Senate Breaks for August After Nominations Stalemate

Both chambers of Congress will reconvene for legislative business this afternoon while government funding talks off the floor continue. With less than two weeks left to avert a funding lapse, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) are expected to meet today to continue negotiations on another continuing resolution (CR), as well […]

The Senate will reconvene today to continue work on presidential nominations as negotiators deliberate next steps in the Congressional appropriations process. While Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) work to clinch a spending agreement that would avert a funding lapse, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicated yesterday that […]

The Senate will convene for legislative business later this afternoon and will return its attention to clearing the presidential nominations queue. For today, the upper chamber will vote on the nomination of David Tapp to be a Judge on the Court of Federal Claims, and will look to end debate on the nomination of Danielle Hunsaker to be […]

With 17 days left to avert a government shutdown, Congressional appropriators are ramping up spending negotiations as the Nov. 21 funding deadline approaches. In addition to a continuing resolution (CR) that would likely punt the government funding deadline until mid-December, negotiators are also working to broker an agreement on subcommittee allocations for each of the […]

Senate Democrats are set to force a vote on a measure they contend is a referendum on GOP support for pre-existing conditions protections. The Congressional Review Act resolution would overturn the Trump administration’s guidance on “State Relief and Empowerment Waivers” under section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — a policy that Democrats argue undermines […]

Senators are continuing work on a four-bill minibus containing fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills for Agriculture, Interior-Environment, Commerce-Science-Justice, and Transportation-HUD. After adopting an amendment that would designate $5 million of the Agriculture Department's appropriated funds to be used for a loan program to help farmers resolve land ownership issues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed cloture […]

House and Senate lawmakers will reconvene later today to close out the October legislative session. In the upper chamber, Senators will pick up debate on their first fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations package, starting with consideration of three amendments to the underlying bill. While the Senate had originally planned to take up a second minibus […]

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 […]

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 — […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]