Congressional leaders spent much of the week of March 12
attempting to put the final touches on a $1.2 trillion fiscal
year 2018 omnibus appropriations package. Faced with a
March 23rd deadline to pass a new budget, the bicameral
negotiations have been bogged down by partisan disagreements over
a number of thorny issues.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a legal action challenging certain provisions of three California immigration laws. According to the DOJ, the statutes in question (SB 54, AB 103, and AB 450) “intentionally obstruct and discriminate against the enforcement of federal immigration law.” The Department is seeking both declaratory and injunctive relief in the Eastern District Court of California.
After a short recess, Congress returned to the nation’s capital
this week, although both chambers faced a light legislative
agenda. The House shortened its schedule to just two days
following the death of Reverend Billy Graham, whose body was laid
in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday.
Graham is the first religious leader and only the fourth private
civilian – joining civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and two
Capitol Police officers killed while on duty – to have received
this honor.
President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to
a joint session of Congress this past Tuesday, striking a
conciliatory tone throughout much of the nearly 80-minute speech
and signaling his willingness to work with members of both
parties in the interest of advancing an agenda that protects
American citizens of every background.
The special election in Alabama this week could have significant consequences for President Trump’s legislative agenda, but may not have much impact on federal tax reform. Democratic candidate Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore and will soon represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate.
With just a handful of legislative days remaining on the 2017 calendar, House and Senate lawmakers spent the week of December 4 focused on several major unfinished items, including the fiscal year 2018 budget. Currently funded by a stopgap Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires at midnight on December 8, federal agencies and the programs they operate must receive fresh spending authority from Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The House continued this week its consideration of a catch-all fiscal year 2018 omnibus spending bill (HR 3354). The $1.2 trillion measure, which would provide a full year’s worth of appropriations for every federal department beginning October 1, was approved by the House on September 14 by a vote of 211-98. Passage of the legislation followed several days of debate during which time lawmakers voted on hundreds of amendments.
At press time, the Senate was continuing to debate proposals to
repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), albeit with no
clear legislative path in sight. Earlier in the week, the
chamber voted 51-50 to begin consideration of health care
legislation. Vice President Mike Pence was called upon to cast
the deciding vote after Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa
Murkowski (R-AK) joined all Democrats in opposition to the motion
to proceed.
House GOP Budget Committee leaders released earlier this week a
$1.132 trillion fiscal year 2018 budget resolution. The
document sets the topline discretionary spending level for the
upcoming fiscal year and potentially paves the way for a decade’s
worth of cuts in taxes and entitlement spending via the budget
reconciliation process.
Following the Independence Day recess, the fiscal year 2018
budget process has kicked into high gear on Capitol Hill.
House appropriators unveiled five annual spending measures this
past week, advancing five bills at the subcommittee level, with
the full committee approving three. Altogether, the
Appropriations Committee has now approved seven bills, with
several others slated for action next week.
