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Month: January 2024

Momentum Builds for House Tax Vote This Week

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners
House Republican leadership is expected to press forward with a vote on a bipartisan package of business and family tax reforms this week. According to Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act — which contains provisions around the Child Tax Credit (CTC), research and development (R&D) expensing, disaster relief, and more — will come up for consideration under suspension of the rules prior to the end of the week, possibly as soon as tomorrow. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Ways and Means Committee at a markup earlier this month, and leadership expects a similar outcome when the bill hits the floor. However, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has still yet to make a formal announcement regarding when the bipartisan tax package will be called up as the GOP conference navigates disagreements over the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. Notably, Members of the New York and New Jersey delegations have vowed to oppose the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act absent changes to the $10,000 cap.
— SENATE RETURNS AS SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING TALKS CONTINUE. The Senate will be back in session for pending presidential nominations while the chamber awaits word on a possible bipartisan supplemental funding package. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), are hoping to produce legislative text for a supplemental appropriations package that includes foreign aid and border security at some point this week. However, it remains to be seen whether this forthcoming agreement can earn the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate. A bipartisan supplemental funding bill also appears to be “dead-on-arrival” in the Republican-controlled House.

The Latest on FY 2024 Government Funding

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders made important progress toward a March 2024 government funding deal late last week, but much work remains ahead. Notably, Chairs Kay Granger (R-TX) and Patty Murray (D-WA) struck an agreement on funding allocations — otherwise known as 302(b)s — for all 12 spending bills in fiscal year (FY) 2024. The allocations, which have yet to be posted publicly as of this writing, will allow appropriators to write, finalize, and pass funding bills during the February work period. Depending on the overall level of bipartisan cooperation during this process, a March 2024 funding deal could be used to carry other pending legislative efforts around health care, tax, and more. The funding deadline for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, and Transportation-HUD will run through March 1, with everything else — including Labor-HHS-Education — funded through March 8.

Both chambers will be in session this week, starting with the House today and the Senate tomorrow. On the House side, lawmakers are waiting to see whether a bipartisan package of business and family tax reforms will be called up by leadership for a vote at some point this week. Text for the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act — which passed the Ways and Means Committee with near-unanimous support at the markup earlier this month — was posted to the schedule under items that “may be under consideration,” suggesting that House GOP leadership has yet to make a decision as to whether the bill will come up.
  • Meanwhile… A bipartisan group of senators, including Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), are hoping to produce legislative text for a supplemental appropriations package that includes foreign aid and border security, but it remains to be seen whether this forthcoming agreement can earn the 60 votes needed for passage. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has also characterized the contours of the deal as “dead-on-arrival” in the Republican-controlled House.

Senate GOP Huddles on Supplemental Funding Package

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Senate Republicans met yesterday to discuss a path forward on supplemental funding for foreign aid and border security as negotiations on a bipartisan deal continue behind the scenes. According to reports out of Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) cast doubt on whether an agreement would come to fruition, especially given the opposition from both House Republicans and former President Donald Trump — the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. As Senate Republicans continue their internal deliberations on how to proceed, the lead negotiators for the package — Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) — are continuing their efforts to finalize bill text for consideration as soon as next week. Lingering disagreements over asylum and parole policies, as well as figuring out how much money to allocate toward broader border policy changes, are among some of the last remaining holdups.

TRP Ranks Among Top Lobbying Firms in POLITICO’s 2023 Rankings

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Thorn Run Partners is proud to officially rank among the nation’s top 10 federal lobbying firms for 2023 according to POLITICO Influence — a leading government affairs beat in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2010, TRP has consistently ranked among Washington’s “fastest-growing” and “top performing” lobbying firms according to analyses from POLITICO, Bloomberg Government, The Washington Post, The Hill, and others.

 

“Earning a spot in POLITICO’s Top Ten is a point of pride for everyone at our firm, and we are tremendously grateful to our wonderful clients for their continued confidence and trust,” said TRP co-founders Chris Lamond and Andy Rosenberg. “We look forward to another year of continued growth and success.”

House May Vote on Bipartisan Tax Bill Next Week

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners
House leadership took a step toward consideration of a bipartisan tax package on the floor next week. Notably, text for the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act — which passed the Ways and Means Committee with near-unanimous support at the markup last Friday — was posted to the schedule late yesterday under items that “may be under consideration” next week as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues his discussions with the GOP conference on how to proceed. If the speaker decides to move forward with a vote, the package is expected to come up under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority voting in favor of expedited passage.
  • What to watch for. According to the latest intel from Capitol Hill, the speaker could be short on votes from members of the New York and New Jersey delegations who are pushing for changes to the $10k state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. Meanwhile, the proposed tax changes are also running into resistance from some Senate Republicans, including Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), who have raised concerns about the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Employee Retention Credit (ERC) policy changes. Nevertheless, Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) will continue his efforts with Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) to navigate existing concerns within both parties and get the bill passed in both chambers, possibly as a rider to a sweeping March 2024 funding package.

New CR Buys More Time on Sweeping 2024 Funding Deal

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners
Congress has successfully provided appropriators with additional time to finalize and pass all 12 spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2024 after passing another two-tiered continuing resolution (CR) last week. Depending on the overall level of bipartisan cooperation between the two sides, key policymakers will also be pushing for the inclusion of several pending legislative efforts, including the Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act, which passed the Ways and Means Committee on Friday with strong bipartisan support. Lawmakers are also pushing for a sweeping health care package that would re-up pandemic preparedness and opioid support programs, as well as address bipartisan priorities on Medicare physician pay, price transparency, telehealth, and more.
— THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS. The Senate will return for legislative business today to hold a procedural vote on the nomination of Christopher Koos to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. While the chamber continues to churn through nominations, a bipartisan group of senators will resume their efforts to produce a supplemental funding package that includes foreign aid funds along with border security policy changes. If a deal comes together, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could file votes as soon as this week. Meanwhile, the House will be out this week and is slated to return on Monday, January 29.

