January 21, 2018
Monday Noon
The Senate has scheduled a vote on a CR to reopen the government for Monday at noon. The CR will reportedly be the same as the previous CR, funding CHIP and eliminating the Cadillac tax, but it will not address DACA or Dreamers. To clarify, negotiations remain ongoing, and this is not a deal. Rather, it…
January 20, 2018
Monday, Monday
Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a vote for a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would reopen the government through February 8th. The vote is scheduled for 1 am Monday morning. The move is designed to force Senate Democrats to vote against reopening the government without immigration concessions. Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) has floated the idea of a…
Shut Down
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) held a procedural vote, known as a cloture vote, to end debate and move on to voting with the the four-week continuing resolution (CR) that the House passed earlier this week. After holding the vote open for over an hour, the measure failed to receive the 60 votes needed…
January 19, 2018
Shut Down Likely
At midnight tonight, the Continuing Resolution passed in December 2017 will expire. Presently, it does not look like Congress will be able to agree on a short or long term funding solution, and a shutdown is highly likely. Agencies are circulating memos advising staff how to proceed in the high likelihood there is a shutdown…
CR Stymied in Senate
After the House passage of the four-week CR, the Senate then voted to begin deliberations. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to lack the 60 votes required to send the CR to President Trump for his signature. There are 51 Republican Senators and several Republican Senators have announced they would not vote for the House-passed measure….
January 18, 2018
House Passes CR
The House voted 230 – 197 to approve a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through February 16 and renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years. It does not include any immigration provisions to address DACA, Dreamers, or the border. The measure goes on to the Senate.
January 16, 2018
This Week in Congress, January 15-19
Here is a selection of committee meetings taking place this week. January 16 Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Hearing to examine the “Domestic and Global Energy Outlook” 10:00am, 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building January 17 House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology: Subcommittee on Space Hearing to examine “An Update on NASA Commercial…
January 12, 2018
What We’re Reading, January 8-12
Here is a selection of articles we’ve read this week. Politico Special Report – Does the white working class really vote against its own interests? In exchange for policies like the new tax bill, which several nonpartisan analyses conclude will lower taxes on the wealthy and raise them for the working class, did they really just settle for a wall that will…
January 3, 2018
Two New Senators To Be Sworn In Today
After they get sworn in today, the Senate will have two new members. Doug Jones (D-AL), who beat Roy Moore in a chaotic race to replace Luther Strange, who was appointed to Jeff Sessions’ seat when he became Attorney General, will join the chamber as one of its newest members. He will join the Senate…
December 22, 2017
Funding Crisis Averted, Tax Bill is Signed Today
both chambers of Congress passed yet another FY2018 continuing resolution this evening, the House by a vote of 231-188 and the Senate by a vote of 66-32. This most recent CR would keep the government running through 19 January, and has been sent to the president for his signature, just a day before the current…
