Federal Budget and Appropriations
The Omnibus Is Here
Josh Huder | May 8, 2017
House and Senate leaders pushed through an omnibus spending package last week. The bill combines 11 appropriations bills for the final months of the FY2017 calendar. Democrats walked away with some big wins in the omnibus. They struck over 100 policy riders, resisted non-defense cuts proposed by President Trump, and managed to block funding for
The omnibus is here! And some things to clear up about congressional budget politics.
House and Senate leaders will push through an omnibus spending package this week. The bill combines 11 appropriations bills for the final months of the FY2017 calendar. Democrats walked away with some big wins in the omnibus. They struck over 100 policy riders, resisted non-defense cuts proposed by President Trump, managed to block funding for
Looking Towards 2017: National Security in Focus
GAI | December 1, 2016
With the election over and cabinet hopefuls parading to Trump Tower, political prognosticators are looking towards 2017. What will the incoming presidential administration and unified Republican government mean for policy and politics? The congressional experts at GAI are weighing in with a series of deeper dives on different subject areas. Below are the contributions for
Is Paul Ryan Delivering on Regular Order?
Josh Huder | April 13, 2016
When Paul Ryan accepted the nomination for the Speakership he promised his colleagues that he would deliver a more regular process. He promised more inclusion in developing strategy, more opportunities for amendments, and greater representation on panels that organize the chamber. So far he has delivered on some promises but continues to struggle on others.
The new Budget Drama and Procedural Inventiveness. Got to love the House.
Josh Huder | February 24, 2016
The optimism following the 2-year budget deal struck last October is officially over. Many House majority members who were unhappy with the deal remain unhappy. Over the past month House conservatives have signaled they will not vote for a budget unless they find $30 billion in cuts. Enacting a budget (or appropriations) below the
Passing a Budget Resolution: It Ain’t Easy
Kenneth Gold | January 20, 2016
Like last year, when Republicans held majorities in both the House and the Senate, it’s generally assumed that Congress will pass a budget resolution this year. House Budget Committee Chair Tom Price (R-GA) has stated he intends to write an FY17 budget resolution that will balance the budget in ten years. But even though Senate
It’s Not Over
Kenneth Gold | November 2, 2015
Many of the news stories that covered last week’s passage of the two-year, 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act had headlines similar to the Associated Press story titled “No shutdown, no default: Congress leaders, Obama back deal”. And while the agreement is an enormous and widely unexpected accomplishment that does prevent the country from going into default,
The Road Ahead
By Laura Blessing and Josh Huder, Senior Fellows Speaker John Boehner finally succumbed to the four-year pressure campaign waged by House conservatives. As politically weak as Boehner was in his conference, the institutional powers of the Speaker meant that he was never going to be forced out of his position. He’s powerful enough that he could
Will Congress finally have a normal(ish) appropriations cycle?
Mark Harkins | May 6, 2015
Last week, there was a story (pay wall) in Congressional Quarterly on the Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill. I was intrigued when Rep. David Price (NC-4), the longtime appropriator on the Democratic side and the current Ranking Member on the Transportation-HUD Subcommittee (T-HUD) was predicting that “there would be a point during the appropriations process
Weely Round up: Congress’s rash of bipartisanship has symptoms of partisanship
Josh Huder | April 20, 2015
Bipartisan deals were the big theme this week on the Hill. This was a welcomed contrast to the last two Congresses where even routine bipartisan measures were hard to come by. In part, this was expected. Now that Republicans control both the House and Senate, they have an interest in demonstrating an ability to