Month: October 2019

The Senate is set to resume debate on a $214 billion minibus containing fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations bills for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD. While Senators originally aimed to clear the spending package this week, consideration of the measure is expected to bleed into next week as leadership has not reached an agreement on which amendments will receive a vote on the floor. In other key spending news, Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) stated yesterday that lawmakers will likely need to pass another continuing resolution before the Nov. 21 government funding deadline as negotiations continue to lag. Chairman Shelby speculated that the next stopgap would fund the government through February or March of next year.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Senate Picks Up Debate on First Minibus”

Senators are poised to begin consideration of a $214 billion spending package containing fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding bills for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD later today. While the four-bill measure is expected to pass the upper chamber at some point prior to the end of this week, movement on the upper chamber’s second minibus — which will include the Senate’s spending bill for Defense as well as funding for the opioid crisis — could be stymied by disagreements over President Donald Trump’s plan to divert military funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Prior to consideration of the first spending package, the Senate will take up a Democratic resolution that would repeal an IRS and Treasury Department rule that blocked states from creating workarounds to the 2017 tax law’s limit on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Senate Begins Debate on Four-Bill Minibus”

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released a four-bill spending package ahead of the upper chamber’s first fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding votes. The first Senate “minibus” will include the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD spending measures — all of which were approved by the Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis. While Democrats plan to support the first package, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) noted that Democrats still hold reservations about other bills — specifically the spending measures for Defense, Military Construction-VA, Homeland Security and Labor-HHS-Education — due to disagreements over “poison pill” issues such as border security and family planning.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Senate to Jumpstart Approps Process with Four-Bill Package”

Congress returns to action today as Senators gear up for their first fiscal year (FY) 2020 government funding votes on the floor. Prior to adjourning last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed cloture on motions to proceed to two House-passed spending packages that will serve as “shell” legislative vehicles for spending bills that have cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee. While Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) indicated that the first package could include the measures for Transportation-HUD and Agriculture, Leader McConnell stated that the second vehicle would be dedicated for defense funds, as well as "resources for other priorities such as the opioid epidemic."

Continue reading “This Week on the Hill: Senate Eyes First FY 2020 Appropriations Floor Votes”

Following the passage (354-60) of a resolution aimed at rebuking President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, House lawmakers are readying action on a pair of measures dealing with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures. For today, the lower chamber will take up legislation that would mandate the SEC to conduct investor testing and surveys when developing regulations about disclosures for retail investors. The second bill — which would require the disclosure of the total number of domestic and foreign employees of certain public companies — is expected to be considered tomorrow to close out the week.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: House Begins Work on SEC Measures”

Despite resetting the government funding deadline to provide more time for negotiations, House and Senate appropriators have indicated that fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending talks remain deadlocked. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) stated yesterday that lawmakers may need to take up another stopgap funding measure to keep the government funded through the remainder of the year if an agreement isn’t reached before the Nov. 21 deadline. While Chairman Shelby and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) have both expressed the desire to move spending bills through regular order, “poison pill” issues such as border security and family planning policies could stymie the appropriations process for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Shelby Indicates Spending Negotiations Remain Sluggish”

Congress returns to action today as lawmakers gear up for a three-week work session. With 28 legislative days left on the 2019 congressional calendar, House and Senate appropriators are expected to continue negotiations on subcommittee allocations for each of the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending measures. If they reach an agreement, they could begin “pre conferencing” the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills ahead of the Senate’s votes on the floor. However, disagreements over the Trump administration’s border security and family planning policies — as well as the recent developments on impeachment — could complicate matters for FY 2020 government funding bills.

Continue reading “This Week on the Hill: Lawmakers Return As End-of-Year Legislative Sprint Looms”