Today on the Hill: Senate Begins Debate on Four-Bill Minibus

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 — which will include the Senate’s spending bill for Defense as well as funding for the opioid crisis — could be stymied by disagreements over President Donald Trump’s plan to divert military funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Prior to consideration of the first spending package, the Senate will take up a Democratic resolution that would repeal an IRS and Treasury Department rule that blocked states from creating workarounds to the 2017 tax law’s limit on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

Following passage (249-173) of a sweeping corporate transparency measure, the House is set to take up a bill out of the Judiciary Committee aimed at curbing foreign election interference and misinformation campaigns. The House will also consider a Judiciary suspension bill that would reauthorize a program for eliminating DNA evidence processing backlogs.