Shutdown Averted… For Now

Posted on December 8, 2017

Both chambers of Congress cleared yesterday another short-term spending package that would keep the government funded through December 22. The old spending agreement ends at midnight Saturday.

Although the government remains funded for another two weeks, there still is no agreement on many of the unresolved issues that will need to be addressed before a final package for FY2018 can be adopted. These include questions about whether to break the budget caps, and if so, how much and for which sets of programs. Questions also remain on whether or how to address the DACA/”Dreamers” situation, which must be dealt with by March.

It appears at this point that another short-term extension will be needed beyond the 22nd.

House Considering Two-Week Spending Extension

Posted on December 7, 2017

The House is currently debating a measure to keep the federal government open for another two weeks. The current short-term package expires after tomorrow and another extension is needed by then to prevent large parts of the government from shutting down. The two-week extension, through December 22, would buy negotiators additional time to reach an agreement on a final funding package for FY2018, which started October 1.

A number of issues remain unresolved with respect to FY2018 spending, such as: the lack of an agreement on the overall amount of funding that will be available for the fiscal year; whether another short-term extension will be needed after the 22nd; the lack of an agreement on how much, or whether, to spend more on both domestic and defense discretionary programs; and, whether an increase in spending would only be for defense program.

DHS Pick Confirmed

Posted on December 6, 2017

The Senate confirmed yesterday by a vote of 62 – 37 Kirstjen Nielsen to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She replaces John Kelly, who resigned from that position to become the White House Chief of Staff. She served most recently as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff under Kelly. She also worked for Kelly before joining the White House staff as his chief of staff at DHS.

Read more about her here, here, and here.

Another Short-term Funding Measure Unveiled

Posted on December 4, 2017December 4, 2017

On Saturday, the House leadership unveiled a short-term spending bill that would keep the government funded through December 22. Because none of the 12 annual spending bills have been signed into law for FY2018, which started October 1, a continuing resolution (CR) was needed to keep the government open at current levels until negotiations over funding could be completed. The current CR expires at midnight, December 9. The new CR is designed to allow negotiators to make further progress on FY2018. Several Congressional leaders are acknowledging that another CR, beyond the one that would run through the 22nd, will likely be needed.

At this point, there is no agreement on how much money overall is even available for the federal budget in FY2018, making decisions on the size of each individual bill even more difficult to reach. Without a compromise on a total spending level for FY2018 that would increase the current budget caps in place, both defense and non-defense programs would see cuts below the FY2017 levels.

Republicans will need help from Democrats to pass this short-term CR but it is far from assured that the Democrats will support it.

Senate Approves Its Tax Bill; Conference Awaits

Posted on December 4, 2017

Early Saturday morning, the Senate approved by a vote of 51 to 49 its version of the tax overhaul bill. In the end, Bob Corker (R-TN) was the only Republican to join all Democrats in opposing the legislation.

The Senate leadership was making last-minute changes to the bill to win over a number of possible Republican holdouts, including Susan Collins (ME), Jeff Flake (Arizona), Ron Johnson (WI), and Steve Daines (MT). Democrats complained about the process that was to used to draft the original bill as well as the one that was used to make changes, including arguing that amendments were being written in by hand at the last minute.

The two chambers of Congress must now work out the differences between the two versions of the bill. The House is expected to formally call for a conference later today.