September Budget Deal Looks Unlikely

Posted on September 14, 2015

Congressional leaders have given no indication they are in active negotiations on a long-term budget deal that would avert another round of sequestration. And there is little time left in the federal fiscal year to begin and conclude this type of deal with only eight scheduled legislative days between now and October 1st.

And between the Jewish holidays, the papal visit, and ongoing debate on the Iran nuclear deal, very little time remains for GOP leadership to build enough support to get continuing resolution (CR) approved by the House and sent it to the Senate. Congress must move some sort of appropriations bill before October 1st in order to avoid a politically embarrassing government shutdown. If Republicans want to adhere to their self-imposed three-day rule for considering legislation and vote on the stopgap next week, they would need to publicly post the text by Wednesday, when the House returns from a long Rosh Hashanah holiday weekend. So far, there are few details about the possible contents of the CR and its duration. Most importantly, it still is unclear whether GOP leaders will include a Planned Parenthood-related rider or language related to other issues, such as the nuclear deal with Iran.

Ultimately, we will likely see a CR approved just in time to avoid a government shutdown and then Congressional leaders will use the next couple of months to hammer out a deal on FY2016 appropriations. If they can’t come to agreement to lift the budget caps, we might see a strategy emerge to advance a year-long CR that maintains the status quo for federal spending and doesn’t trigger sequestration.

What We’re Reading This Week, September 8-11

Posted on September 11, 2015

Happy (almost) Fall!! Congress is back in session and here are a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

A worker stands at Ground Zero Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001, in New York City. Photo by Paul Morse, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Exit Stage Right? – House Speaker John Boehner has not had an easy tenure as leader of the House Republican Caucus. During histime, he’s seen the rise of the Tea Party and Libertarians as well as more and more members of his caucus willing to openly challenging him on votes and for his Speaker position. As he looks towards what will be a hellish fall (a fight to defund Planned Parenthood, a potential government shutdown, the deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling or risk default, a highly contentious fight over highway spending to extend the highway trust fund, and a vote to oust him as Speaker is also expected), his closest allies are wondering if Boehner will run for Speaker or Congress again. Read more at Politico.

60% Chance – Congress has routinely fought about raising the debt ceiling in recent years. These fights have had significant political consequences for the Republican party because of shutdowns. As Congress, again, has to raise the debt ceiling, political forecasters are giving odds of 60 percent that the federal government shuts down over the debt ceiling…again. Read more at Forbes. Meanwhile, those 60 percent odds might be a little low. Read more from The Washington Post.

Planned Parenthood v. Debt Ceiling – Congressional leadership and the American people don’t want a government shutdown but the other looming political issue is the Republican outcry to defund Planned Parenthood, an effort currently being lead by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). While Planned Parenthood is not expected to lose all of its federal funding, how the House and Senate proceed on the issue, and a vote on de-funding the organization, is unclear. Further, it sets up a show down between defunding Planned Parenthood and raising the debt ceiling. Read more at Politico.

The POPE Is Coming – Pope Francis is scheduled to stop in DC at the end of the month to meet with Obama, hold a massive public mass where he will canonize a new saint, tour Catholic Charities, and address Congress. In a town that’s used to famous people living here and dropping by, preparations for the Pope have everyone atwitter. DC knows motorcades, but we’re not quite adept at Pope-mobiles…yet. It’s been treated as an inauguration and snow day all rolled in one. Read more at Roll Call. Or read more at the Washington Post. While the Pope is here, he will canonize 18th-century Spanish missionary, Junipero Serra, who worked in colonial California around modern day Monterey. Serra is not without his critics. Read more at the Washington Post.

Remembering September 11th on the 14th anniversary. Yesterday, a rainbow was seen over Manhattan, which looked like it originated from the World Trade Center. See the pictures at Buzzed.

Welcome Back Congress!

Posted on September 8, 2015

Congress is back from a five-week summer break and faces a tough fall agenda and unclear pathway for must-do bills that would keep the government from shutting down and defaulting on its debts later this year.

The first test will come quickly with lawmakers needing to clear stopgap spending legislation (continuing resolution) to keep agencies open when the new fiscal year begins on October 1^st. Moving the temporary funding measure has become a annual fall event on Capitol Hill over the past decade and enacting these measures is only getting harder with conservatives seeking to add politically toxic policy riders. Many predict that Congress will pass a CR through December and avoid shutdown but it will be an ugly and difficult road to get there.

