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Category: Legislation

Shutdown: Day Three

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The federal government shutdown is entering its third day with no end in sight. And the US will hit its borrowing limit in two weeks, which leads many to speculate that the debt limit, ending or modifying the sequester, and FY14 appropriations issues will all be tied together and dealt with as a larger legislative package.

Republicans and Democrats continue to blame each other for the stalemate, and a White House meeting yesterday between President Obama and House and Senate leaders resulted in little progress. Senate Democrats insist on a clean CR and the House Republicans are unwilling to give up on their insistence on defunding or delaying the health reform law.

The blame-game will continue today as the House continues to bring up short-term spending bills in a piecemeal approach and the Senate is set to “kill” the first of those mini-CRs. Yesterday the House approved a short-term CR to fund NIH after news reports indicated that patients were being turned away from last chance treatments, including 30 children battling cancer. Also yesterday the House approved two mini-CRs to fund the National Park system and the District of Columbia. Today they will bring up two additional mini-CRs to fund the National Guard and Veterans programs.

None of these measures are expected to be approved by the Senate. Today that chamber is set to “kill” the mini-CRs approved by the House yesterday. The White House has also issued a statement saying that all the mini-CRs would be vetoed if they reach the President’s desk.

All of this legislative activity appears to just be killing time as we get closer to October 17th, the date that the Treasury says the US will reach its debt limit. Lawmakers appear to be following a strategy to combine the current fiscal issues with an effort to increase the debt limit and also deal with sequestration in one legislative package. If that’s true, then this government shutdown will continue through next week.

Shutdown: Day Two

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As the federal government shutdown enters day two, there are no signs of a quick resolution. Instead it now appears that this shutdown could last for a couple of weeks and will only be resolved as part of a larger deal to increase the debt limit in exchange for concessions on government spending and maybe even on health reform implementation.

Yesterday House Republicans brought up three bills to fund specific areas of government through December 15th. These “mini-CRs” would allow temporary funding for the National Park Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as allow the District of Columbia to use its own revenue to keep operating. The Democrats dismissed the tactic and reiterated their demand for a “clean” CR free of policy riders that would defund or delay the health-care overhaul. All three measures were called up under a suspension of the rules, which meant they required a two-thirds majority to pass. Only a handful of Democrats broke ranks to support the bills and so they all were defeated. All three measures will be brought up again this morning under regular rules so they can be passed by a simple majority, but they have little chance of advancing in the Senate and also drew a White House veto threat on Tuesday.

All of the political antics over the CR is just the opening act of what many are predicting will be a much bigger battle as the federal government is due to hit it borrowing limit on October 17th. The shutdown could continue until then and used as leverage to bring about a “grand bargain” that would resolve the debt limit, FY14 funding, and sequestration, as well as opening up ongoing negotiations on a long list of policy provisions favored by Republicans. They could include delaying implementation of the health care law for a year, instructions for a revenue-neutral tax overhaul, approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, a rewrite of financial regulations, new spending cuts, and other changes.

But absolutely nothing is certain right now except that federal government remains closed and Members of Congress continue to play the blame game.

Shutdown: Day One

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The federal government shutdown is now in full effect. Initially many federal workers were allowed to go into work this morning to receive furlough notices and implement shutdown plans – cancelling meetings, setting up out-of-office replies on email, and dropping off their Blackberries with IT personnel. And while there are some federal workers who have been deemed “essential personnel” and are lucky enough to be at work, there is no guarantee that they will be paid.

On Capitol Hill, elected officials are still discussing ways to move forward and get government up and running again. The Senate Democratic leadership, with support from the White House, continue to push for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) to run through November 15th and allow time to come to agreement on how best to fund federal government for FY14. House Republican leadership continue to argue that health care reform delays must be included in any CR in order to get support from a majority of their members.

In a surprise (not) move, House GOP has announced that this afternoon they will bring up for consideration three separate CR bills to continue funding National Park Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as allow the District of Columbia to use its own revenue to keep operating. The bills will not include extraneous policy riders regarding health care reform and would allow some key federal operations to resume while larger negotiations continue surrounding the FY14 funding. All of the mini-CRs would run through December 15th and fund agencies at the same level as proposed under the comprehensive CR that both chambers have been battling over for the past week and a half.

Senate Democrats have already indicated that they will not support the GOP’s piecemeal approach.

Senate Sends Amended CR Back to the House

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Today, the Senate approved an amended version of the House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the federal government running when the fiscal year ends on September 30th. The Senate-amended version strips out the House language defunding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and changes the end date of the CR from December 15th to November 15th.

The bill now goes back to the House for consideration. House leaders are expected to amend it further and send it back to the Senate. House conservatives are pushing for an amendment to delay implementation of the ACA individual mandate for one year. House leaders may also put forward a short one or two week CR to keep government funded while they continue to negotiate a longer-term agreement with Senate Democrats and the White House. House GOP leadership will meet tomorrow to determine their course of action.

The situation remains very fluid. If both chambers do not pass the same bill and send it to the President for his signature by October 1, the federal government will shut down.

To Shutdown, or Not to Shutdown…

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That is the question on everyone’s minds. Today the Senate will offer amendments to the House-passed continuing resolution with the expectation that they will vote on the modified bill no later than Sunday and send it back to the House for consideration. House Republican leadership is already formulating a strategy to further modify the Senate-amended CR and possibly send it back to the Senate again. That measure could contain a one-year delay of the health care law that would draw broad Democratic opposition and a White House veto threat – not to mention that the clock will likely run out and send us into a government shutdown. The House GOP is also reserving the option of passing a “clean” one-week CR to avoid a partial government shutdown while negotiations continue.

The Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates throughout the week and into the weekend.