Unconfirmed rumors are that Ted Mitchell will be nominated as the next US Under Secretary of Education, replacing Martha Kanter. Mitchell is currently the CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund and the former President of Occidental College. While Kanter’s career has focused on higher education issues, Mitchell’s background is more focused on K-12 issues. The White House has not yet confirmed this information.
News and updates
Shutdown Over but Fiscal Issues Remain
The most recent fiscal crisis has been resolved, government is reopened, and the nation’s debt limit has been raised sufficiently to cover our bills. But that doesn’t mean that the broader fiscal issues aren’t still front and center. The next budget fights and political battles are beginning to take shape as all sides are now focusing on a “balanced” year-end budget deal – or grand bargain. Lawmakers are preparing for the first budget conference committee in four years with our own US Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) leading the charge for the Senate. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will take the lead for the House. The big question for that conference committee is whether they can even agree on how to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget measures – a difference of $91 billion. Neither side has yet agreed to using reconciliation.
The reconciliation process allows for adding instructions to a budget resolution that direct conference committees to submit legislation changing existing law, including tax and budget laws, with specified savings and spending targets. It also allows for that legislation to bypass Senate filibusters.
Regardless, the recent history of budget negotiations suggest it will be difficult to overcome the obstacles that have held back budget agreements for the past four years.
Welcome Back, Federal Government!
The metro was packed this morning, traffic was slow, and DC was once again busy with activity – all welcome signs that the Federal Government is open as a couple hundred thousand federal employees made their way into work for the first time since September 30th.
The Senate released a last minute deal yesterday afternoon and subsequently voted 81-18 in favor of passing the legislation. The House pulled through with a late-night vote of 285-144 and sent the bill to the President’s desk for signature shortly after midnight last night.
The key parameters of the deal are:
- Extends spending through January 15th at current levels
- Raises the debt ceiling enough to fund the government through February 7th
- Healthcare subsidies for Members and Staff
- Furloughed workers will get back pay
- Established a budget conference committee that must report out a spending plan to both chambers by December 13th
Also included in the bill are: $2.2 billion in appropriations for a Kentucky River project, $450 million in flood recovery funds for Colorado, a death benefit payment to the widow of late Senator Frank Lautenberg, a bump in funding for a handful of government agencies, and a provision stating that there will be no cost of living adjustment for members of Congress next year.
Of course, this is all just a short-term fix, and we could easily find ourselves facing a shutdown and threat of default again in January.
Shutdown: Day 16 and Default Looming
Negotiations broke down (again) yesterday as the House GOP leadership failed to find enough support among their caucus to move forward two separate proposals to end the shutdown and raise the nation’s debt limit. All eyes are on the Senate as they resume negotiations. The tentative deal under discussion in the Senate would reopen the government by extending current funding levels of $986 billion through January 15th, lift the debt ceiling until February 7th, and start a budget conference with instructions that it report a broader budget deal by December 13th. The December date is significant because it would give Congress time between now and then to negotiate a broader budget agreement to potentially modify or end sequestration before the next round of cuts are scheduled to hit in January.
The deal being discussed is expected to contain a single change in the 2010 health care law: stricter efforts to verify the income of individuals who apply for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The proposal would also allow the Treasury Department to use extraordinary measures when approaching a future debt limit. And finally there is support in both parties for a provision that would give agencies more flexibility to implement future sequestration cuts rather than just applying those cuts across-the-board.
Meanwhile, financial markets and credit ratings agencies are monitoring the action on Capitol Hill for any signs of a standoff that could lead to default. There is great uncertainty over when exactly the Treasury Department would run out of money if there is a default. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said the government would only have $30 billion in cash on hand beyond Thursday to meet obligations.
Shutdown & Debt Limit: Two Chambers, Two Competing Proposals
While discussions are happening and proposals are beginning to take shape, there still is not a clear solution that will reopen the government or raise the debt ceiling before we hit the current limit on Thursday.
Senate leaders have been negotiating a deal for the past couple of days and appeared to be somewhat close to bringing it to the floor for a vote. Harry Reid described Tuesday as a “bright day”. That process and optimism was abruptly halted today when the House GOP announced that they were introducing their own plan to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Not surprisingly, the House and Senate plans are rumored to differ in some key ways which offers challenges in finding common ground with both chambers and getting something passed in the next 36 hours.
The Senate bill is thought to contain a short term plan to reopen the government and extend the debt limit while forcing bipartisan talks for a longer term solution. The House legislation includes a similar plan, but also tacks on certain Obamacare related provisions. The Senate has put their talks on hold to see what the House does next – although democrats and the White House have already openly dismissed the GOP plan. House Republicans are expected to bring their bill to the floor sometime this evening, although the latest news is that they are having trouble finding the votes in the their own part to pass the bill.