Congress will attempt to wrap up work on several outstanding issues this week before adjourning for the Independence Day Recess next week.
The July 1st deadline on Student-Loan rates is looming and the interest rate is set to rise in 7 days unless Congress is able to reach an agreement. As of now, there does not appear to be an agreed-upon path forward by both parties.
The Senate is working towards achieving bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill and plans to vote on it by the end of the week. One of the last points of contention is the securing of the US-Mexico border. The bill’s sponsors are striving for 70 yes-votes on the bill – an ambitious task when several conservative Republicans have already indicated their intention to vote down the legislation.
The House is also working on a piece-meal immigration reform package and is set to mark up a high skilled visa bill this week that would increase the number of H-1B visas available.
The FY14 Agriculture Appropriations bill is up for a vote in the House this week. The bill allocates $19.5 billion in discretionary spending – $1.3 billion less than FY13 levels.