This Week In Congress

The Senate has been working through several US District Judge nominations this week. And on Wednesday, the House voted along party lines to pass a resolution that formalized an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Televised hearings and federal lawsuits to enforce congressional subpoenas are expected in the new year.

Appropriations

The House and Senate are still stuck on reaching a top-line funding number for fiscal year 2024 appropriations. If there’s no deal by the end of this week, lawmakers will have little time to address the actual contents of the appropriations bills by the first deadline of the current Continuing Resolution, January 19th.

The Ukraine/Israel supplemental is still at a standstill: republicans have said more time is required to reach a bipartisan compromise on border restrictions. Negotiators from both parties said that a White House proposal to curb migration at the southern border could be the framework for a deal. Democrats hope to persuade republicans to stay in town next week to work out the specifics of the deal and pass the package. “Crying fire about the border one minute, then saying we should go home the next is the definition of unserious. If Republicans are serious about getting something done on the border, why are so many in a hurry to leave?” said Senate Majority Leader Schumer.

The Republican Study Committee is urging House leadership to start the fiscal year 2025 budget process early, as soon as this month, in a push to try to complete the appropriations process on time next year.

Elsewhere in the Federal Government…

NCSD authored a letter sent by the Sex Ed Coalition to CDC, calling for future DASH funding to continue to prioritize LGBTQ+ young people, as well as continue their focus on HIV, STI, and pregnancy prevention and mental health in the wake of their move out of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. The letter is accessible here.