Author: Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

The House clinched a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda late last week, sending the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to his desk for signature. The measure was buoyed with support from 13 House Republicans, while six progressive lawmakers — who have pushed for action on the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) — joined the remainder of the GOP conference in opposition. The President plans to sign the measure at a signing ceremony later this week. For additional details on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, click here to read TRP’s comprehensive analysis.

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (11/8)”

Capitol Hill Update

Both chambers of Congress cleared another short-term funding measure for federal surface transportation programs as Democrats again failed to reach consensus on a path forward for President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. Despite renewed optimism that the bipartisan infrastructure deal would pass last week, Democratic lawmakers did not fully coalesce behind an updated framework for the President’s Build Back Better Act (BBBA) — a prerequisite for progressives’ support for the Senate-passed infrastructure deal. With a new surface transportation deadline of December 3, Democrats have effectively reset the “shot clock” on floor timing for both the Senate-passed infrastructure deal and reconciliation package — thus providing additional wiggle room for last-minute negotiations and tweaks. 

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Capitol Hill Update

Negotiations on floor action for both the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) are expected to continue throughout this week as Democratic leadership looks to broker a path forward on President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. The White House is pushing an ambitious goal of floor consideration for both of these items at some point prior to the end of the week — especially given the looming October 31 deadline for federal surface transportation funding. While both moderates and progressives agree with leadership’s sentiment that they must act fast, it remains to be seen whether the two sides can resolve their differences ahead of this key deadline.

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Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers will convene for legislative business today eyeing action on a short-term debt limit increase. Late last week, the Senate passed a short-term debt ceiling increase that would provide lawmakers with more time to strike a broader agreement. With less than a week left until the October 18 “X date,” Senate leadership brokered a bipartisan agreement that would hike the debt limit by $480 billion, thus punting the debt limit to December 3 and giving the Treasury Department more wiggle room to avert a default. Despite this brief flash of bipartisan cooperation, the two sides still remain far apart on a long-term solution on the debt ceiling. While the House will also be in for a series of Committee Work Days this week, the Senate has adjourned for a state work period and will resume voting on Monday, October 18.

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Capitol Hill Update

Democratic leadership has brokered a new deadline for action on both the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the fiscal year (FY) 2022 reconciliation package amid lingering disagreements between progressives and moderates. Progressive Members pushed back against a vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure legislation due to a lack of progress on reconciliation, derailing last week’s schedule and causing a temporary lapse in funding for federal surface transportation programs that were originally tacked onto the infrastructure bill. Lawmakers now have until Sunday, October 31 to iron out an agreement on a path forward for the Biden-endorsed infrastructure deal and the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) after Congress passed a monthlong funding measure to address the expired surface transportation funding.

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Capitol Hill Update

Congress will reconvene for a pivotal week of legislative business that will likely shape the future of President Joe Biden’s term. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is pressing forward on a plan to bring both the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the fiscal year (FY) 2022 reconciliation package to the floor for votes this week, emphasizing in a “Dear Colleague” letter that both of these items are “must-pass.” The House Budget Committee approved the $3.5 trillion framework over the weekend as Democratic leadership looks to shore up support on a path forward with both the progressive and moderate flanks of the party. However, lingering disagreements over these big-ticket measures still have the potential to derail progress depending on how intraparty negotiations pan out.

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Capitol Hill Update

The House will convene for legislative business this week as lawmakers look to address a series of key policy issues, including keeping the government funded past the September 30 deadline. Lawmakers are scheduled to consider a continuing resolution (CR) that is widely expected to fund the government into December, providing Congress with more time to iron out a broader funding agreement for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Also, on the House floor this week, Members will take up the chamber’s version of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as well as a measure that seeks to create new federal protections on abortion rights. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to primarily focus on confirming President Joe Biden’s pending judicial nominees.

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Capitol Hill Update

The House will gear up for another week of budget reconciliation markups this week as Democrats look to clear each of their respective bills by Wednesday’s deadline. Members on the House Ways and Means Committee are slated to mark up the tax portion of the reconciliation package — which includes revenue boosting measures pertaining to the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, drug price negotiation, and clean energy tax incentives — on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, the House Financial Services Committee is slated to consider $327 billion worth of housing-related policies in its reconciliation instructions at a markup today. 

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Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers are set to convene for another week of committee work, with the bulk of this week’s activities focusing on reconciliation markups. The House Ways and Means Committee will kick off its four-day markup on Thursday, along with the Committees on Education & Labor, Science, Space & Technology, Small Business, and Veterans’ Affairs. Members on Ways and Means are scheduled to resume their work on Friday, with the Agriculture and Homeland Security Committees set to hold reconciliation markups as well.

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Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers will meet for “Committee Work Days” this week as key committees of jurisdiction are scheduled to begin crafting legislative language that conforms to the fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget resolution’s instructions. Members will kick off markups of their respective portions of the reconciliation package next week — starting with the Natural Resources and Oversight & Reform Committees on Thursday. While a formal announcement from each committee is still forthcoming, the currently anticipated markup schedule is as follows:

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (8/30)”