Author: Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

Congress closed out a productive six-week work period last week with final votes confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Supreme Court Justice, as well as a pair of bills that would implement further economic sanctions and restrictions on Russia. Lawmakers have now adjourned for a two-week state work period and will return from the holiday break during the week of April 25. When Congress returns, leadership will be pushing for a deal to pass the $10 billion Bipartisan COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act (text; summary), as well as legislation that would provide roughly $55 billion for restaurants and other “hard hit” small business industries. However, policy disagreements over immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and funding for global health initiatives will need to be ironed out before a path forward emerges. 

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers of Congress will be in session this week for a busy legislative work period, headlined by the release of President Joe Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request. The President’s request is expected to be formally unveiled later today, with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young set to testify before the House and Senate Budget Committees to field inquiries from lawmakers on the request. Congressional appropriators are expected to ramp up their appropriations activities in the coming weeks once the budget is released, starting with a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday featuring Secretary Xavier Becerra to review the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) FY 2023 budget request.

Capitol Hill Update

The Senate will convene for legislative business this week eyeing action on a procedural vote that would jumpstart the conference committee process on the bipartisan technology research and innovation package. This procedure will involve taking up the House’s America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (America COMPETES) Act (H.R. 4521), making changes to the underlying text, and subsequently sending the bill back to the lower chamber. House lawmakers would then need to formally “disagree” to the Senate’s changes, which would allow for the opportunity for lawmakers in both chambers to go to conference and develop a compromise version.

Capitol Hill Update

Late last week, the Senate passed [68-31] a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package (text; summary) after reaching an agreement on amendment votes to the underlying legislation prior to final passage. The omnibus now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature, which will likely occur early this week. President Biden signed a brief four-day continuing resolution (CR) head of last Friday’s funding deadline to provide more time for agencies to review the 12-bill omnibus. While the spending package includes the White House’s supplemental funding request to support Ukrainian military and humanitarian efforts, it does not include additional funding for pandemic response efforts due to last-minute disagreements over funding offsets.

Capitol Hill Update

House and Senate appropriators are pushing to finalize an omnibus spending deal for fiscal year (FY) 2022, but they may need beyond next Friday’s deadline to complete their work. While the “four corners” leaders are reportedly on the cusp of completing the 12-bill spending package, a last-minute White House request for supplemental funding to support Ukraine and address pandemic-related areas of need has complicated the appropriations talks. Specifically, GOP senators have been opposed to additional COVID-19 relief money, instead pushing for a review of how much unspent pandemic relief funds remain.

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers will kick off the March legislative work session today as lawmakers face another lengthy list of legislative priorities — headlined by the March 11 government funding deadline. Appropriators have expressed optimism that the two sides are close to reaching an omnibus spending deal for fiscal year (FY) 2022, which will likely include the White House’s $6.4 billion request for supplemental appropriations to support Ukraine. Assuming Congress can pass an omnibus spending deal and avoid another continuing resolution (CR), lawmakers are expected to promptly shift gears toward the FY 2023 appropriations process this month.

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers of Congress have adjourned for the President’s Day district work period after the Senate passed the short-term government funding bill last week. Appropriators will have until Friday, March 11 to complete their work on an omnibus spending package for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Reports out of Capitol Hill suggest that each appropriations subcommittee has received its specific topline allocation, but the full list of 302(b) funding numbers has not been made publicly available yet. 

Capitol Hill Update

The Senate will reconvene for legislative business today eyeing action on legislation that would implement a series of reforms to the U.S. Postal Service. Specifically, the Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 3076) would, among other things: (1) provide USPS with $50 billion in additional funding over 10 years; (2) require future retirees to enroll in Medicare; and (3) establish a Postal Service Health Benefits program for USPS employees and retirees. While the House-passed bill is expected to clear the Senate with strong bipartisan support, timing on a final vote could slip due to a last-minute disagreement between leadership and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) over a technical change to the legislation.

Capitol Hill Update

Late last week, House lawmakers passed [222-210] the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (America COMPETES) Act (text; fact sheet; section-by-section). The roughly $350 billion technology research and innovation package would provide $52 billion toward domestic semiconductor production, as well as $45 billion to bolster domestic supply chains and manufacturing efforts. Looking ahead to next steps, leadership in both chambers could offer a motion to go to conference and produce a final compromise version that blends the America COMPETES legislation and United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) as soon as this week. While leaders are hopeful to reach a deal within 30 days, House and Senate conferees will need to navigate a series of policy differences between the chambers’ respective bills before a firm path forward emerges.