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Lawmakers return to Washington to a busy agenda for December's legislative session, needing to pass government spending, an annual defense authorization bill, a farm bill extension, and disaster funding, amongst other expiring provisions. Congress will also begin vetting the numerous announced nominees for the incoming Trump administration.
Congress has just 18 days to finalize a Continuing Resolution (CR) or face a shutdown. Parties in both chambers expect to begin negotiations in earnest this week. A stopgap funding measure is highly likely and could include a disaster aid package, as Speaker Mike Johnson has openly opposed a pre-Christmas omnibus spending bill. The Speaker has also yet to reach a "topline" funding agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to establish overall fiscal 2025 spending totals. House conservatives continue to push for extending the shutdown deadline until March, while Democrats and many appropriators from both parties are advocating for an earlier deadline. The end date will be negotiated alongside other terms, such as "anomalies" that allow notable exceptions for certain accounts while keeping the rest of the government funded at current levels.
The Biden administration shared its request for nearly $99 billion in emergency disaster aid to assist in recovery from several natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The White House has also submitted a request to lawmakers for an additional $24 billion in Ukraine funding, which is part of a list of "anomalies" — or changes to existing laws — to be included in the upcoming stopgap. Before the Thanksgiving break, House Republicans had discussed a stopgap extending to March, but no formal plan had been established. The Biden administration's request for Ukraine-related anomalies includes $16 billion to replenish US weapons stocks and $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. It also seeks to include provisions to prevent automatic spending cuts under the Pay-as-You-Go Act of 2010, which would take effect in January 2025 and mandate a $1.7 trillion cut in direct spending, including a 4% reduction in Medicare funding. Additionally, the Biden administration will reveal a new arms package for Ukraine totaling $725 million. This package, sourced from US inventories, will include the second shipment of antipersonnel mines authorized by President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday morning, Senate Democrats had their leadership elections. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) retained the Minority Leader and Minority Whip respectively. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) won the No. 3 spot (Policy and Communications Chair) in the Democratic leadership after a face-off between her and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) ended with the New Jersey Senator acquiescing to the number four spot.
The House will consider 52 bills under suspension of the rules, including the Yes In My Backyard Act (H.R. 3507), which would allow state and local governments that receive federal community development funds to report on their adoption of land use policies that promote housing supply and affordability. The House will also vote on the Colorado River Salinity Control Fix Act (H.R. 7872), which would increase federal funding for salinity control projects at the Bureau of Reclamation for portions of the Colorado River Basin and reduce the landowner cost-share portion for salinity control under the Agriculture Department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program to 15%, from 30%; and the Fishery Improvement to Streamline untimely regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation (FISHES) Act (H.R. 5103), which mandate that the Office of Management and Budget couldn’t delay the 90-day timeline when reviewing a fishery resource disaster grant program’s spend plan; the Urban Canal Modernization Act (H.R. 6107), which would allow for the Bureau of Reclamation could cover 35% of the costs to repair urban canals that could result in a loss of life if not addressed; and the Senate-passed America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S. 3791), which would reauthorize $92 million annually for the Chesapeake Bay Program, $60 million for wetlands conservation projects, and a total of $25 million for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, among other initiatives.
The Senate will vote this week on Anne Hwang to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California. Senate Democrats are likely to push out more district court nominee confirmation votes from the Biden administration, including Sparkle Sooknanan for the District of Columbia, Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, Cynthia Dixon for the Central District of California, Catherine Henry for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Noel Wise for the Northern District of California, and Gail Weilheimer for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
For the remainder of the week, the House will hold several hearings, including an Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic markup on the “After Action Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path Forward;” and a Financial Services hearing on “Innovation Revolution: How Technology is Shaping the Future of Finance.” The Senate will hold several committee hearings, including a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on “The Sky’s the Limit – New Revelations About Airline Fees; and an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on “Examining the Public Health Impacts of PFAS Exposures.”
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