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Category: 2015 UW Agenda

SOTU Tonight

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Tonight President Obama will deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. He is expected to talk about a package of largely recycled proposals that would, among other things, raise the minimum wage, overhaul immigration laws, and authorize new infrastructure spending. He’ll also use the State of the Union to serve notice he’s ready to use executive orders and the bully pulpit to revive his second term and end run Congress on such issues as environmental regulations. There will be sharp focus on the middle class, the economy, and income inequality, and another chance to sell the public on the merits of the health care overhaul. And Obama is certain to highlight issues related to college costs and access that may or may not be viable with Congress.

Washington state’s own Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will provide the GOP response to the President’s SOTU. We are hoping that she doesn’t fall victim to the State of the Union Curse that has plagued so many before her.

White House to Release Budget March 4th

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The White House announced today that it will release the Administration’s FY 2015 budget proposal on March 4.

The Administration had been waiting on Congress to finalize FY 2014 appropriations before having the Office of Management and Budget move fully ahead with the Administration’s FY2015 Budget proposal. With House and Senate finalizing FY 2014 with the Omnibus Appropriations bill earlier in January, the Administration announced when they expect FY2015 to be public. March 4th is a month after the February 3 legally required deadline, where the budget must be presented to Congress between the first Monday in January an the first Monday in February.

House Sends FY14 Omnibus Bill to Senate

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Yesterday the House approved the $1.1 trillion FY14 omnibus spending bill that remains true to the intent of December’s budget agreement and sets a new tone for the FY15 appropriations cycle. 

Adopted by 359-67, the strong bipartisan support in the House should help build momentum next in the Senate where lawmakers are racing against a clock that requires final action by Saturday when the short-term continuing resolution expires. Senate leadership is hoping for an expedited process and vote on Friday but the GOP could refuse and push the final vote to Saturday.

The Office of Federal Relations is drafting a comprehensive analysis of the FY14 omnibus and will release that information tomorrow. And with final passage, we will shortly complete our FY15 federal agenda. More to come on that in the coming weeks.

Surprise! White House Delays Budget Submission

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The White House is said to be at least a month behind its own schedule for developing a FY2015 budget, which by statute is supposed to be submitted to Congress on the first Monday in February. That will slow work on next year’s spending bills, even though the budget accord negotiated by Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) established overall discretionary spending levels.

The Ryan-Murray agreement set the discretionary top line at $1.014 trillion for FY2015, which begins October 1, 2014. Overall, the measure raises discretionary spending by almost $19 billion next year, replacing previously scheduled sequester cuts with a mix of user fees and changes in mandatory spending programs designed to save $85 billion over a decade.

There is no penalty for a late presidential budget submission, but appropriators cannot hold hearings until they have a chance to review the administration’s proposals. Last year, Obama’s budget was released two months late, in early April, a delay that factored into Congress’ failure to clear any FY2014 spending bills this past year.

Source: CQ.com