Even if Congress does approve a stopgap funding measure, lawmakers face an even heavier lift in moving a final FY2016 spending deal that is likely to be intertwined with the need to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and other must-do bills that members want to see enacted this year. One of those bills includes the highway and transit authorization. Congress approved a short-term measure in July but that authorization lapses in late October. Members will need to decide if they can come up with a long-term fix or if another short-term bill will be necessary.

The most widely anticipated event on Capitol Hill this fall is not a legislative one but rather the September 24 speech by Pope Francis to a joint session of Congress. There have been more requests for gallery tickets to see the first-ever appearance of a pontiff before lawmakers than anyone can recall for other heads of state. Some say strong remarks from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church calling for an immigration overhaul or rebuking US foreign policy might even spur lawmakers to action. Indeed, Francis’ appearance only adds to the uncertainty that will mark the final months of the first session of the 114th Congress.

House Education and Workforce Chairman Kline To Retire

Posted on September 3, 2015September 3, 2015

House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has announced he will not see re-election in 2016. Kline was first elected in 2002. Last election he won his district by 17 points, but the district was carried by Obama in the previous two presidential elections, making it a hotly contested area.

Kline has been chairman of the committee for the last five years and will serve the six year, House Republican Conference imposed maximum in the chair position. During his tenure, Kline has looked to revamp and reauthorize ESEA, HEA and countless other measures. It is unclear who the next committee chairperson will be.

What We’re Reading This Week, August 31-September 4

Posted on September 3, 2015September 3, 2015

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

Just Like a High School Cafeteria, But Not – As the United Nations addresses climate change, talks on how to address climate change are happening in micro groups, cliques basically. While the UN hopes to forge a new global agreement that will affect everything from energy production to agriculture to transportation, these groups, 14 in all, are how the negotiations are getting done. Read more at NPR.

Best of a Bad Situation – Higher education accreditation and accrediting agencies are under intense scrutiny in recent years, but while everyone agrees that the system is far from perfect, no one knows how to fix it. Read more at Inside Higher Ed.

Email Gate – Hillary Clinton’s emails while Secretary of State continue to be under scrutiny and continue to make headlines. Congress is expected to hold a hearing on the private server in September. Further, during that hearing, the individual who set up the private server is expected to assert their fifth amendment right. Read more at the Washington Post.

Trump Talking – Trump’s candidacy is giving the GOP heartburn on multiple levels. Trump’s straight talk is running right into the carefully crafted GOP message to woo middle class voters, and Trump’s isolationist statements are running contrary to the free-market approach that is the capstone of the GOP economy. Read more at the Washington Post. And all of his tough talk is making very hard to be latino and conservative these days or a Republican presidential candidate that appeals to latino voters. Read more at NPR.

Redistricting – As House Democrats remain deeply in the minority and have no optimism to change that outcome, House Democratic leadership is choosing to focus on a different strategy: redistricting. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has sponsored a piece of legislation that looks to reform how states do their political gerrymandering and replace the partisan carving up of congressional districts with independent redistricting commissions. Read more at The Hill.

Meh – The Pentagon is trying to woo Silicon Valley to help with the national defense in its next generation warfare and innovations. Thus far, the Valley has been agnostic about engaging but Defense Secretary Ash Carter isn’t giving up and is doing another push to engage Apple, Google and more on a host of initiatives. Read more at Breaking Defense.

NLRB – The National Labor Relation’s Board (NLRB) has been a lightening rod while making controversial decisions under the Obama Administration. With new standards and interpretations, including new union election rules and minimum wage overtime rules, the NLRB has made waves. Here’s a look at the five biggest fights and controversies thus far. Read more at The Hill.

Test Free – Many colleges are no longer requiring SAT or ACT scores to apply and enter university. Why are schools disregarding the test? Is it truly to get a broader student body and include more traditionally underrepresented groups? Or is it to be more exclusive? NPR goes deeper. Meanwhile, SAT scores are the lowest in a decade and certainly since the SAT test was redesigned. The average score was 1490 with 1550 being recognized as the score for college preparedness. Serious concerns are being raised about the elementary scores in reading in math are not translating to high school preparedness. Read more at the Washington Post.

What would happen to Asia’s coastline if the ice caps melted courtesy of IFL Science.

CNN has footage of Obama getting spawned on by a salmon, which can happen if you hold salmon in Alaska in the summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRzSdWzV30