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Looking Ahead Near Term Congress has till Wednesday to resolve differences over the remaining issues — ranging from Syrian refugees to oil exports — that continue to be the impediment to passing a bill to fund the government for the remainder of FY16. Debate and discussions also continue around the tax “extenders” package, including whether […]

This week will test the ability for Democrats and Republicans to work through their differences towards compromise as lawmakers rush to complete a $1.1 trillion spending measure to fund the government and a package of tax breaks before the winter recess. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said the text of a broader omnibus spending […]

The Week in Review The government was set to shut down last Friday, but the passage of a very short-term continuing resolution bought Congress five more days to resolve differences over issues ranging from taxes to Syrian refugees that stand in the way of funding the government through next September. The measure (H.R. 2250), which will […]

With highway funding and reconciliation settled, Congress is geared to begin a busy legislative week. Lawmakers will only have five days to complete an omnibus package funding the government beyond current funding’s expiration on December 11. The text of a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill may be posted today, which would allow the House to take […]

Our Take As we start the first day of Hanukah and are well into the Christmas season, it is worth noting that we are also seeing the height of the annual kabuki ritual that is the congressional appropriations negotiation process.  For the uninitiated it goes something like this.  The majority party make their first budget […]

The Week in Review Two major legislative packages that were negotiated for months made their way through the Senate last week, one being the conference report to the bipartisan highway funding bill (H.R. 22) and the other being the highly partisan budget reconciliation measure (H.R. 3762) that would defund Planned Parenthood and dismantle the Affordable […]

Congress will begin on a bipartisan note this morning as the House is set to vote on the broadly backed conference report to reauthorize elementary and secondary education programs. The report to H.R. 5 would replace the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and give significantly more power to the states in setting […]

The Week in Review  The House and Senate were on recess last week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Both chambers are scheduled to return to Washington tomorrow. 

Our Take Last week a bipartisan bill, H.R. 1737, which had been reported out of the Financial Services Committee with a majority of Democrats in support, passed the House by a vote of 332-96. (more on this bill below)   By all accounts, this bill should be hailed as an example of how Congress should […]

The Week in Review After the shocking terrorist attacks in Paris, political discourse in Washington centered on crafting an appropriate response and whether any policy changes should be made regarding the Syrian refugees already set to come to the United States. Many Republicans, joined by some Democrats, expressed fear that members of the Islamic State […]

With the current stop-gap authorization for highway funding expiring on Friday, it is now crunch time for the surface transportation bill. House-Senate conferees will work against a Friday deadline to try to quickly iron out differences on H.R. 22 and enact the first multi-year highway authorization law since 2012. However, it is likely that they […]

The Week in Review  While the House enjoyed a week-long recess, the Senate was in session for Monday and Tuesday before heading home early after passing a pair of defense bills and naming highway bill conferees. On Tuesday, the Senate overwhelmingly approved (91-3) a revised defense authorization bill (S. 1356), clearing it for President Barack […]