Short Term CR through December 16

Posted on December 10, 2015

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday released a five-day continuing resolution (CR) that would keep federal agencies operative through midnight on December 16^th. The stopgap would provide omnibus negotiators with additional time to strike a deal on a $1.1 trillion agreement to close out fiscal 2016. Both chambers must pass the resolution by the end of the day Friday (December 11^th) to extend current budget authority and avoid government shutdown.

It appears that December 16^th was the shortest possible extension needed to finish appropriations work that’s still left, but the tight turnaround time runs the risk of another stopgap being needed.

Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the year on December 18^th. While lawmakers say funding levels for agencies have largely been settled, a tax extenders package and “40 to 42” policy riders are still being negotiated, including language related to campaign finance, labor regulations, abortion, treatment of Syrian refuges, and environmental regulations.

Members will be in session tomorrow, but not over the weekend. Depending on the progress of negotiations, members will convene on Monday or Tuesday.

McCarthy Announces Short-term CR

Posted on December 8, 2015December 8, 2015

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced that the House will take up a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR), as expected previously, to fund the federal government beyond midnight Friday.

At this point, it is unclear how long the CR will last, but with the announcement McCarthy also said that Members should expect to work Friday and Saturday.

If the House works through the weekend, it is highly unlikely they will stay into next week, and there will be some resolution, whether that be an omnibus or a longer CR, soon.

Stay tuned…

Approps Timeline Slips

Posted on December 7, 2015

With Congressional spending authority set to expire midnight on Friday, the likelihood of a deal before the deadline has become increasingly more unlikely.

Without any apparent consensus on a broader funding agreement, the Congressional leadership is not set to file an omnibus appropriations bill Monday night, as required by House rules, for consideration later this week as leadership had planned. Last week, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said he hoped to have an Omnibus bill drafted and ready to unveil at some point on Monday, which would have allowed the House a midweek vote.

Negotiations over the FY2016 appropriations and tax extender package are ongoing, but how to deal with contentious policy riders, which the House Democrats rejected last week, have not moved forward. It is now highly likely Congress will pass a short-term CR. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has also said that there is a possibility Congress will work through the weekend.

Congress is scheduled to be in session until December 18th. The longer Congress is unable to come to a resolution about the omnibus and tax extender legislation, the more likely a long-term Continuing Resolution will be the funding vehicle for FY 2016..

Senate Clears Highway Bill, On to Obama

Posted on December 4, 2015

Last night, the Senate cleared the $305 billion surface transportation reauthorization revealed this week. This is the first five-year highway and transit reauthorization Congress has passed since 2005.The bill also includes a four-year extension of the Export-Import Bank charter, through fiscal 2019.

The measure passed by a 83-16 vote. Passage of the highway and transit bill comes one day before the current law expires.

President Obama is expected to sign it shortly.

Transportation Reauthorization Agreement Reached

Posted on December 1, 2015December 1, 2015

An agreement was announced this Tuesday afternoon after a majority of conferees signed off on the package with days to spare before the short-term reauthorization expires on Friday, December 4th. The mammoth deal, which authorizes for highway and transit programs, as well as Amtrak, through fiscal year 2020, is set to move through the House and Senate this week.

The agreement provides roughly $305 billion for federal transportation programs and outlines the policy that will govern highway, transit and rail spending for the next five years.

The measure requires offsets for a general fund transfer to the Highway Trust Fund of around $70 billion, of which about $51.9 billion would go to highways and $18.1 billion to mass transit.

Negotiators said they reluctantly included many the pay-fors, including a plan to use a billion of Federal Reserve funds (cutting the dividend the Federal Reserve pays to certain member banks, tapping the Federal Reserve surplus account meant to help the central bank absorb losses), selling a portion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and a separate idea to funnel revenue from a customs fee levied on airline and cruise passengers to the highway fund.

The bill also includes a provision to revive the Export-Import Bank, an export-promoting agency that expired last summer amid attacks from conservatives, but does not contain renew the 9/11first responders heathcare program.

The bipartisan deal is expected to pass both chambers. However, it is unclear how fast House and Senate leadership can shepherd it through, potentially necessitating one more short-term extension before Friday.

A five year deal is a huge win for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) who can show a return to regular order for the House after the tumultuous last few years of Speaker Boehner’s tenure. Delivering a long-term, fully funded highway and transit bill to the White House would be a major coup — the first time Congress has accomplished the feat since George W. Bush was in the White House.