The Archive

Thank you so much for joining our Punchbowl News event with Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) yesterday.

Smith discussed his race for chair of the Ways and Means Committee and the panel’s priorities going into 2023. Afterward, Joe Moroney, partner, head of sustainable finance and co-head of global corporate credit at Apollo, joined Anna and Jake for a fireside chat about the importance of private capital in the economy.

The conversation was the final event in a three-part series, “Investing in Tomorrow, Today,” presented by Apollo Global Management.

Key takeaways from our conversation with Rep. Smith:

→	Smith sounded bullish about his chances of becoming the next Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee.

As one of the most important committees on Capitol Hill, three Ways and Means Republicans are in the midst of an intense campaign for the gavel.

Smith is facing off against Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, a wealthy Sarasota-based lawmaker, and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.). Smith has been on the committee for several years and touted his experience growing up in a Missouri trailer park when discussing his populist mindset.

Here’s what Smith said about how he’d approach the role:

→	Smith sees a “51% chance” of Congress agreeing to a bipartisan deal on tax extenders.

Extending certain tax breaks is a time-honored tradition of the lame duck. Of particular interest for lawmakers and corporate America this year is the research and development tax break.

Smith wants a deal but warned that Democrats were at risk of overplaying their hand by pursuing last-minute tax priorities before they lose control of the House, including the expansion of the child tax credit. This is a huge priority for Democrats and one they say they must get in exchange for an extender package.

More on that from Smith:

→

Smith said Republicans and Democrats could hammer out a compromise on a permanently enhanced child tax credit – if Democrats embrace a work requirement for the program. Many Democrats have pushed back against the idea but it has been embraced by some moderates, most notably Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

First introduced in the American Rescue Plan, the expanded child tax credit has been a sore spot for lawmakers since Congress allowed the provision to expire earlier this year.

More from Smith:

→	Smith said that Kevin McCarthy will “absolutely” become the next speaker.

We’ve spilled plenty of ink covering McCarthy’s campaign for speaker, and it’s no secret that the California Republican has been dealing with detractors within his caucus.

But Smith downplayed McCarthy’s challenges to get 218 votes come January, telling us that “over 200 people” would undoubtedly support him.

Here’s an exchange between the Missouri Republican and Jake:

Additional takeaways from Joe Moroney:

→	Moroney said that key changes in the American financial system since 2008 – including a pullback in bank lending and a surge of non-bank lending – was good for balancing systemic risk.

The global financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent reforms passed by Congress in 2010 ushered in huge changes to the U.S. economy and shook banks’ grip on lending sectors they’d dominated for centuries.

And while some U.S. policymakers have warned about the risks of pushing too much financial activity from banks into the less regulated non-bank sector, Moroney said there was a clear upside:

Moroney also shared insights into how Apollo is thinking about the business landscape around climate-related finance and lending.

This is a hot button issue on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have become increasingly strident around the steps some financial institutions are taking to incorporate climate change and social responsibility into their business.

Here’s Moroney on the scale of investment that will be required to make the global economy carbon neutral in the coming decades:

Watch the full conversation here.

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Team Punchbowl News

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