Budget and Appropriations

On Monday, President Trump signed the bill to end the federal government shutdown after it passed the House (266-150) and Senate (81-18).  The bill gives lawmakers just 12 working days to reach longer term agreements on the same group of issues that lead to the initial three-day shutdown.

The current continuing resolution (CR) funds the federal government through February 8, reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, and delays three of the Affordable Care Act’s taxes.  Funding for community health centers was not included.

In the Senate, Senator Schumer helped supply Democratic support for the CR after Senator McConnell pledged to take up and immigration bill before February 8 (when this CR will expire). However, there is no guarantee that any such bill that passes the Senate will actually get a vote in the House or be approved by President Trump.

A reminder on fiscal year (FY) 2018 funding: Appropriators cannot move forward on writing spending legislation until they know how much money they have to work with and they won’t know that until Congress amends the Budget Control Act and hopefully, votes to raise the caps.  There was hope that this would happen before the holidays, and then, on the last two CRs they passed—but that didn’t happen. So, Congress will need to pass yet another CR by February 8 and hopefully that will include a deal to raise the caps.  That CR would need to be at least 3-4 weeks to allow appropriators time to draft final spending legislation for FY18.  Therefore, we are looking at early to mid-March, at the earliest, with this date pushed back if there is another shutdown.

On Wednesday, it was announced that President Trump will send his FY19 budget request to Congress on Monday, February 12.  This is slightly delayed because of time lost during the recent government shutdown.  The President’s budget is not binding on Congress but is a statement of the Administration’s policy priorities.

Nominations

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Alex Azar as secretary of Health and Human Services.  Azar was confirmed, 55-43, with six Senate Democrats and Independent, Angus King, joining nearly all Republicans to back his candidacy.

Azar, a former pharmaceutical executive and veteran of George W. Bush’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), earned bipartisan support for his familiarity with the agency.  Azar’s confirmation gives HHS its first permanent leader since September. As the nation’s top health official, Azar has vowed to prioritize reining in drug prices.  He has also been a consistent critic of the Affordable Care Act.

State of the Union

President Trump will give the State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 30.  It will lay out his agenda for his second year in office.  Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) will deliver the official Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address.