Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., has set a Christmas deadline to pass a roughly $2 trillion spending bill that covers much of President Biden’s agenda.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., has set a Christmas deadline to pass a roughly $2 trillion spending bill that covers much of President Biden’s agenda.
Countess Jemal/Getty Images for SEIU
Lawmakers returned to Washington with a familiar year-end agenda – a pile of important bills and not much time to implement them.
The most immediate issue is to avoid a partial government shutdown over the weekend, but they also need to address the nation’s debt agency and the annual defense policy bill.
Democrats have also set Christmas as their own deadline to pass an estimated $2 trillion domestic spending bill that covers climate, healthcare and childcare programs. . This massive bill is the second part of President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda – the $1.20 infrastructure bill was signed earlier this week and the president Sales efforts have begun Its value to communities across the country.
Congress is scheduled to begin its winter break on December 11, but with everything in place, most people expect both houses to stay on Capitol Hill longer this year.
Here’s the Congressional to-do list:
Government funding: Federal agencies ran out of money by midnight Friday. There seems to be no agreement on dozens of spending bills that fund the federal government. Instead, lawmakers are studying throwing cans in the street for a while. Republican and Democratic usurpers are creating a short-term funding bill, referred to as a continuation solution, aimed at expanding current spending levels. But House and Senate committees have yet to agree on how long they want a short-term bill in effect.
A source familiar with the discussions told NPR that negotiators are banding together around CR which will take place in late January or potentially in February so that the two chambers can get more time to talk. Draw up an agreement on the year’s funding bills.
Debt Limit: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress earlier this month that they have until December 15 to increase a country’s borrowing limit or default on its bills. The issue kept one party on the sidelines earlier this fall, but ultimately Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agree to an agreement that avoided any defaults for weeks. He and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., held several talks on the issue but there was no clear path to resolution.
Republicans are again urging Democrats to attach the debt limit increase to a budget adjustment package and pass it on their own, as they could pass a bill using GOP-avoidance rules. . But many Democrats oppose this, saying it could be difficult to get the bill done in time.
“If Republicans want to go against us and raise people’s interest rates and make it difficult to pay for autos, go ahead and make that case. We’re going to stop them from doing that,” the senator said. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Speaking on ABC’s This week on Sunday.
It’s possible the deadline for action could be extended as early as next year, depending on Treasury receipts, but leaders have said they plan to act by December.
The National Defense Authorization Bill: Congress has passed annual policy bills for most 60 years. As usual, the House and Senate are working on different versions. This year’s bill includes reforms to the military’s sexual assault prosecution system, increases in wages for serving men and women, and measures to increase military support for Ukraine in the face of the threat. New threat from Russia. It can take months to negotiate a final agreement between the two houses, and the chairmen of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have forced leaders to prioritize it. The House of Representatives passed its version, and the Senate is expected to vote this week on its bill.
Rebuild your spending bill better: After The indoor aisle of the package is worth about 2 trillion dollars Last week, several Democrats in the Senate said they wanted to see some change.
Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., opposes four weeks of paid family leave in the House bill, so that’s expected to be dropped. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wants to expand Medicare coverage to include vision and dental benefits. Immigration provisions provide work permits to people who have entered the country since January 2011 and prevent them from being deported. is being considered by a Senate member to see if changes to the law meet the limits of what can be included in a budget adjustment package. Democrats are using the mediation process to sidestep Republican disagreements.
There is also continuing debate about tax deductions aimed at states with high state and local property taxes. Some Democrats, including Sanders, warned that the way the House of Representatives structures the deduction could expose many wealthy Americans to substantial tax breaks, and violates their campaign pledge to make people lose money. rich pay their fair share.
Schumer set a timetable for Christmas to complete the bill and send it to the president, but if the Senate changes the bill, as scheduled, The House will have to vote on it again. Democrats worry it will become harder to pass if the debate drags into 2022, an election year. They want to complete action on a domestic spending bill that covers climate, healthcare, childcare programs so they can campaign on those policies and infrastructure bill recently signed by the president.
An unknown factor as members of the House and Senate return to Washington – news of a new coronavirus variant. President Biden meet him COVID Sunday task force members and is urging those who have not been immunized to get vaccinated and those who are eligible for a booster shot.
Over the summer, the administration was criticized for not moving fast enough to tackle the spread of the Delta variant. So far there is no indication that the Omicron variant will be more contagious or cause severe symptoms, but lawmakers are mindful of continuing to address the pandemic and any economic impact. any potential.
