Legislative Activity
FY 2015 Appropriations
Resolution of the FY 2015 federal budget will be a top priority of the lame duck session as the Continuing Resolution (P.L. 113-164) under which the federal government is currently operating expires on December 11.
Before the election recess, the House passed seven of its spending bills while disagreements on amendments prevented the Senate from passing a single FY 2015 spending bill. Despite the lack of progress on the Senate floor, the appropriations committees in both chambers completed at least an outline of every spending bill, many of which have nearly identical funding levels between the House and Senate versions. Committee staffers have been negotiating these differences over the past few weeks; thus, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) are confident they can produce an FY 2015 omnibus measure.
The road to an omnibus will not be easy. In addition to disputes over controversial policy riders, the discussions will be further complicated in the coming days when Congress receives the President’s request for an additional $5.6 billion in emergency spending for continued efforts against the Islamic State, which follows his request last week of $6.2 billion in emergency spending to address the Ebola outbreak.
This Week’s Hearings:
- Wednesday, November 12: The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing titled “U.S. Government Response: Fighting Ebola and Protecting America.”
