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Category: Administration

Obama Signs CR, Everyone Now Focuses on Campaigning

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Today, President Obama signed the much debated and negotiated continuing resolution into law. The CR will fund the government until December 9th and will fully fund the FY 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs programs. It further includes $1.1 billion in Zika response funding, $500 million for flood relief in Louisiana and other states.

The CR was cleared by the House on Wednesday night on a 342-85 vote and earlier in the day was passed by the Senate, 72-26.

The legislation extends government funding until December 9, which is when lawmakers are expected to be in Washington for a lame-duck session after the election. The passage and enactment allows the House and Senate to focus on political campaigns for the month of October.

Late Votes, Last Minute Save

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With almost two days to spare, the House passed a 10-week stopgap spending bill, passed by the Senate earlier today, that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of this week. The measure passed the House by a vote of 342-85.

As previously mentioned, the measure generally provides continued funding for federal government operations through December 9 at existing levels. There were FY 2016 adjustments for FY 2017, including increase funding to address the opioid epidemic. The measure also provides $500 million in emergency supplemental funding for initial disaster response efforts to severe flooding in Louisiana and other states. It provides $1.1 billion in supplemental funding for activities in response to the Zika virus, including $933 million in domestic funding and roughly $175 million in international funding, with approximately $400 million of the total being offset. Finally, the CR provides full-year FY 2017 appropriations for military construction and for the VA Department, and is identical to the Military Construction-VA appropriations agreement reached in June between House and Senate conferees.

The White House earlier today announced its support for the CR/Zika package.

With that, the House and Senate have voted to keep the government open and operating until December 9th. The bill goes to the President’s desk to be signed, and Congress leaves town to go get reelected.

 

White House Announces Support for CR

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Following the Senate’s passage of the CR, the White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) in support of the CR. While the SAP does express concerns and desires for what is or should have been included, the White House does express support for the overall legislation.

Read the SAP here. 

White House Announces Opposition to Overtime Rule Delay

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Today the White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) regarding President Obama’s intent to veto HR 6094, the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act, should the measure be presented to him. HR 6094 would delay implementation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules until June 1, 2017, and may go to the House floor for a vote this week. While the title of the bill suggests the delay would impact a small segment of employers, the bill would delay the entirety of the overtime rule.

As a refresher, the new DOL overtime rule increases the threshold under which most salaried employees are eligible for overtime from $23,660 to $47,476 per year. The Administration’s SAP can be viewed here.

Senate Pushes CR Off Until Monday

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After a week of declarations and revisions, the Senate has postponed their consideration of a CR until Monday. Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle conceded they are not prepared to wrap up negotiations this week.

Congressional leaders and appropriators have been working on the funding bill since coming back into session earlier this month. The key sticking points appear to be language in the Zika conference report that would restrict which clinics in Puerto Rico can receive additional funding and an exemption for certain types of mosquito spraying under the Clean Water Act. Those objections caused Democrats to block the $1.1 billion Zika funding bill in the Senate in June.

In addition to Zika funding, numerous lawmakers have requested that emergency spending, including money for Flint’s lead-contaminated drinking water problem and Louisiana’s recent flooding. The White House sent a $2.6 billion emergency funding request to Congress on Tuesday and Louisiana Members are pushing for at least some of that money to be added to the CR.

While the Senate has, so far and continues to, lead the discussions around a CR and many expect McConnell to move legislation through his chamber first, beginning with procedural vote Monday night. House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) said he reserved the right for the House to move a bill to the floor before the Senate, but with the House leaving early Thursday afternoon, such a move seems unlikely.