Month: July 2024

Lawmakers will return to Washington on Monday to kick off the July work period. In the House, the primary focus will be clearing fiscal year (FY) 2025 government funding bills that have been reported out of the Appropriations Committee, starting with the Legislative Branch measure next week. The panel will also hold full committee markups for the six remaining spending bills: Labor-HHS-Education, Agriculture-FDA, Transportation-HUD, Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS), Interior-Environment, and Energy-Water Development.

Meanwhile, The Senate Appropriations Committee is set to begin marking up its FY 2025 spending bills next week, starting with the bills for Agriculture-FDA, Military-Construction-VA, and Legislative Branch. The panel will also take up the Senate’s 302(b) subcommittee allocations during next Thursday’s markup. Looking ahead to additional floor activity this month, consideration of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is likely to occur before the chamber gavels out for the August state work period. We’ll also be watching to see if Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) schedules votes on the Smith-Wyden tax bill, cannabis banking and/or legalization, rail safety, or other “messaging” bills that align with Senate Democratic campaign priorities.

Last week, House lawmakers passed three fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending bills to close out the June work period. The House has now passed four of its twelve spending bills for FY 2025: Military Construction-VA, Defense, Homeland Security, and State-Foreign Operations. Appropriations committee activity and floor action will resume on the House side during the July work period, including further consideration of the Labor-HHS-Education and Agriculture-FDA funding bills. Meanwhile, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that the committee will begin marking up the FY 2025 spending bills when the chamber gavels back into session following the Fourth of July state work period.