|
The House is in session this week, while the Senate is out until May 30th. The full House Appropriations Committee will hold several markups for Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills. Congressional negotiators hope to strike a deal with President Joe Biden before June 1, which, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, is still the earliest date that the U.S. could potentially default. One or both chambers may return during the Memorial Day weekend if progress is made.
President Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will meet today at 5:30pm EST to discuss progress on the budget deal. Leaders from both sides have hand-picked proxies to move the negotiation process along. Parties limited the room of negotiators to Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) for Republicans and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and Steve Ricchetti, Counselor to the President, for the Democrats. The sticking points remain the same for the $31.4 trillion debt limit issue; overall budget caps for future fiscal years, permitting reform for energy projects, the rescission of unspent Covid-19 relief funding, and work requirements for social programs. Today, Speaker McCarthy said a deal must occur this week to leave enough time to avoid a default, while calling the early morning discussions today productive.
The House Appropriations Committee will hold four markups of FY 2024 spending bills including Military Construction-Veterans’ Affairs; Legislative Branch; Homeland Security; and Agriculture-Rural Development-Food and Drug Administration. Following the markups, the House will vote on the first four of twelve appropriations bills, likely by mid-June. Of note, Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on top line spending numbers for FY24 and many expect Democrats to slow the process through amendments opposing numerous spending cuts.
The House will vote on a Senate-passed Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution (S.J. Res. 11) nullifying a January 2023 EPA rule that established new emission standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles; a CRA disapproval resolution (H.J. Res. 45) nullifying the Education Department’s student debt relief plan; and the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act (H.R. 467), which permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. The House may also vote on whether to override President Biden’s veto of a CRA disapproval resolution (H.J. Res. 39) passed by Congress several weeks ago, which would repeal a two-year suspension of tariffs on solar panels from Southeast Asia.
For the remainder of the week, the House will hold several hearings, including an Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on “Oversight and Reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration;”
and a Natural Resources Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee hearing on the “Fiscal 2024 budget proposal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Power Marketing Administrations.”
| 
