January 28, 2013
With just a month to go before sequestration is schedule to take effect, many on Capitol Hill now seem to accept that sequestration is likely to happen on March 1st. This may be in part because Congress is also facing the expiration of the current continuing resolution (CR) just a few weeks after (March 27th),… Read More
January 23, 2013
Update: The House this afternoon passed their bill that would suspend the debt ceiling until the middle of May. The vote was 285-144. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Wednesday that the Senate will pass the House’s bill; the White House has indicated it will not block the measure. The House will consider legislation today… Read More
January 22, 2013
Amid all the pomp and circumstance yesterday, House Republicans released their proposal to postpone a fight over increasing the nation’s debt limit by suspending it until May 19th. The measure, which is expected to be considered on the House floor tomorrow, would suspend the debt limit through May 18th and then provide for an automatic… Read More
January 14, 2013
Washington, DC is gearing up for the Presidential Inauguration, scheduled to take place on Monday, January 21st (MLK Day). The Senate will remain in recess until then (they were in recess last week as well), while the House is in session today through Wednesday. The big issues facing this new Congress continue to be fiscal… Read More
January 3, 2013
The 113th Congress will be sworn in at noon today but will take no break from fighting over fiscal priorities with the opening weeks and months likely to be dominated by partisan fights over the size of a multibillion-dollar disaster aid package (Super Storm Sandy relief package), how to raise the nation’s debt ceiling before… Read More
January 1, 2013
Early this morning, the Senate rang in the New Year by approving legislation to avert the economic impacts of the fiscal cliff. The bipartisan agreement makes changes to tax policy by allowing for the first income tax rate increase in nearly two decades and also delays the sequester by offering $24 billion in other spending… Read More
December 27, 2012
The Senate reconvenes today and will make a last attempt to legislate before large automatic tax increases and spending cuts take effect on January 1st. The House is scheduled to meet only in a pro forma session after Republican leaders said the Senate would need to act first to produce a legislative solution after their… Read More
December 18, 2012
A deal appears to be in the making to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” Late yesterday, President Obama made a counteroffer back to House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) that would raise the top tax rates on income above $400,000, $400 billion in health care cuts, and $200 billion in discretionary cuts. The White House proposal also includes… Read More
December 17, 2012
As we move into the last two weeks of the calendar year – and come ever closer to the edge of the “fiscal cliff” – House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) has offered to allow a tax increase on millionaires, which is a significant shift toward President Obama’s position on raising tax rates for the wealthy. But… Read More
December 14, 2012
President Obama and House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) met for almost an hour yesterday at the White House to discuss issues related to the fiscal cliff, but there were no obvious signs of progress. Instead, both sides appear to be holding fast to their partisan views on taxes and spending. This is the second face-to-face meeting… Read More
