Although leadership elections were the primary focus on Capitol Hill this week, several major legislative items are unsettled and will need to be dealt with in the limited time remaining in the 115^th Congress.  Job one for lawmakers is tackling the unfinished portion of the fiscal year 2019 budget.  While 5 of the 12 annual appropriations measures have been finalized, the remaining seven bills – which cover dozens of federal agencies – are operating under a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that expires on December 7.

Sept. 6, 2018

Members of the House returned to the nation’s capital this week following their annual month-long summer recess. They were joined by their colleagues in the upper chamber who had a more truncated August break.  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) kept the Senate in session for much of the month to advance a slew of presidential nominations and to make progress on the fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills. 

Trump Signs Executive Order Ending Family Separations: Supreme Court Issues Major Online Sales Tax Ruling

June 21, 2018

June 7, 2018

FY19 Appropriations Process Continues

Lawmakers continued to make progress on the fiscal year 2019 budget this week as the House began debate on its first combined spending package (HR 5895). As of this writing, the “minibus” appropriations measure – which includes the Energy and Water, Military Construction, and Legislative Branch spending bills – is still being considered on the House floor.

House lawmakers marked this week’s tax-filing deadline by approving a series of bills to modernize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  On April 18, the chamber overwhelmingly approved the 21st Century IRS Act (HR 5445), which would help expand electronic filing of tax returns, allow the agency to accept credit card payments, and broaden the appeals process for taxpayers, among other things.  Another measure – the Taxpayer First Act (HR 5444) – that focuses on customer service and enforcement was unanimously approved.

March 15, 2018

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.

February 15, 2018

February 1, 2018

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.

January 25, 2018

Spending Patch Buys Time to Reach Long-term Budget Deal

January 11, 2018

December 7, 2017

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.

November 2, 2017

October 19, 2017

Budget and Tax Deliberations Continue; Cost-Sharing Reduction Bill Falters in Senate

Latest Health Reform Bill Dies in Senate

July 20, 2017

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.

July 13, 2017

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.

GOP congressional leaders returned to the nation’s capital following the Memorial Day recess intent on outlining a path forward to achieve their key domestic policy goals, including health care reform, an overhaul of the tax code, and a significant investment in infrastructure.  Despite the desire to focus on legislating, the week’s agenda was largely overshadowed by the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, who appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.  Comey, who was fired by President Trump earlier this year, spoke about his interactions with the pr