Today on the Hill: Senate to Jumpstart Approps Process with Four-Bill Package

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 the first package, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) noted that Democrats still hold reservations about other bills — specifically the spending measures for Defense, Military Construction-VA, Homeland Security and Labor-HHS-Education — due to disagreements over “poison pill” issues such as border security and family planning.

In the lower chamber, lawmakers are poised to take up a sweeping corporate transparency measure on the floor next week. Aimed at addressing concerns over "shell corporations," the Corporate Transparency Act would require persons forming corporations and limited liability companies to disclose the identities of those who control the entity to the federal government. House lawmakers will also consider eight suspension bills out of the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees, including a bill that would establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims.