This Week on the Hill: House Returns to Approve Budget; Senate to Consider Second Round of Disaster Funding

The House returns today after a week in recess, and both chambers are looking at a hefty legislative agenda this week. The lower chamber starts with six suspension bills to consider today, including a bill (H.R. 2141) to authorize $9 million for Customs and Border Protection to prevent unlawful importation of fentanyl and certain other drugs. Those bills prelude the most significant House action of the week, approving the fiscal 2018 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71) as amended by the Senate. Passage of the measure — which includes reconciliation instructions for the Republican tax reform effort — would send the budget resolution to the president’s desk. The House will also be considering a bill (H.R. 469) to impose limitations on the consent decrees and settlement agreements that federal agencies can use, and a bill (H.R. 732) that would limit the donation clauses that are used by some regulators in enforcement cases.

After finishing their work on the budget last week, the Senate starts today with floor consideration of a House-passed disaster relief bill (H.R. 2266) that includes funding for victims of both recent hurricanes in the Southeast and Caribbean and ongoing wildfires in the West, as well as a boost to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that is due to run out of money as soon as this week. A cloture vote on that package is expected tonight, setting up final passage for late Tuesday or early Wednesday. While some senators from effected states have sought additional disaster-related funding in this measure, they will likely need to wait until the Administration submits their third disaster supplemental request, which is expected in early November.

President Trump is expected to meet with Senate Republicans at their weekly policy lunch tomorrow, with the party plotting the next steps for their tax reform push. The White House is also expected to officially declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency this week, clearing the way for additional streams of federal funding to be used to address the issue.