December 2015 - Page 2 of 2

Financial Services Report

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Thornrun

Our Take
As we start the first day of Hanukah and are well into the Christmas season, it is worth noting that we are also seeing the height of the annual kabuki ritual that is the congressional appropriations negotiation process. For the uninitiated it goes something like this. The majority party make their first budget offer. The minority party then retort that it is the most offensive thing they have seen and not a serious attempt at negotiation. Both sides continue to talk and eventually reach a deal that infuriates the wings of each party.

Now, fifty weeks into 2015, the first session of the 114^th Congress may wrap up this week as members appear eager to leave town. However, in order to get in before the current funding bill runs out on Friday, a couple of provisions, including riders dealing with reg relief, the DOL Fiduciary rule and a some environmental policy initiatives still need to be worked out.

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Health Policy Report

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Thornrun

The Week in Review

Two major legislative packages that were negotiated for months made their way through the Senate last week, one being the conference report to the bipartisan highway funding bill (H.R. 22) and the other being the highly partisan budget reconciliation measure (H.R. 3762) that would defund Planned Parenthood and dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On Thursday, Senators approved the conference report to the highway funding bill (H.R. 22) by a vote of 83-16; previously, the measure had sailed through the House by a vote 359-65. With the Highway Trust Fund’s spending authorization expiring last Friday at midnight, the bill was quickly ushered to the White House for President Obama to sign it into law. The five-year, $305 billion measure reauthorizes the collection of the 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax that is typically dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund and adds $70 billion in miscellaneous pay-fors, including tapping surplus funds from the Federal Reserve and eliminating an annual dividend banks get for owning shares of Fed regional banks. Additionally, the bill included a renewal of the Export-Import Bank’s charter through the 2019 fiscal year, ending a months-long debate over the bank after its charter expired in June.

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Today on the Hill: Education and Highways Conference Reports in the House; Reconciliation Bill in the Senate

Posted on December 2, 2015August 8, 2023 by Thornrun

Congress will begin on a bipartisan note this morning as the House is set to vote on the broadly backed conference report to reauthorize elementary and secondary education programs. The report to H.R. 5 would replace the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and give significantly more power to the states in setting educational standards. House lawmakers will also be reviewing a conference report to the long-negotiated highway funding bill (H.R. 22) that now provides $305 billion over five years for the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The measure will be paid for by tapping surplus funds from the Federal Reserve and eliminating an annual dividend banks get for owning shares of Fed regional banks. Additionally, the conference report would also renew the Export-Import Bank’s charter, ending a months-long debate over the bank after its charter expired in June. House-Senate agreement on the measure paves the way for consideration later this week, beating the Friday deadline for re-authorizing the Highway Trust Fund’s spending authority.

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