Please join us for the inaugural quarterly Federal Relations Town Hall.
Thursday, October 21st at 12:00pm PT
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Democrats have decoupled the provision to raise the debt ceiling from the continuing resolution (CR) package that would keep the government funded through December 3. This has allowed the Senate to vote on the slimmed-down package this afternoon. After passage by the Senate, the package is expected to be taken up by the House quickly.
Although this means that a shutdown will be averted and that the government will be funded through at least the first few days of December, the question of how to deal with the impending breach of the debt ceiling remains unanswered. Read more about the CR situation here and here.
At the same time, Democrats continue to battle among themselves in a fight over if and when a budget reconciliation bill might be brought to the floor, a decision that also controls if and when the infrastructure legislation might be considered in the House. As noted previously, House progressives have insisted that the entirety of their $3.5-trillion package be brought up first as a way to guarantee their support for the infrastructure bill and to ensure that moderates who are not as comfortable with the size of the reconciliation legislation cannot just vote for the $1.5-trilllion infrastructure bill and oppose the bigger measure.
The same group of House progressives has insisted that the two Democratic Senators who appear to be the most prominent holdouts on the reconciliation bill, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema, offer up a counter-proposal to the $3.5-trillion figure. Just after lunchtime in DC today, Sen. Manchin publicly stated that he is interested in a reconciliation package that would be limited to $1.5 trillion. How these developments impact the negotiations remain to be seen.
Read more about the developments around reconciliation and infrastructure bills here, here, and here.
As predicted, the Senate yesterday was not able to adopt the House-passed legislation that would keep the government funded past midnight Friday and raise the debt ceiling through mid-December 2022. As promised, no Senate Republicans voted to move the measure forward for a vote. While Senate Republicans have publicly supported keeping the government open and opposed a shutdown, they have also stated that they will not vote in favor of legislation that includes both a continuing resolution to fund the government and provisions to raise the debt ceiling. With the Senate divided 50-50, Democrats will need to come up with a Plan B to address both a looming shutdown and a potentially catastrophic default.
In a related development, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated earlier today that the federal government may run out of ways to meet its obligations and may breach the debt ceiling on October 18.
As expected, the House passed yesterday by a vote of 220 – 211 the continuing resolution package that would keep the government funded through December 3 while also lifting the debt ceiling through mid-December, 2022. Like most of their Senate counterparts, House Republicans voiced strong opposition to the lifting of the debt ceiling and voted against the measure.
In the Senate, where there is a 50 – 50 split between the parties, it remains to be seen how Democrats will address the debt ceiling issue.
With FY2022 scheduled to start October 1 and no funding bills yet signed into law, a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded through December 3 has been unveiled. It also includes a host of “anomalies,” minor changes and corrections that are needed to ensure that no major changes in federal programs are created while the government functions under a CR.
In addition to keeping the government’s doors open through the first two months of FY2022, the CR would provide emergency funds to address the damage caused by recent floods and wildfires and to fund the costs associated with Afghan refugees.
The most partisan provision of the CR is the proposed lifting of the debt limit to December, 2022. Congressional Republicans have publicly stated that while they will vote to support other parts of the legislative, they will not support the lifting of the debt limit, creating a level of uncertainty.
The text of the CR is available here and a corresponding summary is available here.
We will provide updates.