Short Term CR through December 16

Posted on December 10, 2015

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday released a five-day continuing resolution (CR) that would keep federal agencies operative through midnight on December 16^th. The stopgap would provide omnibus negotiators with additional time to strike a deal on a $1.1 trillion agreement to close out fiscal 2016. Both chambers must pass the resolution by the end of the day Friday (December 11^th) to extend current budget authority and avoid government shutdown.

It appears that December 16^th was the shortest possible extension needed to finish appropriations work that’s still left, but the tight turnaround time runs the risk of another stopgap being needed.

Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the year on December 18^th. While lawmakers say funding levels for agencies have largely been settled, a tax extenders package and “40 to 42” policy riders are still being negotiated, including language related to campaign finance, labor regulations, abortion, treatment of Syrian refuges, and environmental regulations.

Members will be in session tomorrow, but not over the weekend. Depending on the progress of negotiations, members will convene on Monday or Tuesday.

December 11th Deadline Looming

Posted on November 30, 2015

The House and Senate return to Washington, DC today after a weeklong break for the Thanksgiving holiday. They are expected to be in session for approximately 15 days, giving them limited time to finish work on an several critical pieces of legislation, including an omnibus bill before the current continuing resolution expires on December 11^th. But that omnibus is still mired down by issues such as addressing any last-minute funding requests for security after the Paris terrorist attack, resolving disputes on potential policy riders such as the treatment of Syrian refugees, and potentially blocking funding for Planned Parenthood.

All of these issues and others related to EPA regulations and water rights have some DC insiders speculating that lawmakers will miss the December 11^th deadline and instead approve another short term CR – possibly running through March 2016 or even the end of the fiscal year on September 30^th.

Before the Thanksgiving recess, congressional aides insisted that they would finish the omnibus by December 11^th. The next few days may determine whether appropriators can still meet that deadline.

FY 2016 Clock is Ticking

Posted on November 23, 2015

Congress is in recess this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, but not all is quiet in Washington, DC. On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande is visiting the White House in the wake of the Paris Attacks. At the Capitol, the clock is still ticking for deadlines on reauthorizing highway and transit programs and an FY 2016 omnibus spending bill. The coming days will be critical in determining whether appropriators will be able to strike another $1.1 trillion government-wide spending agreement. But national security concerns following last week’s Paris attacks and disagreement over whether or not to allow Syrian refugees to enter the U.S. add another major layer of complication to the negotiations. Lawmakers will return from their Thanksgiving break with just two weeks to reach a deal before the December 11^th deadline when the current continuing resolution runs out. Read more here.

The refugee dispute is only one of a host of controversial policy provisions, known as riders that could doom speedy passage of the omnibus bill. Among the contentious riders yet to be resolved is a fight over whether to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, a measure to block EPA water regulations, the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, and e-cigarette regulations. Even if the fights over riders can be resolved, funding levels remain in doubt, particularly after the Paris attack, which could trigger new spending requests for defense, homeland security or intelligence.

But this week will be quiet with most action taking place behind the scenes as appropriators continue to negotiate a final bill.

Senate Passes Budget Around 3 am

Posted on October 30, 2015

The Senate cleared a bipartisan budget and debt limit accord early Friday morning which would send the legislation to the President’s desk. Roughly 72 hours after it was unveiled and buying roughly two years of relative budgetary stability after months of partisan sniping on spending, the Senate passed HR1314 shortly after 3 am. The House passed the measure Wednesday evening.

Just after 3 am, the upper chamber passed the deal by a vote of 64-35, roughly 90 minutes after voting to cut off debate on the legislation. Eighteen Republicans voted in favor of final passage, including Senate GOP Leadership, while 35 Republicans voted against the measure. Forty-four Democrats and two independent senators who conference with Democrats backed the package. See the vote total here.

The budget deal would raise discretionary spending caps for defense and nondefense accounts by $80 billion above the sequester level for fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017 and suspend the debt limit until March 15, 2017. The increased discretionary spending is offset with cuts to various entitlement programs and revenue raisers.

The President announced his support earlier this week.

Senate Approves Budget Deal, Sends to President to Sign

Posted on October 30, 2015

Just after 3:00am Eastern, the Senate approved the two-year budget deal that the House agreed to on Wednesday without changes. With the deal headed to Obama’s desk — where he’s expected to sign it — lawmakers will now turn their attention to passing either 12 individual spending bills or one large omnibus bill.