Congress Punts Government Funding to March

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners
Congress has successfully managed to avoid another government shutdown after passing another two-tiered continuing resolution (CR) during yesterday’s session. Upon President Joe Biden’s signature later today, the funding deadline for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, and Transportation-HUD will run through March 1, with everything else funded through March 8. The extra runway provides appropriators with additional time to finalize and pass all 12 spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Depending on the overall level of bipartisan cooperation between the two sides, key policymakers will also be pushing for the inclusion of several pending legislative efforts, including the Tax Relief for American Workers and Families Act, which is currently being marked up by the Ways and Means Committee. Lawmakers are also pushing for a sweeping health care package that would re-up pandemic preparedness and opioid support programs, as well as address bipartisan priorities on Medicare physician pay, price transparency, telehealth, and more.
  • Next week in Congress… The Senate will return for legislative business on Monday to hold a procedural vote on the nomination of Christopher Koos to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. While the chamber continues to churn through nominations, a bipartisan group of senators will resume their efforts to produce a supplemental funding package that includes foreign aid funds along with border security policy changes. If a deal comes together over the weekend or early next week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to file votes during next week’s session. Meanwhile, the House will be out next week and is slated to return on Monday, January 29.

Congress on Track to Pass CR Today

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners
Congress is on track to move the upcoming government funding deadlines into March during today’s session. Late yesterday, Senate leadership locked in a “time agreement” that queues up a series of amendment votes prior to the final up-or-down vote on the continuing resolution (CR). With bad weather forecasted in Washington tomorrow, the House will move to consider the CR under suspension of the rules upon passage in the Senate today, sending the stopgap to President Biden’s desk for signature. Upon enactment of the CR, funding for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, and Transportation-HUD will run through March 1, with everything else funded through March 8.
— THE LATEST ON SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING. A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators are hoping to unveil a deal on the long-anticipated supplemental funding bill this week ahead of possible floor action soon. According to reports from Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Democrats yesterday that the forthcoming package — which is expected to include border security funds and policy changes along with buckets of foreign aid — will be brought to the Senate floor for consideration next week. However, this time frame could shift, as Leader Schumer noted that bill text still needs to be written and properly vetted. While the Senate is close to hitting paydirt after months of arduous negotiations, House Republicans are maintaining their position that the GOP’s Protect the Border Act (H.R. 2) must be included in its entirety in order for additional foreign aid to pass the chamber. As such, the prospects of the supplemental package are unclear absent movement from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) toward a bipartisan agreement.

Two-Step CR Hits Bipartisan Glidepath in Senate

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Both chambers will meet for legislative business today as Congress races to pass another continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a partial shutdown later this week. Notably, the Senate advanced the legislative vehicle that will carry the stopgap funding measure during yesterday’s session on a bipartisan basis. Senators will now resume their discussions on reaching a “time agreement” to speed things along, but some amendment votes could be needed to ensure cooperation among the entire 100-member body. On the House side, lawmakers will consider a suspension bill out of the Ways and Means Committee that seeks to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention before moving onto a resolution that criticizes the Biden administration’s policies at the U.S.-Mexico border.

  • Supplemental Update. House and Senate leadership will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House later this afternoon to discuss the state of talks regarding funding for Ukraine and border security policy changes. While a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators are hoping to unveil a deal on the long-anticipated supplemental funding bill this week, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Republicans have maintained their insistence that the GOP’s Protect the Border Act (H.R. 2) must be included in its entirety in order for additional foreign aid to pass the chamber. In addition to opposition from congressional Democrats and the White House, Senate Republican leadership has pushed back on the notion that H.R. 2 would receive the requisite votes needed for passage, both now and in a potential GOP-controlled Senate in 2025. As such, we’ll be watching to see if there’s any notable movement in border and foreign aid talks as a result of today’s White House meeting.

Congress Moves to Extend Government Funding into March

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

With Congress far behind on the appropriations process prior to this Friday’s deadline, Congressional leadership formally introduced another continuing resolution (CR) over the weekend that would extend both government funding deadlines into March. The stopgap funding bill would set a deadline of March 1 for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, and Energy-Water, with everything else — including Labor-HHS-Education — funded through March 8. Lawmakers will now race to pass this stopgap prior to the end of the week, and bipartisan cooperation will be vital toward avoiding a partial shutdown in a short period of time.

  • Next Steps. The Senate is set to act first on the CR this week, and leadership will be seeking a “time agreement” to expedite the process so that Congress does not brush up too closely to the deadline. While the stopgap is likely to pass with strong bipartisan support, some politically-tricky amendment votes could be needed to ensure cooperation among all 100 senators to speed things along. Upon passage in the Senate, it is anticipated that House leadership will bring up the CR under suspension of the rules later this week.

 

  • Health Update. In addition to extending government funding, the CR contains extensions for various expiring health care priorities. These extensions include: (1) community health centers, teaching health centers, and the National Health Service Corps; (2) special diabetes programs; (3) a delay of certain disproportionate share payment cuts; (4) Medicare’s work geographic index floor; and (5) the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education program. The stopgap does not address a range of other health care priorities that need to be addressed early this year, including various opioid and pandemic preparedness programs that are due for extensions. To that end, look for health care leaders in Congress to continue their efforts to craft a sweeping health care package that could carry these aforementioned policies, as well as other bipartisan efforts around Medicare physician pay, price transparency, and more.