate's move to rely on an untested accounting method for the reconciliation bill contributes to the lack of clarity around future deficits, the ratings agency said.

Congress leaves town for a two-week recess without settling a financial dispute with the District of Columbia over which budget they are allowed to use as the mayor's financial team announces plans to exercise a 2009 law that will boost a supplemental budget by 6%.

Draft reconciliation bill text could be released within the next few weeks, said Brett Bolton, vice president of federal legislative and regulatory policy at the Bond Dealers of America.

Harvard University braved the most volatile market in years this week to price a $750 million taxable deal. Princeton is hot on its heels. 

The vote advances a closely watched tax package.

In a 52 to 44 vote Wednesday, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of President Trump's pick to lead the SEC.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee announced a new bill that would restore the power of applying tariffs back to Congress amidst accusations of market manipulation and political ineptitude by the Trump administration.

The Bond Buyer took the pulse of municipal bond market pros to see what they are doing and advising in the midst of the volatility driven by President Trump's shifting tariff policies.

Some congressional Republicans are concerned taxpayers aren't getting a good return on their investment in transit, as lawmakers gear up for work on a new transportation bill.

Stocks surged moments after Trump's announcement of the 90-day pause for most countries on high tariffs he announced last week that have roiled markets.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is reintroduced in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support to increase the development of affordable housing by leveraging private activity bonds and loosening restriction on Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Municipal market advocates believe it won't take many muni bond "champions" to protect the financing tool.

Midwest market participants and researchers say the loss of the municipal bond tax exemption could cost the region's many smaller issuers market access.

Airport executives pushed lawmakers for streamlined funding, a boost in the passenger facility charge, and preserving tax-exempt bonds.

Washington, D.C.'s ability to spend the money in its approved budget remains in doubt as a congressional recess looms, though President Trump signaled support.