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.

What we’re reading this week, November 27 – December 1

Posted on December 1, 2017

Here are some of the articles we’re reading this week.

Death of the MBA – U.S. graduate business schools — once magnets for American and international students seeking a certain route to a high income — are in an existential crisis. They are losing droves of students who are balking at sky-high tuition and, in the case of international applicants, turned off by President Trump’s politics. Read more from Axios.

Who run the world? – As a college education becomes increasingly important in today’s economy, it’s girls, not boys, who are succeeding in school. For kids from poor families, that can make the difference between social mobility and a lifetime of poverty. Read more from The Atlantic.

Countdown to shutdown (maybe, probably not) – President Donald Trump raised the odds of a government shutdown next month, tweeting that his differences with Democratic leaders over immigration policy could prevent a deal on a year-end spending package. Read more from The Hill.

House GOP tax plan and grad students – Many Ph.D. students studying science, technology, engineering and math receive tuition waivers. That means their tuition is covered, and that money isn’t taxed as long as the student does research or teaches for the university. Read more on CNN.

Read between the tax bill’s lines – infrastructure! The tax code overhauls being pushed by congressional Republicans might not sound like infrastructure bills, but they contain many provisions that could have a big impact on the ability of states and localities to pay for public works improvements. The proposed plans include major changes to financing roads, ports and airports, as well as state programs related to electric vehicles and wind energy. Read more from Governing.

Senate Continues to Work on Tax Bill

Posted on December 1, 2017

The Senate continues to work on its version of the tax bill. With a number of Republican Senators raising concerns about a host of issues with the bill, the Republican leadership has tried to address them throughout this week. Late yesterday, the chamber was informed by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Tax that the bill would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt, even after using a scoring methodology favored by the supporters of the bill.

The legislation continues to be changed on the floor.

Tax Bill Reported Out by Senate Committee

Posted on November 28, 2017

By a party line vote of 12 to 11, the Senate Budget Committee reported out earlier this afternoon a legislative package that combines a tax bill and a measure that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Although the bill was approved by the committee, whether it has enough votes to pass the full chamber at this point remains to be seen.

The full Senate is scheduled to take up the bill later this week, with a vote possible on Thursday.