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Category: Legislation

House Passes Omnibus, Senate Next

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The House just passed a sweeping FY 2017 Omnibus appropriations bill (H.R.244) to fund the government through Sept. 30. The House is sending the $1.07 trillion spending package over to the Senate for a vote later this week, likely Friday. The House vote was 309-118. The lengthy legislation comprises 11 unfinished appropriations bills, along with an intelligence authorization bill and other provisions.

The White House has formally backed the spending agreement, and the Senate is expected to clear the legislation as soon as Thursday. The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by midnight Friday or government funding under a continuing resolution would expire causing a shutdown.

White House Issues SAP on FY 2017 Omnibus

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Today, the White House has issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) on H.R. 244, the Consolidated Appropriations bill, also known as the FY 2017 Omnibus. While the White House says it is concerned that Congress did not go far enough in funding some priorities, it is a good first step, but priorities should be funded in FY 2018.

Long and short, no veto threat on this bill, but maybe the next one.

Read the SAP here. 

House Scraps ACA Vote, House and Senate Pass One Week CR

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Late last night, House Republican leadership decided to forego a vote on the ACA amendment by Rep. Tom MacArthur circulated earlier this week. MacArthur, who is the leader of the moderate Republican Tuesday Group, would shift how individuals with preexisting conditions are insured to the states. The amendment won the support of the conservative House Freedom Caucus by loosening insurance mandates, but didn’t gain many moderates. Additionally, the House Democrats announced that if the House voted on the amendment, Democrats would all vote against the much-needed, short-term CR to keep the government open though midnight Friday.

This morning, the House of Representatives passed the one-week CR to keep the government operating. It is an necessary step to avert a shutdown as negotiators continue to work on an agreement to extend funding through the remainder of the year via an omnibus appropriations measure.

The Senate unanimously passed a stopgap spending bill, about an hour after the measure was overwhelmingly approved by the House.

The bill funds the government for one week, avoiding a government shutdown at midnight. Lawmakers plan to pass a broader spending package next week to fund the government through September.

Another Short-Term Funding Measure Unveiled

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In order to buy more time for the two parties, the two chambers, and Congress and the White House to negotiate with each other on a spending package for the remainder of FY2017, Congressional leaders have unveiled a short-term measure that would keep the government funded for another week. Without an extension, the current funding agreement expires at midnight this Saturday.

The short-term measure would extend funding through next Friday, May 5.

OMB Director Mulvaney Pushing for Sanctuary City Language in FY2017

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OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is pushing House lawmakers to include language in the FY2017 omnibus appropriations bill to restrict federal funding grants for cities that do not enforce federal immigration policies. The goal is to bring the House Freedom Caucus on board with a government funding bill.

Such a provision, known as a rider, would put the already delicate negotiations under further strain, as Congressional Republicans already struggle to deal with the Administration’s supplemental request to begin building a border wall. A rider prohibiting federal funds from going to sanctuary cities would guarantee zero Democratic support.  

Despite recent changes to the Senate rules regarding confirming Supreme Court Justices, the Senate will need 60 votes to move forward with any appropriations bill and Senate Republicans are only 52 votes. 

When Congress returns on April 25th from its two-week recess for Passover and Easter, it will have 4 legislative days to pass some vehicle (an omnibus or another CR) for FY2017 funding or risk a shutdown.

Stay tuned.