Tag: U.S. Congress

Trump signs one-week funding bill to stave off government shutdown

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President Trump on Friday signed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 18, temporarily averting a shutdown after the Senate passed the bill earlier the same day.

Why it matters: The short-term resolution is simply a time-saver, buying Congress an extra week to work out their differences over a longer-term funding deal and a coronavirus stimulus package — something they’ve tried, and failed, to pass for months.

Yes, but: There’s no motivator like the holidays to kick members into gear, and lawmakers are more hopeful than they’ve been in months about reaching any sort of compromise. Continue reading.

Senate overwhelmingly passes defense bill despite Trump veto threat

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The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by an 84-13 vote on Friday, defying President Trump’s threat to veto the bill if it does not repeal liability protections for social media companies.

Why it matters: Both the House and Senate have now passed the bill by a veto-proof two-thirds majority, though it’s unclear if the same number of lawmakers that voted to pass the bill would vote to overturn a Trump veto. Overriding Trump’s veto would serve as a rare Republican rebuke to the president in his last weeks in office.

  • The NDAA, which this year authorizes a $740 billion budget for essential defense spending, will now head to Trump’s desk. It has been passed by Congress every year since 1967.
  • The bill includes provisions that would grant a pay raise for troops, allow paid parental leave for federal employees and boost anti-discrimination protections for federal employees. Continue reading.

Bipartisan coronavirus relief talks stuck on liability waiver

Liability shield for employers still a work in progress; direct aid to households also a sticking point

A group of House and Senate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle has fleshed out details of their $908 billion coronavirus relief plan, except for the two thorniest issues: business liability protections and state and local aid.

A six-page summary of the group’s proposal circulated Wednesday morning said they had an “agreement in principle” to provide $160 billion in direct aid to states and localities and indemnify employers in some way from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

But that agreement didn’t solidify into finalized language Wednesday as negotiators had hoped. Continue reading.

Bipartisan group seizes spotlight, and more clout

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The clout of a bipartisan group of lawmakers aimed at forging consensus is on the rise. 

With the House expected to have its most narrow Democratic margin of control in decades, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus see the group’s influence growing exponentially in the next Congress. And its members are looking to flex their strength in pushing for policies that can pass both chambers. 

The bipartisan group of roughly 50 members, which is co-chaired by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), has played a leading role in moving the needle on COVID-19 relief negotiations after a months-long stalemate. Continue reading.

Funding bill hits snag as shutdown deadline looms

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A top Senate Republican on Wednesday said Congress will likely need a stopgap bill amid a myriad of last-minute snags that are threatening quick passage of a mammoth spending bill to fund the government. 

Congress has until Dec. 11 to pass an omnibus, which would wrap all 12 fiscal 2021 bills into one, but Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) says he doesn’t think negotiators will make their deadline.

Shelby said Congress will need to make a decision on whether it needs a continuing resolution (CR) by Dec. 9, so that they can pass it by Dec. 11. He added that a stopgap was “where we’re headed at the moment.” Continue reading.

Trump threatens to veto major defense bill unless Congress repeals Section 230, a legal shield for tech giants

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President Trump on Tuesday threatened to veto an annual defense bill authorizing nearly $1 trillion in military spending unless Congress opens the door for Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to be held legally liable for the way they police their platforms.

Trump delivered his ultimatum — calling for the repeal of a federal law known as Section 230 — in a pair of late-night tweets that transformed a critical national security debate into a political war over his unproved allegations that Silicon Valley’s technology giants exhibit systemic bias against conservatives.

“Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to ‘Big Tech’ (the only companies in America that have it — corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity,” Trump tweeted. Continue reading.

Congress returns with virus aid, federal funding unresolved

WASHINGTON — After months of shadowboxing amid a tense and toxic campaign, Capitol Hill’s main players are returning for one final, perhaps futile, attempt at deal-making on a challenging menu of year-end business. 

COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package, and defense policy — and a final burst of judicial nominees — dominate a truncated two- or three-week session occurring as the coronavirus pandemicrockets out of control in President Donald Trump’s final weeks in office.

The only absolute must-do business is preventing a government shutdown when a temporary spending bill expires on Dec. 11. The route preferred by top lawmakers like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is to agree upon and pass an omnibus spending bill for the government. But it may be difficult to overcome bitter divisions regarding a long-delayed COVID-19 relief package that’s a top priority of business, state and local governments, educators and others. Continue reading.

Congress set for chaotic year-end sprint

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Congress is set for a chaotic two-week sprint as lawmakers try to wrap up their work for the year.

Both chambers are returning Monday with just 10 working days before the House is set to leave town again and no plans to return until early January.

Lawmakers have to tackle a lengthy to-do list while factoring in the looming wild card of President Trump, whose focus on score-settling on his way out of office has sparked speculation that he could emerge as a major roadblock on must-pass legislation such as government funding before Dec. 12 to avoid a shutdown. Continue reading.

President is wild card as shutdown fears grow

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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are wondering if they can trust President Trump to sign legislation to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown before the end of the year.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers say a government shutdown is not off the table and see Trump, who has refused to concede the election, as the main wild card.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who met with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, said the president wants to keep the government funded. But he’s not ruling out the possibility of a year-end shutdown. Continue reading.

If Congress doesn’t act, 12 million Americans could lose unemployment aid after Christmas

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Deadlines set by Congress early in the pandemic will result in about 12 million Americans losing unemployment insurance by the year’s end, according to a report released Wednesday — a warning about the sharp toll that inaction in Washington could exact on the economic health of both individual households and the economy at large.

According to the report from unemployment researchers Andrew Stettner and Elizabeth Pancotti, those Americans will lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas — more than half of the 21.1 million people currently on the benefits — due to deadlines Congress chose when it passed the Cares Act in March amid optimism the pandemic would be short-lived.

Another 4.4 million people have already exhausted their benefits this year, according to Stettner and Pancotti, who wrote the report for the Century Foundation, a public policy research group. Continue reading.