The Latest on the Government Shutdown

In this age of twitter, where everyone can be a pundit, yelling into that that ever-growing social media echo chamber it is important to remember that if politics is passion, then governing is math.  And the math still matters.  So while the media continues its codependent cycle with the President or jumping from hot take to hot […]

House lawmakers cleared (284-149) the sweeping budget package (text; summary) yesterday, addressing both the federal borrowing limit and budgetary spending caps prior to leaving for the six-week August recess. The Senate is scheduled to follow suit early next week, as the upper chamber will need to hit the ground running in September on the 2020 appropriations process. […]

Lawmakers are set to strap in for another busy day of legislative business both on and off the floor. In the lower chamber, House lawmakers are expected to pass the compromise budget deal (text; summary) later today, addressing key fiscal deadlines ahead of the six-week August recess. The deal provides for a $321 billion boost in federal spending […]

Congressional leaders and President Donald Trump have struck a compromise budget deal (text; summary) that would address pressing deadlines for the federal debt ceiling and budgetary spending caps. The deal provides for a $321 billion boost in federal spending over the next two years, with $738 billion for defense spending and $632 billion for non-defense in fiscal […]

White House and Congressional leaders are still working to finalize details of a sweeping budget deal that would address the debt ceiling and budgetary spending caps. Reports suggest that both sides are zeroing in on a deal that would include spending offsets that total less than the administration’s $150 billion demand, as well as a […]

The Week in Review Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced last week that the White House and Congressional leaders have agreed on terms for a sweeping budget deal that would address spending levels for fiscal years (FY) 2020 and 2021 and the debt ceiling. According to Mnuchin, Congressional leaders agreed to offset the increased spending limits […]

After three insanely busy weeks, this next week looks to be at a more humane pace with only a handful of hearings of relevance to the Financial Services industry.   On Tuesday the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on Cannabis in the banking industry, as proponents of cannabis banking continue to advance their […]

Congress has adjourned for the week as negotiations on a sweeping budget deal continue behind the scenes. Despite reaching a general agreement on the framework for the deal, talks are still ongoing over specific numbers, offsets, and structural issues. Late yesterday, the White House gave House Democrats an extended list of $574 billion in offset […]

House lawmakers will reconvene this morning to begin a busy day of legislative business. In addition to legislation authorizing appropriations for U.S. intelligence operations and a resolution holding key administration officials in contempt of Congress, Democratic leadership has queued up a bipartisan bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) so-called "Cadillac” tax. Designed to curb incentives […]

The White House and Congressional leaders are continuing negotiations on a sweeping budget deal that would address budgetary spending caps, the debt ceiling, and fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations. Despite indications of progress from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the dwindling summer floor time — coupled with the slow pace […]

Both chambers of Congress will return to action this afternoon. When the House gavels in first, lawmakers will begin consideration of 14 suspension bills out of the Foreign Affairs and Small Business Committees. This includes: (1) a measure amending the Small Business Act to require cyber certification for small business development center counselors; (2) legislation […]

The Week in Review House lawmakers completed work on the lower chamber’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passing the $733 billion measure to end last week’s work session. Prior to final passage, the House tacked on several provisions— including: (1) repealing the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF); (2) preventing the Trump administration from deploying troops to the U.S.-Mexico border; and (3) requiring Congressional authorization […]